Drysuit wrist seal question??

[airbrnebkr]

The latex wrist seals on my drysuit fit, but are very close. They are just not as tight as I would like them (damn small wrists). I was wondering if anyone knew any little tricks to tighten them up just a bit without having new seals put in.
Thank you for your help,

 

[Jackknife]

airbrnebkr once bubbled...
The latex wrist seals on my drysuit fit, but are very close. They are just not as tight as I would like them (damn small wrists). I was wondering if anyone knew any little tricks to tighten them up just a bit without having new seals put in.
Thank you for your help,

Sing it along with me boys, just like Popeye does after eating his spinach and beating up Brutus:

"I eats me my spinach so I can fit in it, my wrist seals are too small drysuit man, toot toot!"

 

[Boogie711]

who could add anything more?

Seriously though, you're pretty much pooched. Latex doesn't have a memory, so even if you stretch it, it will rebound to the original shape. I'd just get new wrist seals if it's a problem.

 

[DeepScuba]

Slide on a pair of dry-glove rings. You're gonna go dry glove, aren't you???

 

[cyklon_300]

very small wrists...I was told you could cut wrist bands from a motorcycle inner tube to lessen the seepage (kind of a stop-gap measure until you get new seals). The trick is finding the right size tube, tho...

I tried using mountain bike tubes, but they're too small...

 

[Jackknife]

The only other thing I can think of is to wear the suit upside down and have your arms come out through the legs and then you can use the water proof socks like mittens and then hopefully your ankle are big enough to seal out from the former wrist seals it and keep the water from coming in.

I guess You can put a zipper on the neck seal and use it as a relief opening, the advantage would be that you can poop and pee out of it too! jk

Get new seals bud, it's not worth being cheap and willing to risk your life over a replacement seal!

 

[airbrnebkr]

HMMM, tough choice between wearing my suit upside down and buying some dry gloves. I think I will look for some dry gloves. i just havent been able to find any that allow as much dexterity as wet gloves. Anyone got any suggestions.
thanks,

 

[String]

Have you considered "Apollo Bio-seals"?

Ive seen these mentioned in a few magazines and forums now and although ive got no personal experience some people are saying they do work.

Its basically a gel-based seal you slide onto your wrist or neck and the latex seal seals onto that.

A quote:

The new concept of the Apollo Bio-Seal is to provide the diver (Dry Suit Wearer) to achieve a continual leak free atmosphere whilst in a submereged exposure. The standard latex seals on all drysuits create a common problem with minor leaks that can become uncomfortable after extended periods of time, both during and after exposure.

The Bio-Seal solves this leakage problem by creating a perfect seal between the skin and the drysuit. The seal is made from a compound named Cosmogel, this gel has a very high extensive stretch rate (1300%-1500%). Thus the material is far superior to Latex or similar compound seal materials. It will not damage easily ans avoids the problem from finger nail or watch damage.

http://www.apollo-sports.co.jp/main/products/others.html

Bio-Seals are made of a soft, super-stretchy polyurethane material. Being slightly sticky, they adhere to curved, uneven surfaces, such as necks and wrists, creating an exceptional seal with drysuit neck and wrist seals. The super soft, stretchy nature of the material makes Bio-Seals extremely comfortable to wear, eliminating the confining and restrictive feeling often created by stiffer, less flexible drysuit seals.

Im tempted to try these myself as my wrists leak but the water pours in through my neck at times. Ive been soaked most dives as a result.

I dont want to do the dry gloves route as the few people i know that own(ed) them all hate them so reluctant to waste money on it. That also wouldnt stop the neck seal problem.

 

[bridgediver]

I've checked these out as they came highly recommended to me and will be getting them soon (hopefully)

http://www.skaana.com/Skaana/skaana1.html

I'm curious as to why you think you'll lose dexterity with dry gloves? It should be the other way around, wet gloves are generally thicker than dry.

Anyways, check these out if you can. They look good to me.

 

[String]

People ive spoken to have a few reasons.

Firstly, the air in your suit is often (via a straw) connected to the gloves to precent squeeze. The result is fingers full of air which makes them hard to bend (as early astronauts found out!).

Another factor is you need to wear gloves underneath the dry gloves in most cases as the air and material alone provides no insulation (just like a membrane dry suit).

This makes them thick and hard to move.

Ive heard a few people complain that although cold numb hands where near impossible to use, dry glove hands were just as bad.