"Heavy duty" dry suit seals aren't?

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Phaedrus

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On Saturday, I was getting into my dry suit for a dive at the local mud hole, when one of the latex wrist seals on my suit decided to make a two-inch-long tear. ;-0 Of course, I didn't have a spare seal. :bonk: I'd had those seals for a couple years, so they apparently needed replacement soon anyway. So, yesterday, I stopped by the dive shop to order a neck seal and two wrist seals.

When I placed the order, the shop owner commented that heavy-duty latex seals contain more clay. As a result, they're apparently more prone to catastrophic, irreparable failure like the one I experienced, than "regular" latex seals are. He recommended that I go for the regular seals; I did, since I trust his judgement.

What do you think? Has it been your experience that heavy-duty seals aren't worth the extra money? Or, was I misinformed?
 
How much do those real HD seals usually run? Do they cost much less in the long run than typical seals?
 
Latex is still latex.

Frankly, we use neoprene seals because they are much less likely to tear & we can repair them ourselves.

Just my $0.02's worth,

~SubMariner~
 
Originally posted by SubMariner
Frankly, we use neoprene seals because they are much less likely to tear & we can repair them ourselves.
My suit has a very nice ring system. If I need to replace a seal, all I need to do is loosen its ring, remove the old seal, put the new seal on, then tighten the ring. Also, I carry a patch kit for seal punctures, and it doesn't take very long to repair a latex seal that has been punctured. YMMV, though.
 
Originally posted by Bob3
REAL HD seals (like the ones on commercial suits) are made out of the same material, only a LOT thicker.

If your dry-suits seals have lots'o'clay they are more easily
molded into whatever shape is best for preventing leaks ;-)
 

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