Local Drysuit Alterations?

[Ben_ca]

I haven't had any major alterations done here locally. It doesn't seem like our local guys have the time to do this themselves.... Send it off to Mark at Superior Drysuit repair or to the Steve Gamble in FL. I spend $500 on a used TLS 350 and have about 200 dives on it now... finding a cheap(er) drysuit is possible just takes a bit of patience and a quick finer on the mouse.

Good Luck

 

[Anti-Hero]

He said "if I buy, let's say, a DUI TLS350 XL standard size used or "old stock"

Thanks, Chuck for re-iterating what I read the first time. My point being if he finds out by way of trying on suits (something you can't typically do online) he may discover that a particular size fits without alterations, thus he can search for that size [used] if that is what he's interested in doing.

 

[Anti-Hero]

There are always those that pay $300+ for a pair of jeans too. Of course you could wear a Bullet and be streamlined for much less money. Nobody cool wears a Fusion with those ugly graphics. (On that note, no where did I mention what suit to buy in my first post, just saying a new DUI suit is over priced for what you get, which Anti-Hero can not argue about.)

As Chuck pointed out he may be talking about purchasing a used suit and having it modified. My second drysuit, but first DUI suit was a steal at $400, with 400g undies, for a NOS CF200 that served me well for over 250 dives.

LOL - You and Chuck both win one internet. Nowhere did I say you said < buy this suit > or < buy a new suit > but thanks for the straw man anyway.

 

[FishDiver]

Here is my dilemma. I fit in a standard sized XL drysuit from the waist up on most brands, but my legs are short and I seem to be a M or L from the waist down. Plus I am a size 10 shoe so sometimes the boots are a bit off too depending on the size.

I am wondering... if I buy, let's say, a DUI TLS350 XL standard size used or "old stock", is there someone in the area that can attach a size 10 boot AND shorten the legs in the process? Just curious... I'm kind of in the investigation mode currently to see how crazy this crazy idea actually is.

Thanks in advance.

-Mike

I would recommend a custom-fitted suit from your favorite manufacturer. You will spend as much buying an OTS suit and then hacking it up and it still may not fit right.

 

[Ben_ca]

I would recommend a custom-fitted suit from your favorite manufacturer. You will spend as much buying an OTS suit and then hacking it up and it still may not fit right.

If someone had the funds to buy a custom made suit I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be exploring this route.... but the realities of most peoples financial situations do not allow them to blow 2,000 bucks on a single suit.

I'm on my third drysuit and here's what I had invested:

Drysuit #1 Bare NexGen from Leisure Pro - My first drysuit.... didn't really know what I wanted. I kept me dry and got me diving a lot more than I was.

Drysuit #2 TLS 350 - I got it from Ebay for 550 (600 w/ shipping) it had drygloves, a relief zipper and was a little long in the legs. It was a stock Medium and I had 2 inches taken off the legs. Cost of repairs/upgrades 200ish. So I have 800 invested in a suit that I've dove the last couple of years (4 I think) It's still usable though it will be in semi retirement as my backup suit. This suit was a dream compared to the Bare Nexgen. I went from wearing denim coveralls to pajamas comfort wise.

Drysuit # 3 Surplus Army drysuit from Ebay 150 + shipping. Major alterations needed new seals, zipper, inlet valve move, pockets added for 650.00 (seals done at AWS, other stuff with Superior) The fabric is almost new and should last a while.

Even with a lot of my alterations it was still cheaper this route. That might not work for everyone specially if you get into a bidding war or get a lemon in the mail... but otherwise it is do-able.

Another aspect of going this route is you can slowly stager out the improvements/repairs so that you aren't digging a deep hole with credit cards ect... spread it out or learn how to do a lot of the repairs yourself like Peter does.

just my 2 cents YMMV

 

[Peter_C]

For others that may be interested here are some of my thoughts...

if you get into a bidding war or get a lemon in the mail... but otherwise it is do-able.

Use Bid-O-Matic or something similar that bids for you in the last few seconds. Once you start using one, you will wind up buying more and spend way to much money. I have gotten some great deals off ebay but have spent thousands upon thousands that way Sometimes I forget I set it up to bid until I get the email saying "you have won". It may take a few tries to get a good deal on a drysuit, but eventually you can find something. Also make sure to pay attention to this board and Deco Stop for drysuits. I got my "Straw man" suit from this board for a pretty good deal.

Another aspect of going this route is you can slowly stager out the improvements/repairs so that you aren't digging a deep hole with credit cards ect... spread it out or learn how to do a lot of the repairs yourself like Peter does.

Basic repairs for drysuits is very easy, and something most anyone can do. Replacing a zipper is probably one of the harder things to do, yet really is not that hard. The seals are super easy to replace. I would tackle shortening my own legs if needed, as I did to my first drysuit which was a trilam. A TLS350 wouldn't be that hard to shorten and an industrial sewing machine can be purchased from ebay or craigslist for less than what you pay for someone else to do the job (I have been looking to buy different industrial types of sewing machines at some point for sewing webbing and other heavy duty things. Light duty like I learned to sew on just won't cut it.). From then on you own the equipment necessary to do it. There is a book by Airspeed Press that covers many drysuit repairs. Never seen it though so I can not comment on it, but do like his Oxy Hacker book. There is also quite a bit of info on this website regarding seal replacement. The two wrist seals, the neck seal, and the zipper can all be replaced for around $200 if you do it yourself. Any leaks can be repaired with a tube of Aquaseal, and maybe a patch.

My DUI suit cost me $400 with undies as I said above. I went through one zipper after around 100 dives, and it seems a set of seals about every year. Never counted but a few sets. I still have it and use it as my backup. Haven't needed it and considered selling it more than a few times.

My Fusion should be pretty easy to repair and I plan to install the SI Tech rings so I can do seal changes in the field. My neck seal is already getting soft. Not sure why but I seem to go through seals pretty quickly. Probably should spend more time cleaning my seals.

 

[elan]

Air Speed press book is good, I never regretted buying one

 

[kathydee]

Here is my dilemma. I fit in a standard sized XL drysuit from the waist up on most brands, but my legs are short and I seem to be a M or L from the waist down. Plus I am a size 10 shoe so sometimes the boots are a bit off too depending on the size.

I am wondering... if I buy, let's say, a DUI TLS350 XL standard size used or "old stock", is there someone in the area that can attach a size 10 boot AND shorten the legs in the process? Just curious... I'm kind of in the investigation mode currently to see how crazy this crazy idea actually is.

Thanks in advance. -Mike

Hey Mike,

How much are you looking to spend? If you let us know, perhaps we will have some ideas .

Sometimes you can find non-standard DUI suits for a discount here: http://www.dui-online.com/pdf/fr.pdf

 

[parabuzzle]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

The real issue is that if I buy a drysuit for myself, I have to buy one for my better half and she has some funky sizing too, she has full hips so its harder to hack up a standard size suit for her. She has given me the go-ahead on spending $1200 for the both of us but I'm sure I can push the envelope a bit if I can get a good price on a custom suit (DUI is out of the question). I really don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on this but I rather enjoy not feeling like an icecube floating around a cooler and so does she. The other issue is that we are planning our wedding this year, and that seems to be a pretty good suck on my pocketbook and takes higher priority with the boss So I was thinking about getting used for the both of us for the next couple years and then going custom after the wedding and pocket replenishment. However, if I can get a good deal on some new custom suits, she maybe could be convinced but it has to be a "Hella" good deal.

-Mike

 

[parabuzzle]

PS, when it comes to DUI sizing, I'm an XL with a L leg and she is an M with a L hip.