How to judge the fit of a drysuit?

Hi,

I have an opportunity to buy a second hand drysuit, a DUI FLX 50/50 in good condition, and the DUI size chart indicates that it should roughly fit. I'd appreciate advice on what to watch out for when trying it on. How tight should the seals be? How loose should it be in general to fit thermal garments underneath? How far up the neck should the roll-neck, go and how much of a roll does there need be? (The last question, I ask because I may be a small bit tall for the dry-suit, so that's one of my main concerns.)

Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dendrite.

Seals can be replaced and/or snipped if they are too tight/loose. I wouldn't worry too much about that although you might need to negotiate a good price if the suit needs this kind of maintenance.

In terms of 2nd hand dry suits, three things are really important.

(a) it's not too small
(b) it's not too big
and (c) the zipper is ok.

To judge if the size of a drysuit is ok for you, then put on the thickest undersuit you're planning on using and get it on. you should be able to do the following

a) get it on and off without a struggle.
b) once it's on you should be able to make the following movements:
- bring your legs (left and right) crossed from the floor up over the level of the opposite knee while standing. (legs long enough)
- be able to cross your arms and touch both shoulders with the opposite hand (arms long enough)
- be able to hold your hands in the air with the arms fully extended (torso long enough)
- be able to crouch on hands and knees with your hands and forearms in front of you flat on the floor and touching your elbows to your knees. (back panel long enough)

none of the above should feel as though you can do this without any resistance. If this is the case then the suit is probably too big. If any of the above movements are impossible then it's too small.

The zipper is a major concern just due to the expense of getting it replaced. Inspect it carefully for any deformities and/or teeth that are out of position. If it closes *easily* then that's actually bad. It should feel robust to the touch when you flex it and it should be somewhat stiff with closing. Zippers that close effortlessly have seen a lot of cycles of open/close and are generally prone to leaking and will need to be replaced soon.

If the zipper *does* need to be replaced, then you need to talk to your LDS about the expense. It's normal to replace the zipper at some point because trilam normally has a longer life-span than the zipper, but DUI charges too much for everything and this is something you will definitely need to negotiate in the price if you have doubts.

Hope that helps.

R..

Thanks- it's really great to have a checklist like that for trying it on. I don't own any drysuit undergarments yet, but I'll try to simulate them, perhaps with a thick jumper or two. I also found the following tip from another thread:

Whenever you try on a suit, always put the suit on with the Undergarments, squat all the way down and tilt your head forward. If you don't have a tight seal around your neck, that means your torso is too short.

Click to expand...

This seems to be similar to your third item above.

Thanks again- your advice is much appreciated!

D.

Make a very small investment in a test kit that you will need anyway. Go to Home Depot and pick up a bunch of paint stirring sticks (free) and a dozen or so small spring clamps (maybe $1 each). Then you're good to go.

Turn the suit inside out as much as you can. You probably won't be able to completely invert the feet unless it is a soft sock, but that's ok. Now get the zippers completely closed by reaching in through the neck seal. Pull the neck seal closed and try to fold it over and sandwich it between a couple of paint sticks, securing it with several spring clamps. Then do the same for one of the wrist seals. Once you're convinced the suit is sealed up, lay the suit down and use a garden hose to fill the suit about half way with water through the open wrist seal. You actually don't need it that full, but it makes it easier to find leaks by yourself. When you have enough water in it, seal off the remaining wrist.

You can now roll the suit around and put the water pressure on every square inch while looking for any water leaking out. Especially the zipper, seals and wear areas. The inside of the suit (which is now outside) should remain bone dry to the touch. Any water leaking through is a problem to be investigated. Mark the area with a wax pencil.

This whole process takes about a half hour and can save you a lot of grief later.


Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think I understand what kwinter is saying. He's describing a way to check the suit for pin-hole leaks.

Here is another way.

Insert 2L PET bottles in the arms to seal off the cuffs.

Insert a small ball (you can buy them for < $1 at Walmart) in the neck seal.

Tie/tape them down if you must.

Then inflate the suit so that it looks like the "Stay Puff Marshmallow Man" from "Ghostbusters" and spray the out side of it with soapy water.

See bubbling? that's a leak.

...........

Frankly I wouldn't worry about these kinds of things when buying a 2nd hand suit. Leaks--unless they are enormous--can be located and fixed for minimal effort and cost. The big ticket items when buying a used suit are getting seals and zippers replaced.

R..

Thanks kwinter and Diver0001. The testing methods are interesting. The situation may not permit such rigorous testing, though I'll examine the zip and seals closely.

I'm interested to know how big should the neck seal roll-down be? An inch? A half inch?

do you mean a neoprene seal that is folded back in? ... or something else?

R..

Diver0001:

do you mean a neoprene seal that is folded back in? ... or something else?

Click to expand...

Ah... a penny has just dropped. So only neoprene neck seals are roll-down and latex ones are not? I thought all neck seals were. This question is not relevant to the DUI suit, so.

I thought the esy way to test for leaks was to put on cotton clothing (light grey or white, sweatpants and long-sleeve sweatshirt or long-sleeve t-shirt), put on the suit and spend a little time in the pool (like 30 mins - practise all kinds of stuff to stay amused).

NOTE: Get out if you feel moisture so that hopefully you can still see from the underclothing where the leak was!!
You should see the origin of any moisture fairly well on light-colored sweats.

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Also, don't cut a seal to fit if you can strech it to fit. Try leaving it overnight streched over something. In the case of a neck seal you can stretch it over a volleyball for instance, or a wrist seal over a tennis ball tube or a tall, slender coffee mug.