Redshoerider
Guest
Good Evening all:
Ok, I've got a sort of moral dilemma here that I could use some opinions on how to handle.
I'm a pretty new diver (OW cert about 2 months ago). The LDS that I went though has been nothing but straight shooters, honest to a fault sometimes. Generally all around good guys (and women) who just like to get wet.
I live in PA, and I realized pretty early on that if I really wanted to persue diving in this area, I'd have to get a drysuit. So I poked around, asked around, and ended up with a slightly older DUI CF200X and 300 weight undergarment for, well...a good deal. Less than half of what a new suit would cost. The guy I purchased it from was getting out of diving, and said the suit had performed perfectly the last time it was in the water (about 2 years ago). It looks to be in great shape, no tears, wears, holes, etc. Just a sharp looking (and well-fitting) suit.
I took it to my LDS to evaluate the suit, check the waterproof zipper, things like that. They came back a few days later and said that the zipper was leaking like swiss cheese and there were damp spots in the left arm, indicating the fabric was wearing out.
Needless to say, I wasn't too happy to hear this. So, I send it back to DUI to see how much repairs would run me. To my utter shock, they called me shortly after I sent it and asked for my return address. They leak-tested it, and found a few pinholes in the left arm and patched them, but other than that, the suit was good to go! I specifically asked them about the zipper, and they said there was nothing wrong with it, and (as is their norm) would send a copy of the test report with the suit.
The suit came back today, and sure enough...the report says, in nice black and white "no leaks found".
My dilemma: My LDS says the suit leaks. DUI says it is fine. Once I hit the water I'll know for sure, but the question remains: why would my LDS tell me the suit was shot to hell when it really wasn't? I know the simple answer would be "so they can sell me a suit".
My question to all of you: How hard is it to leak-test a suit? I'm not familiar at all with the process, so if it's easy to screw up, ok...they messed up a bit. We're all human, so I certainly can accept that. But if it's a simple thing to do.....then I have some real questions for them. I just don't want to go in there half-cocked without some background knowledge first.
Thanks!
-Chris
Ok, I've got a sort of moral dilemma here that I could use some opinions on how to handle.
I'm a pretty new diver (OW cert about 2 months ago). The LDS that I went though has been nothing but straight shooters, honest to a fault sometimes. Generally all around good guys (and women) who just like to get wet.
I live in PA, and I realized pretty early on that if I really wanted to persue diving in this area, I'd have to get a drysuit. So I poked around, asked around, and ended up with a slightly older DUI CF200X and 300 weight undergarment for, well...a good deal. Less than half of what a new suit would cost. The guy I purchased it from was getting out of diving, and said the suit had performed perfectly the last time it was in the water (about 2 years ago). It looks to be in great shape, no tears, wears, holes, etc. Just a sharp looking (and well-fitting) suit.
I took it to my LDS to evaluate the suit, check the waterproof zipper, things like that. They came back a few days later and said that the zipper was leaking like swiss cheese and there were damp spots in the left arm, indicating the fabric was wearing out.
Needless to say, I wasn't too happy to hear this. So, I send it back to DUI to see how much repairs would run me. To my utter shock, they called me shortly after I sent it and asked for my return address. They leak-tested it, and found a few pinholes in the left arm and patched them, but other than that, the suit was good to go! I specifically asked them about the zipper, and they said there was nothing wrong with it, and (as is their norm) would send a copy of the test report with the suit.
The suit came back today, and sure enough...the report says, in nice black and white "no leaks found".
My dilemma: My LDS says the suit leaks. DUI says it is fine. Once I hit the water I'll know for sure, but the question remains: why would my LDS tell me the suit was shot to hell when it really wasn't? I know the simple answer would be "so they can sell me a suit".
My question to all of you: How hard is it to leak-test a suit? I'm not familiar at all with the process, so if it's easy to screw up, ok...they messed up a bit. We're all human, so I certainly can accept that. But if it's a simple thing to do.....then I have some real questions for them. I just don't want to go in there half-cocked without some background knowledge first.
Thanks!
-Chris