A couple of years ago I bought a used Dive Rite 905 drysuit that came with the Skaana dryglove system attached to the latex seals using this method: Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions (The Dive Rite sleeves are just too narrow for me to use Method 1 (Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions).
As goes the way of all drysuits, eventually it needed work so I sent mine off to have the boots replaced and asked the repair shop (a reputable place in Gainsville FL, that I know many of you use) to give the suit a complete look over. 2 new boots, a new zipper and new wrist & neck seals later, I got it back ready to go jump back in the cold waters of New England.
My problem was that, try as I might I just could not get the Skaana rings back on the new wrist seals :depressed:. No big deal, I had my drysuit back so I'm happy.... until I went diving with my wet gloves that is :depressed:. Now, I'll admit that my wet gloves, although fine when tucked under a wetsuit sleeve in Summer, are NOT the best for use with a drysuit (Way too loose around the wrist and water sloshes around in there all dive long ... Brrrrrrrrrr!) leaving me longing for my toasty warm drygloves.
I tried attaching the seal using skaana's Option 3 (Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions) and this worked just fine. My problem being that I don't like the thought of having no wrist seal in the event of a glove failure or (more likely), the dorky diver trapping some of the insulating glove in the ring when attaching it and having it leak during the dive (yep - Experience hurts!).
I was stumped and ready to start thinking about replacing the new seals or shelling out for another dryglove system. However, being too poor (or cheap!) to lay out yet more cash, and being convinced that there must be a simple solution to my dilema, I stumbled across a possible solution which I though I'd share with the board in case anyone else thinks this may be useful:
I should have taken pictures along the way, but I'm darned if I'm disassembling this thing again for pictures, so here goes...
While researchin options, I came across this video (Si Tech Silicon Wrist Seals - YouTube) describing how to attach silicon seals to the Si Tech rings. I have been intrigued by Silicone seals but approaching them cautiously because a) they are expensive (Did I say I was cheap??) b) reviews are mixed still. Now I saw a possibility. I liked the fact that the seals come with a ridge that drops into the first groove on the rings. It occured to me that I could attach the seals to my Skaana rings in the same way as the first step in this video and THEN attach the rings to the suit using Method 3 on the Skaana site (Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions) and Hey Presto! I have my dry glove rings installed again, with seals... and snappy new silicone seals at that!
So now I get my drygloves back, new Silicone seals that are (in theory at least) field replaceable, nice cheap blue replacement gloves and a ring system that looks a whole lot smaller than the rather bulky Si Tech ones. I have attached a couple of pictures of the final assembly for anyone interested.
Happy diving. Stay safe (and warm
)
As goes the way of all drysuits, eventually it needed work so I sent mine off to have the boots replaced and asked the repair shop (a reputable place in Gainsville FL, that I know many of you use) to give the suit a complete look over. 2 new boots, a new zipper and new wrist & neck seals later, I got it back ready to go jump back in the cold waters of New England.
My problem was that, try as I might I just could not get the Skaana rings back on the new wrist seals :depressed:. No big deal, I had my drysuit back so I'm happy.... until I went diving with my wet gloves that is :depressed:. Now, I'll admit that my wet gloves, although fine when tucked under a wetsuit sleeve in Summer, are NOT the best for use with a drysuit (Way too loose around the wrist and water sloshes around in there all dive long ... Brrrrrrrrrr!) leaving me longing for my toasty warm drygloves.
I tried attaching the seal using skaana's Option 3 (Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions) and this worked just fine. My problem being that I don't like the thought of having no wrist seal in the event of a glove failure or (more likely), the dorky diver trapping some of the insulating glove in the ring when attaching it and having it leak during the dive (yep - Experience hurts!).
I was stumped and ready to start thinking about replacing the new seals or shelling out for another dryglove system. However, being too poor (or cheap!) to lay out yet more cash, and being convinced that there must be a simple solution to my dilema, I stumbled across a possible solution which I though I'd share with the board in case anyone else thinks this may be useful:
I should have taken pictures along the way, but I'm darned if I'm disassembling this thing again for pictures, so here goes...
While researchin options, I came across this video (Si Tech Silicon Wrist Seals - YouTube) describing how to attach silicon seals to the Si Tech rings. I have been intrigued by Silicone seals but approaching them cautiously because a) they are expensive (Did I say I was cheap??) b) reviews are mixed still. Now I saw a possibility. I liked the fact that the seals come with a ridge that drops into the first groove on the rings. It occured to me that I could attach the seals to my Skaana rings in the same way as the first step in this video and THEN attach the rings to the suit using Method 3 on the Skaana site (Skaana Dry Gloves - Installation Instructions) and Hey Presto! I have my dry glove rings installed again, with seals... and snappy new silicone seals at that!
So now I get my drygloves back, new Silicone seals that are (in theory at least) field replaceable, nice cheap blue replacement gloves and a ring system that looks a whole lot smaller than the rather bulky Si Tech ones. I have attached a couple of pictures of the final assembly for anyone interested.
Happy diving. Stay safe (and warm
)
