Ultima Dry Glove System question

[Deep South Divers]

For what it's worth... One of my suits (the Sentry) got a leak at the left wrist the other day while I was chainsawing underwater.

Apparently I had a wrinkle in the wrist seal the last time I installed the rings... And the stress of holding the chainsaw finally popped the Waterproof Ultima ring off of the SiTech glued-on soft ring a little bit. First time I'd seen that happen. It leaked a little, and when I stopped pulling on the seam (from holding the saw), the leak went away.

I've dived the suit probably 50 or 60 times since that installation without any leaks... Which kinda proves how "unfinicky" the system is.

I rinsed the inside of the suit, let it dry, then popped the ring off and reinstalled it correctly. Problem solved.

Also - I rinsed the INSIDE of the glove, then turned it inside-out and let it dry, which it did just fine overnight. Credit to the quick-drying acrylic lining and the soft glove that can BE turned inside-out. Do that with a set of 660s and the cotton liner will NEVER really dry out completely - partly because cotton absorbs moisture so much more and partly because I've never been able to turn a 660 inside-out; too thick.

 

[Deep South Divers]

I suspect that the pulling action that caused the leak would be WORSE with shorter gloves - which is what the PU SHOWA 281 and 282 are... By 20mm or so (almost an inch). Does this not cause you problems? It's been a big reason why I haven't trued the PU gloves out.

 

[Deep South Divers]

One more thing I forgot to mention: I don't know if I'm getting spoiled or what - but the other day I spent like 9 hours underwater on the job site in my BARE XCS2 with my Waterproof Ultima / SHOWA 720 gloves on... In 56° water... And halfway through the day decided to wear my Fourth Element Xerotherm undergloves rather than go undergloveless like I often do. Boy, what a difference it made! I don't remember them being quite so game-changing... Especially at nearly 60 degrees.

I might end up using them more often.

 

[Zef]

if you have no purchased the Ultima system yet then I encourage you to look at the Si-Tech Virgo setup. It is similar to the Si-Tech Glove Lock setup but is designed for direct fit with the Si-Tech oval cuff system whereas the Glove Lock is designed for the round QCP. The Virgo turns the oval system round just like the Ultima dgs but they are much much easier to mount the drygloves on the glove side ring.

I love my Ultima DGS setup but my wife has the Glove Lock sytem on her drysuit and it is just much easier to mount gloves and attach/detach the mounted gloves with the Glove Lock....since the Virgo is nearly identical, if I had to make my purchase again, I would strongly consider the Virgo. Direct fit, ease of mounting gloves, ease of use.

-Z

 

[a878bob]

I’ve changed out my own seals for the last few years with heat tape. Since I had a intermittent leaking in my right hand, I decided to change out the seal, first attempt didn’t work well, there was a small section that didn’t adhere, so flodded my suit on the first time out. Rework seems to have it right this time.

I blame the intermittent leak on my perceived failure of my first attempt with the 282’s. Now that I have it locked down, I hope, I’m giving the 282 another run.

I talked with DRIS about the details on putting in the permanent oval rings, super helpful as always.
Seems straight forward, so the parts are coming, I’ll post up for the install.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Regarding the XCS2 (which I dove for a day or two when the Sentry leaked): The XCS2 and the Sentry are virtually identical suits... Both made of hypercompressed neoprene and equipped exactly the same as each other with a SiTech Quick Neck ring, silicone neck seal, Waterproof Ultima Rings on a SiTech QCS Oval system, SiTech Tech boots, and zippered thigh pockets. The XCS2 has a pee valve installed, but I haven't used it in years - there's a blanking plug installed in the hole.

When going from the XCS2 to the Sentry, I noticed a little better fit, especially in the crotch... But once getting used to the Sentry, going back to the XCS2 I noticed a HUGE difference . The extending torso of the Sentry makes donning and doffing much nicer, and the crotch fits much more snugly and better due to the internal bib and ATR extending torso. I also noticed much more spinal flexibility, and bringing my knees to my chest, for example, was much more comfortable. Not that that's a common maneuver - it's simply an example of the additional flexibility that the Sentry offers over the XCS2, even when identically equipped. In the past, I noted that there's not much difference - but after a few hundred dives on the Sentry, the small difference is fairly obvious.

I also find myself enjoying the all-black appearance of the Sentry; I chose to go with blue in the shoulders of the XCS2, and wasn't given that choice in my tester Sentry. Living with it every day, however, the Sentry feels more serious somehow... More tactical. It just feels like a better suit than the XCS2, and I feel like it puts on a better image of my company when I am on-site with a client.

As soon as I am allowed, I'll make a video and do a review of the up-and-coming BARE Sentry.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Latest video involving the Waterproof Ultima Dryglove ring system, the SHOWA 720s, and one of my "sealless" drysuits:

 

[a878bob]

The parts came for my sitech oval ring-ultima-fusion project a couple of days ago. I had a chance to work on it a bit tonight. After talking with DRIS it seemed a reasonable diy project. I also talked with another drysuit repair shop at dema who concurred. According to the dema shop, the bottom of all dry suit sleeves are the same opening measurement. DRIS thought the Fusion may be a little smaller due to the sewn on velcro bunching the sleeve opening, but they suggested a simple work around. So here we go.

I started by using my heat gun to pull off the old seal, as I have replaced the seals a couple of times with it. Easy!

Step two; dry fit the suit side oval ring on the inside of the sleeve opening, Nope, close but no cigar. It won't open completely because the diameter of the sleeve opening is too tight.

Step three; cut the thread that holds the velcro on the cuff in an attempt to release any bunching. No go.

Step four; remove the velcro all together, it will be easy to glue back in place when done, Denied again!

Step five; cut the sleeve back to just before the stitching that holds the banding around the end of the cuff material. Better fit this time although a little too tight for my liking, but i decided to go with it. I was uncomfortable cutting off the banding at the edge of the suit material.

Step six; two rows of heat tape on the outside of the oval suit ring. Its wider than the tape, so the second row went righ to the edge, a good thing to have with more surface area of tape to seal with the suit. Then let it cool completely. I cleaned it real well before applying the tape.

Step seven; Clean the drysuit wrist with solvent. Let dry and fit the oval ring dry. Still a little tight for me. but now I'm committed.

Step eight; use the heat gun to heat the tape and press al the edges firmly. Letting it cool now and back at it tomm.


I'll have to glue the velcro back to the sleeve edge as it holds the sleeve of the Fusion skin in place. Fit the silicone seal and the Ultima suit ring in place and trim the seal a bit as its pretty long on my wrist. At the moment I would not say this is a diy project. I'll reserve final judgement until its finished and I have dove it with success. If anyone has suggestions, Please chime in !

 

[Deep South Divers]

Yeah, the Fusions are weird suits.

I'm very much looking forward to your review of the final product. Did you take pictures or video by chance?

 

[Dave Block]

Have to ask a newb question... is there a definitive "how to install showa 720s on ultima dgs rings" guide anywhere?

I've gotten lost in the huge volume of posts on the topic.