dry suit

[bernie]

looking to buy a secound hand dry suit what would i be looking out for when buying one ie: wear and tear failing this will buy a new dry suit around the 400 to 600 pound mark any suggestions on a few web sites and is this about a good price range to buy one


many thanks

[Chris Cherrington]

What sort of suit? Neoprene, crushed neo, laminate... latex or neo seals?????

There are many issues secondhand but these tend to vary with the sort of suit and seals.

Chris

[Adrian Kelland]

Stitching - a stress point and source of leaking. Lots of loose ends?
Seals - do they need replacing?
Zip - expensive to replace if a tooth is loose or missing. Does it open/close easily?
Boots - are they the right size, again money to replace.
Ask to try the suit if it seems like it will fit. Some membranes have been known to become porous.

Then there is the issue of neoprene/cruched neoprene/membrane and different seals, membrane or latex. Really a personal choice.

A start, no doubt other opinions will come up.

Adrian

[bernie]

will be a membrane dry

[PeteM]

will be a membrane dry

In order of most likely to be a problems (first three are both size and wear dependant)

Neck seal
Wrist seals
boots
zip
seams
valves

[Jo Brooks]

The most important thing is to get one that fits! You should be able to raise your arms above your head and lift your legs with ease. Additionally, you do not want the boots to be excessively large as this can lead to feet first ascents.
Don't worry about neck and wrists seals as these are relatively cheap in comparrison to a new suit. In fact I would advise having them replaced on a second hand suit anyway - I recently paid £36 for a pair of latex wrist seals and a similar amount for a neoprene neck seal.

[Ian Wigg]

If you're looking secondhand then good old ebay can be a goldmine. I managed to find a top of the range 03 Ri suit, less than 50 dives and in mint condition for £250.00. It was a custom made job but fits me as if it had been made for me (obviously there's at least two of us with the same weird shape :D ). Took a month or so of searching but it was def worth it.