Adjusting Seals on Drysuit

[Aaron528]

Be patient. The fact that the wrist seals don't fit isn't anyone's fault, so there's no reason to be "unhappy" about it.

This is an issue that you need to take up with the online retailer. Tell the retailer that the drysuit wrist seals don't fit. The retailer will work things out with Bare. You mentioned that the suit is a size small. In all likelihood, the manufacturer matched up size "small" wrist seals with the drysuit in its stock configuration. That's pretty reasonable in my book. It's really just a guess on the part of the manufacturer. Installation of the next size up wrist seals (medium?) really shouldn't be a big deal. I'd recommend using a tape measure to get the circumference of your wrists. That's the measurement that one would need to ensure that the wrist seals will fit.

I don't think it's unreasonable to request that a new drysuit has new seals that fit. Just make your case to the online retailer. I'd be surprised if your request were not accommodated.

On a side note, I'm shocked that your instructor didn't suggest this course of action. The fact that your hands turned purple implies that the wrist seals were more than just a little tight. They were very tight, probably so much so that it necessitates installing larger sized seals.

FYI, in the grand scheme of things, wrist seal replacement isn't a costly fix. A new pair of wrist seals runs approx. $35 + labor costs. Take care of your drysuit zipper during storage and transport to/from dive sites. Don't ever place anything heavy on top of that zipper. Zipper replacement generally runs about $300 (approx. $150 for dry zipper + approx. $150 for labor).

For outside-of-warranty seal replacement, Bare will charge a substantial amount for the suit to be worked on at its factory. A nice alternative is DIY seal replacement, which is fairly straightforward. I have had good luck with OS Systems latex seals and the OS Systems adhesive PB-300. The adhesive that DUI uses on its TLS drysuits does not work with the Bare Nex-Gen drysuit material (not sure what secret sauce DUI uses).

The online retailer is Leisure Pro. They directed me to take up my problem with Bare, they said they don't have anything to do with adjustments outside of a defective product. I will call them tomorrow and update this thread. Thanks to everyone that contributed.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

The online retailer is Leisure Pro. They directed me to take up my problem with Bare, they said they don't have anything to do with adjustments outside of a defective product. I will call them tomorrow and update this thread. Thanks to everyone that contributed.

Ouch. I'd say that's a compelling reason not to purchase a drysuit from Leisure Pro...although I could understand this response if the drysuit in question was a "clearance" item or sold "as is." For a regularly price, in-stock item, I'd say that's not a very customer-friendly policy.

Hopefully, Bare will be accommodating. Be prepared to not have your suit for 3-4 weeks (shipping both ways + repair time). It sucks that you have to deal with this, but that's one of the drawbacks of buying a drysuit online.

 

[Aaron528]

Ouch. I'd say that's a compelling reason not to purchase a drysuit from Leisure Pro...although I could understand this response if the drysuit in question was a "clearance" item or sold "as is." For a regularly price, in-stock item, I'd say that's not a very customer-friendly policy.

Hopefully, Bare will be accommodating. Be prepared to not have your suit for 3-4 weeks (shipping both ways + repair time). It sucks that you have to deal with this, but that's one of the drawbacks of buying a drysuit online.

Up until now I've had pretty good results buying a bunch of stuff from Leisure Pro...this is a 2010 Nex Gen Trilam Suit, not a clearance, and not "as is"...they simply discount so much that they don't provide "full service" ie taking the suit back and shipping it to Bare themselves, which is what an LDS would do. I got this suit for about $130 over the average wholesale price...about $680. According to the 2010 Bare price list MSRP is $1150. :shocked2:

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Up until now I've had pretty good results buying a bunch of stuff from Leisure Pro...this is a 2010 Nex Gen Trilam Suit, not a clearance, and not "as is"...they simply discount so much that they don't provide "full service" ie taking the suit back and shipping it to Bare themselves, which is what an LDS would do. I got this suit for about $130 over the average wholesale price...about $680. According to the 2010 Bare price list MSRP is $1150. :shocked2:

Personally, I wouldn't appreciate an online retailer wiping its hands clean of an issue like yours, but that's just me. Assuming that Bare will make the adjustment free-of-charge, it's likely that you will have to absorb the cost of one-way shipping of the drysuit to the Washington receiving address or directly to the Bare factory in British Columbia, Canada. On the bright side, my past experience with Bare has been relatively positive. Perhaps the company will come through for you. I hope so.

I've had excellent customer service from another online retailer, Scubatoys. Often times, the 10% ScubaBoard discount at Scubatoys will be a better deal than LP's price. If that's not the case, in lieu of the discount, Scubatoys will price-match LP. Scubatoys is an authorized dealer for everything it sells.

I hope that you took advantage of the "free" undergarment that comes with the purchase of a qualifying Bare drysuit. The manufacturer promotion runs from Nov. 11 - Dec. 11, 2010.

FYI, the Nex-Gen is made of a bilaminate material.

 

[knowone]

I'd go the wine bottle route using the contents to ease the pain.

Or Champagne.

I think Gary Gentile bent his arm once from to tight gauges on.

 

[ScubaVideo]

Looking at the Bare website they do list Leisurepro as an authorized dealer. Since that is the case they should make it right - or dump LP as a dealer since they are not making it right.

I don't usually buy anything that is life support, expensive, or critical from LP or any other online store unless there are no other choices. Doing so leads to the issue your having. I like my LDS and he has air for sale, LP doesn't.

I did however buy a computer once online, and it was from an authorized dealer - in Germany. It was less than half the new price but he also guaranteed it. He even sent it to me first, and then I paid - not COD either. So yea, I made an exception but there was not much risk to me since I got it first then paid. Later it was replaced under warranty too without issues from the manufacturer.

Recently I was going to buy from a popular site that is well liked around here. I emailed them and got a quick response. Then no more responses to follow up emails. Then another email from a different email address to the main site, and again no response. And they are well known on this site and an advertiser too. If they can't answer a basic email then what does that say about online shops and trusting them? My LDS always responds and they are very friendly and helpful.

I had a purchase of over $300 sitting in the cart at that online store -now it's empty. And I will never purchase from them, no matter how cheap they go on prices.

 

[Aaron528]

Personally, I wouldn't appreciate an online retailer wiping its hands clean of an issue like yours, but that's just me. Assuming that Bare will make the adjustment free-of-charge, it's likely that you will have to absorb the cost of one-way shipping of the drysuit to the Washington receiving address or directly to the Bare factory in British Columbia, Canada. On the bright side, my past experience with Bare has been relatively positive. Perhaps the company will come through for you. I hope so.

I've had excellent customer service from another online retailer, Scubatoys. Often times, the 10% ScubaBoard discount at Scubatoys will be a better deal than LP's price. If that's not the case, in lieu of the discount, Scubatoys will price-match LP. Scubatoys is an authorized dealer for everything it sells.

I hope that you took advantage of the "free" undergarment that comes with the purchase of a qualifying Bare drysuit. The manufacturer promotion runs from Nov. 11 - Dec. 11, 2010.

FYI, the Nex-Gen is made of a bilaminate material.

I checked the manual; you are correct, I miswrote about the material. Bilaminate. Apparently, so did the salesperson. I have a lot to learn about drysuits.

I didn't know that scubaboard members get a 10% discount with Scubatoys. If I hadn't adjusted the neck seal, it would be possible for me to simply return it and buy another suit from them, if they could do better for me. There's a manager I can communicate with at Leisure Pro. If Bare doesn't do for me, I'll write to him and see what Leisure Pro is willing to do. Thanks.

 

[Aaron528]

Looking at the Bare website they do list Leisurepro as an authorized dealer. Since that is the case they should make it right - or dump LP as a dealer since they are not making it right.

I don't usually buy anything that is life support, expensive, or critical from LP or any other online store unless there are no other choices. Doing so leads to the issue your having. I like my LDS and he has air for sale, LP doesn't.

I did however buy a computer once online, and it was from an authorized dealer - in Germany. It was less than half the new price but he also guaranteed it. He even sent it to me first, and then I paid - not COD either. So yea, I made an exception but there was not much risk to me since I got it first then paid. Later it was replaced under warranty too without issues from the manufacturer.

Recently I was going to buy from a popular site that is well liked around here. I emailed them and got a quick response. Then no more responses to follow up emails. Then another email from a different email address to the main site, and again no response. And they are well known on this site and an advertiser too. If they can't answer a basic email then what does that say about online shops and trusting them? My LDS always responds and they are very friendly and helpful.

I had a purchase of over $300 sitting in the cart at that online store -now it's empty. And I will never purchase from them, no matter how cheap they go on prices.

I don't know about other folks here but to me, price matters. Service is important, but I can't have one or the other. I guestimate I've saved myself over $3000 by buying online vs my LDS. I've had this conversation with the shop owner right up front...I can't afford to buy from him even though I would like to. This scenario is being repeated all over the place around here...a lot of shops have closed. Brick and mortar stores must compete, or die. If I can get a new suit for $680 vs. $1150, a BCD new for $250 and the best the LDS can do is $515 on sale, if a reg at the LDS costs $650 but I can get it online for $400 new...it's a no brainer, manufacturer's policy for online or not.

 

[Aaron528]

Looking into it further, I misremembered the MSRP for Nex Gen...it's $1050 not $1150. We're still talking a difference of $370 under list for what I paid.

 

[hypertech]

Assuming this is something the factory does do for new suits (seems a little bit like the wrong seals are on the suit through no fault of theirs so I would not object to paying for them to be changed to fit me), Bare will take care of you. My suit is on it's way back from them right now. It developed a pinhole leak in a seam. They didn't give me any trouble, replaced the seam and sent it back no charge. Although I did buy it from an authorized LFS, they never asked about where it cane from. They just fixed it.