Does age of wetsuit matter?

[Sam Miller III]

@KevinNM
"Don't know. The cells break down over time and dive cycles, it gets less buoyant and less warm. Though I've heard of that being an issue after enough dives, not just time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin of New Mexico You are So Correct...

Some years ago there was a very large active world wide company called "Voit" Willard Voit the founder and owner wanted his company that held his name to be number one diving company and only sell the very best products

One was to produce the very best wet suit

I was a consultant /advisor to Voit and Fred Roberts (the author of Basic SCUBA) was the chief and only engineer. It was Fred who created a very crude but never equaled test for wet suits. He collected samples of all known wet suit manufactures of that era and attached them in a row to a piece of wood/aka test board

On a sunny SoCal day we ventured to Catalina Island to a secluded cove called Italian gardens where the ocean drops off very fast ,

We attached the test board to a weight belt with 100 feet of line. We jumped over the side with a micrometer and measured and recorded the thickness at 25, 50 75 and 100 feet. We surfaced and as Fred recorded the data I repeatedly dropped the test board over the side and retrieved it after 25 times. Then over the side measuring the thickness at 25, 50 75 and 100 feet.

Then surface and repeated dropping and retrieving the teat board 3 more times until 100 submersions and retrievals to 100 feet had been completed.

The test revealed that some of the wet material began deteriorating to due compression after just a few submersions, after 100 submersions several suits were almost useless as effective thermal protection.

So it can be concluded that usage (repeated submersions ) and possibly age that probably most wet suits even in todays market deteriorate after ageing and repeated usage.

And that about all I have to say about west suits...

Sam Miller, 111
@Ayisha
@drbill You dive to 200 feet - what at 175 at Italian Gardens

@KevinNM
Two years ago I visited "The blue hole"-- an event I will remember for ever - met a PADI instructor who informed me that there was no diving, no books , no instruction until PADi was created--Hope that was not you --sdm

 

[kbcvg]

Thanks to all, I will try soaking it, letting it dry, soaking it, and putting it on wet, and if it doesn't loosen up enough, THEN I'll wear it shopping. THAT should do it!

 

[Sam Miller III]

Suggest lubrication -- corn starch or baby shampoo

Old wet suits deteriorate like all things
A beginning a middle and an end -- your suit is in the later stages

a piece of Junk!

SDM

 

[60plus]

UV light, ozone and some common chemicals / hydrocarbons (possibly including baby oil) do degrade neoprene over a period of time and it just crumbles and falls to pieces. Soluble cutting oil as used in machine shops can cause this degradation to occur very quickly, it normal conditions it takes 15 years plus. In solid neoprenes such as flat roof sheeting this means the surface rubs off as black dust, but with porous neoprene the degradation occurs right through.
This degradation is in addition the the compression thinning caused by diving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I have a very thick commercial urchin harvesting suit that I had custom made by a company called M&B wetsuits in Long Beach, CA.
The suit is made from 1/2” Rubatex G321N neoprene, original USA made stuff. It’s a two piece beaver tail cut with attached hood. 1/2” thick means 1” of rubber on my chest and torso!! Rubatex went out of business in 2002 for good. Don at M&B bought up several pallets of material from Rubatex (which was in LA) in different thicknesses and stored it for years figuring be had a lifetime supply of the material. When I ordered my suit I wanted a 3/8” suit but he was out of that so I took the 1/2” material. He had the material already sitting for several years since it was super thick and there was not much demand for 1/2” since it was do damn thick and extremely hard to move in and break in. A few northern divers use it in freezing Norcal waters. So even when I got the suit it was probably a little stiffer than normal. I used the suit for several years. I used to have work out with weights just to be strong enough to use the suit. And even then, if I lapsed for any length of time I had to re-break in the suit to he able to function in it. Just recently I tried it on after several years of it hanging in the closet. I couldn’t even move in it it was so stiff. I almost wasn’t able to get out of the bottoms, and I could barely get my head out of the attached hood. I thought I might have to cut myself out but then I wouldn’t have been able to bend enough to cut it. There would be no way I could use it for diving, it would be unsafe. I’m afraid it’s probably time to lay it to rest. It’s a real shame since the suit is historic in regards to the material and has a lot of sentimental value.

 

[BlueTrin]

I have a very thick commercial urchin harvesting suit that I had custom made by a company called M&B wetsuits in Long Beach, CA.
The suit is made from 1/2” Rubatex G321N neoprene, original USA made stuff. It’s a two piece beaver tail cut with attached hood. 1/2” thick means 1” of rubber on my chest and torso!! Rubatex went out of business in 2002 for good. Don at M&B bought up several pallets of material from Rubatex (which was in LA) in different thicknesses and stored it for years figuring be had a lifetime supply of the material. When I ordered my suit I wanted a 3/8” suit but he was out of that so I took the 1/2” material. He had the material already sitting for several years since it was super thick and there was not much demand for 1/2” since it was do damn thick and extremely hard to move in and break in. A few northern divers use it in freezing Norcal waters. So even when I got the suit it was probably a little stiffer than normal. I used the suit for several years. I used to have work out with weights just to be strong enough to use the suit. And even then, if I lapsed for any length of time I had to re-break in the suit to he able to function in it. Just recently I tried it on after several years of it hanging in the closet. I couldn’t even move in it it was so stiff. I almost wasn’t able to get out of the bottoms, and I could barely get my head out of the attached hood. I thought I might have to cut myself out but then I wouldn’t have been able to bend enough to cut it. There would be no way I could use it for diving, it would be unsafe. I’m afraid it’s probably time to lay it to rest. It’s a real shame since the suit is historic in regards to the material and has a lot of sentimental value.

If you have a big house and a lot of space you can put it in a case for display ?

 

[Sam Miller III]

@BlueTrin
The 1/2 inch wet suits were common with the California commercial divers and I suspect a number of the NorCal recreational divers of the past -- Now possibly only a few even perhaps not one have survived the passage of time.

@Eric Sedletzky
Rubatex was originally an east coast company- I was unaware that they had moved to SoCal .

The original foam rubber sheeting was produced in great quantities by Kirkhoff Rubber Co located in Brea, SoCal.

They had a surplus of rubber sheeting left over from WW11 production. It was possible to purchase a sheet for one hard earned Yankee dollar a can of Black Magic glue for also a hard earned Yankee dollar and for 2 hard earned Yankee dollars and make a crude but effective wet suit.

One of the last WW !1 sheets was used by little ole suit maker Mark Kettenhoffen to make an experimental youth grow suit for son Sam Iv when he was about 5 years old -- he wore it until he out grew it and then the famed UW photographer Bill Mc Donald's son Dustin used it for another period of time.

When I was authoring a weekly dive column in the local paper I wrote about Kirkhoff Rubber Company who had ceased operation. I received a telephone call from a local lady - her father was the fonder of Kirkhoff

Now you know more than you wanted or needed to know about sheet rubber production in the US
(the rabble rousing colonies for Bluetrim)

It rained all night in Cencal - how about NorCal Eric ?

Sam

 

[happy-diver]

soak it in woolwash

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

@BlueTrin
The 1/2 inch wet suits were common with the California commercial divers and I suspect a number of the NorCal recreational divers of the past -- Now possibly only a few even perhaps not one have survived the passage of time.

@Eric Sedletzky
Rubatex was originally an east coast company- I was unaware that they had moved to SoCal .

The original foam rubber sheeting was produced in great quantities by Kirkhoff Rubber Co located in Brea, SoCal.

They had a surplus of rubber sheeting left over from WW11 production. It was possible to purchase a sheet for one hard earned Yankee dollar a can of Black Magic glue for also a hard earned Yankee dollar and for 2 hard earned Yankee dollars and make a crude but effective wet suit.

One of the last WW !1 sheets was used by little ole suit maker Mark Kettenhoffen to make an experimental youth grow suit for son Sam Iv when he was about 5 years old -- he wore it until he out grew it and then the famed UW photographer Bill Mc Donald's son Dustin used it for another period of time.

When I was authoring a weekly dive column in the local paper I wrote about Kirkhoff Rubber Company who had ceased operation. I received a telephone call from a local lady - her father was the fonder of Kirkhoff

Now you know more than you wanted or needed to know about sheet rubber production in the US
(the rabble rousing colonies for Bluetrim)

It rained all night in Cencal - how about NorCal Eric ?

Sam

Oh yes, been raining hard. Big swells, lot’s of drama. By the way, the design (or cut) of my suit had not changed since 1962.
I had a chance years ago to get a Kettenhoffen wetsuit but I decided to wait. He retired so I guess I blew it.
I might try an place in Oxnard or try JMJ next.

 

[drbill]

Sam,

A good wetsuit (like my ancient M&B) never dies!