Buying a used Oneill Drysuit, what do I need to know?

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

Hey all,
Found a guy in my area selling an Oneill drysuit with the wrist, ankle, and neck gaskets for $70. This seems to be a very good deal, and while I don't necessarily need a drysuit, one would certainly extend my dive season quite a bit. He says it's leak free, but obviously I don't know that for sure.

So, my questions are:

What red flags should I look for?
How do I know if I'm getting a good suit or a piece of junk?
Is the Oneill Drysuit even good to start with?
How fixable is it if it does have a leak?
Should I get a drysuit course before using it?
I've been told by an older diver that I consider something of a mentor that down to 30-40 feet, you don't need air in your drysuit. That being said, he dives a neopreme drysuit, and says that pinches less than a trilaminar one. So, thoughts on that?

Thanks in advance, can't wait to hear your advice

Edit: I think it's an O'Neill boost

 

[Endler's]

This suit is not for diving...

 

[Bigbella]

This suit is not for diving...

O’Neill once made a line of great neoprene scuba dry suits decades ago, originating with the Super-suit — not those flimsy, current surf offerings.

The problem for the OP is how degraded that rubber has become, over thirty or more years — if that’s what he or she was talking about.

Here’s a shot of the late-great meaty, beefy, big and bouncy Jack . . .

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@Endler's Well I'll be jiggered. It's listed on Amazon under Sports>Water Sports>Diving and Snorkeling>Diving Suits>Drysuits, and that disclaimer isn't anywhere on amazon's page. That feels like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[broncobowsher]

@Endler's Well I'll be jiggered. It's listed on Amazon under Sports>Water Sports>Diving and Snorkeling>Diving Suits>Drysuits, and that disclaimer isn't anywhere on amazon's page. That feels like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

You are missing a key part. Look as the seller. Pretty sure it is NOT amazon. They are just the broker for the transaction. The listing is likely built by the seller, not Amazon as well.

I recently got a racing helmet off Amazon. But of a specialty item. So go to the manufacturer's website, get the real deal on the info, then back to Amazon to broker the deal. That's how you have to play the game.

 

[JuLe]

Two things.
First, it is NOT a suit for diving. It does not have a hose connection or a dump walve. The manufacturers page and the few retail webstores all state that it is not for diving, but for sports on and above the surface. Using this for diving is just a very very bad idea, so just don't.
Second, when some used item is sold for 1/5 to 1/10 of the price of a new item, it sounds a bit TOO cheap to my taste. With a very low price I get the feeling that either the original product is not very good, the item for sale is in bad condition or the whole sale is a scam.
(This from my own limited experience dealing with a pretty active used scuba gear market here on our side of that big puddle called the Atlantic.)

 

[happy-diver]

What red flags should I look for?

Having done zero research buying something you know nothing about nor even what it looks like

I've been told by an older diver that I consider something of a mentor that down to 30-40 feet, you don't need air in your drysuit. That being said, he dives a neopreme drysuit, and says that pinches less than a trilaminar one. So, thoughts on that?

Whether you need air or not, your suit must always be hooked up to air and so for your mentor to suggest
what they've suggested suggests to me they need a mentor with a less complacent far safer diving attitude

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

Having done zero research buying something you know nothing about nor even what it looks like




Whether you need air or not, your suit must always be hooked up to air and so for your mentor to suggest
what they've suggested suggests to me they need a mentor with a less complacent far safer diving attitude

Y'know, you're right. I'd be idiotic to buy the thing without doing any research on it. I should make a forum post and see if anyone knows anything about it!

Like, honestly dude, I can't figure out if you're a troll, if you've got some kinda issue, or if you're just pissed off at 90% of everybody on here, but the whole point of this post was to learn more about the suit, and from this post I learned it's not useable for diving, therefore it seems I have in fact done my due dilligence and achieved the desired result.

And as for hooking your suit up to air, my mentor does have an inflator hose on his suit, he just rarely ever uses it. Me not knowing a lot about drysuits, I though perhaps you could use one in shallow dives without an inflator hose, but again, being aware I know very little about drysuits, I went to ask some people who know more, therefore spawning this entire post and acquiring me exactly that information from people who don't feel a need to compulsively insult everyone they interact with.

 

[broncobowsher]

Y'know, you're right. I'd be idiotic to buy the thing without doing any research on it. I should make a forum post and see if anyone knows anything about it!

Like, honestly dude, I can't figure out if you're a troll, if you've got some kinda issue, or if you're just pissed off at 90% of everybody on here, but the whole point of this post was to learn more about the suit, and from this post I learned it's not useable for diving, therefore it seems I have in fact done my due dilligence and achieved the desired result.

And as for hooking your suit up to air, my mentor does have an inflator hose on his suit, he just rarely ever uses it. Me not knowing a lot about drysuits, I though perhaps you could use one in shallow dives without an inflator hose, but again, being aware I know very little about drysuits, I went to ask some people who know more, therefore spawning this entire post and acquiring me exactly that information from people who don't feel a need to compulsively insult everyone they interact with.

He is like that with everyone, not just you.

You did it right, asked before getting.
Stuff like this happens in other hobbies as well. Auto racing, people go buy a racing suit that is a good deal. Trouble is they just got a karting suit that lacks the SFI label needed for auto racing. Then they have to go guy the right one. Seen that before as well. At least you caught it before buying the wrong thing.

FYI, I have one of those surface suits. Got it dirt cheap and used it to practice replacing seals. For that, it did good. If it ever starts cooling off I need to sell it to a paddle boarder or something like that.

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@broncobowsher Honestly, might be worth buying the thing in the event my old man ever asks me to drive the jet ski to boat landing in december again. That was a miserable, cold half hour ride.