Crotch Reinforcement?.... Re: Drysuit ;)

[mulla]

Hi All,

I've had roughly 50 odd dives in my Santi E.Space drysuit. I've noticed small parts of the crotch area appear to be lighter colour than the rest of the suit. The fabric is still good, but is showing wear through colour loss. I suspect this is due to crotch wear from the strap?

I've only recently moved to a tec harness BC with a neoprene wrapped strap so I do not think it's from the new BC (less than 10 dives in the new BC). The only cause would be from the factory strap that holds the telescopic torso down which I believe is pretty soft already.

Searched around the forum and saw a few people having similar issues with other brands of drysuits.

Anyone has similar issue with the Santi? Is this something to be concerned or should I wait and see? I was thinking if this is going to develop a leak, I'd rather spend the $ now and get it reinforced before it becomes a leaky problem! Would a reputable drysuit repairer be able to perform an aftermarket reinforcement in the crotch area?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[ScubaAl]

I had a leak in my DUI 450 earlier this month. I thought it was the pee-valve, stopped by Gamble Scuba as I was in the area diving. Turned out the crotch strap from my backplate had wore a hole. Steve Gamble told me the webbing was like a hacksaw and quickly would cut into the suit material.
He made my up a neoprene sleeve to slide over the strap.
Only done a few dives with it so far but is holding up. Steve also mention a piece of material he called something like a "shamrock" That could be sewn to the suit for additional protection. But I got the feeling that the neoprene sleeve should be all that I need.

Al

 

[Ulfhedinn]

Watching thread