Question Drysuit leaking when surface swimming, any idea?

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as someone already said, there is only one way to know for sure......a leak test.

i am still trying to figure out why anyone would do a half hr surface swim. lol

could be any number of things:
a seam (sad if it is a new suit)
neck seal (especially if you were moving your head a lot during that long swim)
wrist seals (were you using your hands to swim at all?)
zipper (again, sad if it is new - was it zipper all the way closed and docked properly?)
loose exhaust valve (could easily happen on a new suit)
The part about quick movement is right on. I was wanting to cool off before getting in to my bc an start diving. Splashing into small waves head first before a dive in a dry suit was a foolish thing I found out. Mosy into water to cool off, better idea. The folding attached drysuit boots inside out I am quite hesitant thinking it could compromise seams. Finding leaks on the outside of the suit and transposing the position to inside to patch inside the suit worked for a while till too many leaks all showed up at once. My Peet brand boot wader dryer I use to dry the inside of attached boots. I don't usually need to dry much down at boots and almost never fully wash inside the suit. But I have used the good stuff made to clean drysuits and wetsuits, a shampoo and separate a deodorizer with good microbes and cold water. Heat will kill the microbes and manufacturer warns not to use but cold water and drip dry. My wetsuit Can drop dry, but not the interior of my dry suit down to the attached boots.
 
as someone already said, there is only one way to know for sure......a leak test.

i am still trying to figure out why anyone would do a half hr surface swim. lol

could be any number of things:
a seam (sad if it is a new suit)
neck seal (especially if you were moving your head a lot during that long swim)
wrist seals (were you using your hands to swim at all?)
zipper (again, sad if it is new - was it zipper all the way closed and docked properly?)
loose exhaust valve (could easily happen on a new suit)
Just another regular shore dive in SoCal. I've done even longer surface swims (in tropical waters though) to reach certain dive spots.
 
Just another regular shore dive in SoCal. I've done even longer surface swims (in tropical waters though) to reach certain dive spots.

I see a DPV in your future 🤣🤣
 
If your feet are getting the most wet, both of them . . . it seems odd that both boots would have leaks. I'm thinking that maybe you were swimming and as you looked around and moved your head, water got in the neck seal. If a leak test reveals nada, maybe the neck seal is a bit loose or you didn't get it tucked under quite right.
 
Have been thinking about buying a DPV for a while. Logistics seems like a nightmare. Shore diving with doubles and one deco stage plus a GoPro is already making me a Christmas tree.
I hesitated in saying how I have in the past done surface swim. If swimming on your back and kicking, no arm movement, but turning around to look occasionally to see what your headed toward maybe less leaking. Using snorkel only when not on back makes breathing easier too. The concern is boats and other things needing to be aware of. Maybe use mirrors? I should just add that the soapy water on outside of puffed drysuit has always shown leaks for me. What is not going to probably ever show a leak by viewing a puffed suit is under even like a foot of water. Water may be going in as the water pressure is more than the air pressure in the suit. Aquaseal FD with the accelerator I used after roughing up the inside of the suit where I transposed markings. Transposing marking by touching inside and outside the suit is fairly good. A 3 inch diameter area of the stuff gets the leak.
 
Have been thinking about buying a DPV for a while. Logistics seems like a nightmare. Shore diving with doubles and one deco stage plus a GoPro is already making me a Christmas tree.
Well.. maybe just need multiple trips. I would be thinking pretty hard about a dpv on my next lengthy surface swim.

For clarity I do not own a dpv, but if I did 30 min surface swims you can bet my fat ass would, lol
 
Well.. maybe just need multiple trips. I would be thinking pretty hard about a dpv on my next lengthy surface swim.

For clarity I do not own a dpv, but if I did 30 min surface swims you can bet my fat ass would, lol
Or carry more air and do the trip below the surface.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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