Drysuit Neck & Wrist Seals

[DavidEpstein_19053]

I just received my Bare XCD2, which I ordered over the internet. The neck and wrist seals are way too tight. When I called the dealer, he said I should stretch them, which did not work. I guess my next option is trimming them; however, the wrist seals are not conical. Any thoughts?

 

[scubamate]

David,

Put a coffee can in the neck seal and soda (or beer) cans in the wrist seals and let it set for a couple of days. With the latex seals, it won't stretch but they will relax a little. Once you've done this, leave the can in the seals and trim no more tham 1/8 of an inch at a time trying it on after each trimming. keep the cut smooth so there is no possibility of the seal tearing when stretched over your head or hand.

Be careful you don't trim too much, replacement can be expensive.

 

[ScubaFreak]

What kind of seals are they David?

Are they latex or neoprene? the best way to stretch is to get a foot ball and stretch it very very slightly, by leaving the football in place in the neck seal.

 

[hex92]

If the wrist seals on the XCD2 are sized the same way as on the Nex-gen you may need to get new seals. There are 3 sizes of wrist seals S, M, L. THe seals that you get are based on the size of the suit. The larger the suit the larger the seals. I had the opposite problem as you. My seals were too large - I have an XLT suit - but I have medium wrists,

 

[jonnythan]

I hate the bottle style wrist seals, because there's no good way to make them not as tight.

I trimmed the narrow part down to about 1/2" on my Bare suit and that seems to work OK... but I've only done a couple of dives without drygloves, so I'm not sure how well they seal.

 

[bcsean]

I just sucked it up and dealt with it. Luckily seals are almost due for replacement and I'm going cone style wrist seals this time. Never been a fan of the bell seal. I do know of a number of people who have trimmed them sucessfully though.

 

[DavidEpstein_19053]

What kind of seals are they David?

Are they latex or neoprene? the best way to stretch is to get a foot ball and stretch it very very slightly, by leaving the football in place in the neck seal.

They are latex seals. I tried stretching them, to no avail. The problem with the wrist seals are that they are not tapered - they're just cylindrical.