Is my wetsuit end of life?

[TwoTankers]

My 7mm wetsuit has ripped significantly and I’m trying to decide whether it’s just time for a new one or repair.

I measured the thickness of their neoprene where the rip is and it’s about 4mm, the suit is 2 years about , about 130 dives, average max depth 15m.

It seems to be that’s quite a lot of compression for a wetsuit that age, the stats I get online are that a suit should last 4+ years and a couple of hundred dives at least.

Of course, I didn’t measure the thickness of the neoprene when the suit was new, is a 7mm suit actually 7mm thick, or is like a quarter pounder - precooking weight!? If so, is this normal compression?

I’ve definitely been the cold more the last few months, so I’m inclined to think the suit has compressed.

Any thoughts?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the neoprene crushed down to 4 mm over time. Each time you take a wetsuit down to depth and compress it, it fails to return 100% to the thickness that it was before the dive. So on the next dive you’re starting with a suit that is not as thick as the previous dive and so on. Over time wetsuits smash out and can also get stiffer (less gas bubbles), and they can form creases that don’t re-swell and come out. They also shrink dimensionally because the gas bubbles get forced out and that’s what keeps the neoprene at it’s size, not only the thickness but it will shink sideways too. People think they are getting fatter but it’s not them, it’s the suit.

It also depends on the quality of the material. There are many makers of neoprene sheet and there are many grades and densities of neoprene. It’s actually staggering when you begin to learn just how many types of neoprene there are. I’ve ordered several custom suits and the range of materials I could spec the suit out of was impressive.
Rubatex was the original US manufacturer of neoprene and the Meistral brothers of Body Glove were the first to make a wetsuit. Rubatex was pure rubber and was filled with nitrogen gas. It was dense and very crush resistant. It also bounced back fully after each dive and took a long time to wear out. The problem was it was stiff and difficult to move in. I had a 1/2” Rubatex two piece Commercial suit that took me months to break in. It was a bear to use, but it was very warm diving all day in 48 degree water.
Now days they blend a lot of nylon into the neoprene to make it more stretchy and comfortable but it also crushes out easier and wears out quickly if taken too deep. Some cheap suits will crush out in one dive and be junk if you take them too deep. The spongier they are the worse they are.
You have to spend money to get a good suit made out of decent material.
Or you can order a custom suit and spec some top quality denser crush resistant material.
The trade off will be flexibility but you can’t have both. But the plus is they fit perfect to you so you’re not squeezing in to some parts and floating with slack in other parts.

 

[SlugLife]

If the wetsuit is usable to you, and you don't mind gluing or patching it, IMO, it's not really end of life. Perhaps it's no longer as effective as a 7mm, or as pretty as a new one. The main purpose of a wetsuit is to keep you warm, and secondarily it helps protect from some bumps, scrapes, cuts, and wildlife. So, if it does the job, it does the job.

It's not like a BCD with a hole in the bladder, or where DIY repairs could be potentially dangerous.

 

[TwoTankers]

That's interesting, I thought neoprene is neoprene, I didn't know there's such variation.

FWIW, I popped in the local dive shop and checked out the same model wetsuit, the neoprene is definitely thicker than mine, so I think a new one is one the cards. Its a cheaper wetsuit, so probably explains why it didn't last longer.

I'll hang on to my old one as a spare/middle-of-summer wetsuit.

 

[macado]

The TL;DR is they don't make wetsuits like they used to. I barely get 2 years out of a 7mm wetsuit or hood before the neoprene is sufficiently crushed and thinner; it is very apparent if you're doing a good amount of 30m (100ft)+ diving.

I do think some brand suits may use better quality neoprene and possibly resist compression a bit but I personally find myself replacing wetsuits every ~18-24 months or so when they get more than ~150-200 dives on them.

Unrelated but it is amazing how many people I notice that are diving with hoods that are ~5-10 years old and don't realize that they're basically 3-4mm at this point.