Is this normal? New wetsuit with 7 dives tearing at the collar

[marginwalker]

I bought an Aqualung 7mm Aquaflex wetsuit from my LDS a few months ago. It fits great and is very comfortable. I really like this suit. But after my 7th dive in it last weekend I noticed it has about a 3/4" long rip in the neoprene at the middle of the collar. I took it back to the shop and the owner shrugged his shoulders and told me I should repair it with neoprene cement. He said it was from me pulling at the collar, and it's not uncommon/remarkable after such limited use. Is that normal? Should I take his word and just fix it? Or contact another dealer or the manufacturer directly? Thanks for any advice

 

[Stoo]

Of course it's not "normal" and it's pretty hard to take a wetsuit off without pulling on it. Better suits will typically have a strip of nylon along the edge to prevent that kind of damage. By comparison, my Pinnacle Aquatics 3mm is perhaps 7 years old and has about 200 dives on it (I only wear it on trips) and it's just fine.

Having said that, it's easily repaired with a little neoprene cement. You'll have a scar in your suit, it'll be as good as knew, other than cosmetically.

 

[marginwalker]

Thanks, Stoo! That was sorta how I was seeing it, and I appreciate your reply.

 

[SixtyFeetUnder]

The warranty term is 1 year for materials and workmanship. I‘m a new scuba diver but have put my wetsuits for other sports through a ton of cycles (taking on and off) with no such defects.

Warranty Policy | Official Aqualung Diving Gear - Aqualung

Aqualung

us.aqualung.com

If it were me, I would contact the mfg directly, and find a new dive shop.

 

[Hoyden]

I would not accept that a product used as designed failed after 7 uses. Aqualung should replace this suit. Either contact AquaLung directly or try to find another Aqualung dealer in your area. That new shop that you find should become your LDS.

The fact that it is repairable should not factor into AquaLung's need to replace it. I deal with wetsuit neck issues regularly and no neck repair will be as comfortable as an intact neck. If it were an older suit and no longer covered by warranty, I might try to trim that area of the neck (with very sharp scissors or an exacto knife). We have had some luck with this type of repair. If you always wear a hood with your 7mm, you may not notice the aquaseal repair, but if you don't wear a hood, you may find that the aquaseal repair irritates your neck.

For future use, you may want to be more careful when removing the your wetsuit. Looking at the location of the tear seems to indicate that you may have used your hand on the neck to pull the torso of the wetsuit down. Instead, you can grab the outside of the shoulder area to start pulling down the torso.

YMMV,

Jackie

 

[Jake 10]

Try and contact Aqualung directly with a copy of your receipt to demonstrate the short time you have had it in your possession. Request a refund or replacement.

 

[marginwalker]

Thanks to all for the feedback. As a new diver I was a unsure of how "normal" this might be. Coming from other sports with expensive, fancy equipment, my experience has been that if something was failing in this way due to limited, normal use that it would be a warranty claim.
I've taken the advice above and contacted Aqualung and they apologized for the dismissiveness of my LDS and assured me they would stand behind their product. I am waiting for them to give me a claim # and instructions for returning the old suit. Supposedly they have one replacement in my size currently in stock, so I've got my fingers crossed on getting it soon.

 

[Jake 10]

Thanks to all for the feedback. As a new diver I was a unsure of how "normal" this might be. Coming from other sports with expensive, fancy equipment, my experience has been that if something was failing in this way due to limited, normal use that it would be a warranty claim.
I've taken the advice above and contacted Aqualung and they apologized for the dismissiveness of my LDS and assured me they would stand behind their product. I am waiting for them to give me a claim # and instructions for returning the old suit. Supposedly they have one replacement in my size currently in stock, so I've got my fingers crossed on getting it

Excellent, good call

 

[marginwalker]

UPDATE (happy ending): I received my new replacement suit today. The rep at Aqualung had originally told me they had it in stock, but after I took the damaged suit back to my LDS, the story changed to not-in-stock and not available until sometime in Feb-March. So I was stoked to get a call from my LDS today and dropped what I was doing to head over to pick it up. The shop owner told me he was surprised it was here already as Aqualung is still not shipping them new suits for sale.
In any case, I am stoked to have it and now looking for the next chance to plan some cold water dives. And even though I was without this suit for 3 months, I didn't miss any dives. I had been diving in Mexico in a 3mm in January, and I haven't had the chance to plan any dives local since I got home.

 

[wnissen]

UPDATE (happy ending): I received my new replacement suit today. The rep at Aqualung had originally told me they had it in stock, but after I took the damaged suit back to my LDS, the story changed to not-in-stock and not available until sometime in Feb-March. So I was stoked to get a call from my LDS today and dropped what I was doing to head over to pick it up. The shop owner told me he was surprised it was here already as Aqualung is still not shipping them new suits for sale.
In any case, I am stoked to have it and now looking for the next chance to plan some cold water dives. And even though I was without this suit for 3 months, I didn't miss any dives. I had been diving in Mexico in a 3mm in January, and I haven't had the chance to plan any dives local since I got home.

Glad you didn't miss any dives. That does seem like a long time for a warranty replacement, though. I sent back a $100 water filter that failed after 50 liters and the company blamed me and returned it, still basically broken, after a coupla months. (My last purchase from you, Platypus / Cascade Designs). Obviously a warranty replacement isn't going to be as fast as a purchase, but it shouldn't take most of a season, either, especially at Aqualung's profit margins.

I am very happy with my Aqualung SolaFX wetsuit, but it also didn't tear the first few dives! I do grab it right in the center of the integrated hood to pull it up. That area was also the area that Otter Bay Wetsuits used to add some girth to the neck, and it isn't irritating (it's sealed on the inside, to cover the exposed stitching). So if anyone has a similar situation and chooses to repair it, they should be good.