Just bought my first Dry Suit - wondering if I made a mistake

[JackOfDiamonds]

Hey all,

I have recently paid for my new dry suit by ScubaForce and im waiting its arrival in about 8 weeks.

I was just wondering if i made a mistake regarding the seals of the suit as i shall explain -
(I know this is sort of pointless as i should have asked before purchasing the suit , im just trying to figure out if that was a mistake on my part or an actual good thing to do)

As the seller explained to me , when the time comes to replace the seals on the suit it will have to be shipped back to ScubaForce for "service" as we do not have a reliable place to do it around here, an expensive and time consuming process.

Which is why he recommended the suit to be tailored with removable seals that just twist on / off for easy replacement at home with out needing to ship anything or wait forever to get it back.
(Which to me with little to no knowledge about dry suits sounded like a really good idea.)

I paid just over 1,400$ for the suit and around 600$ for the seals which are Silicone, totaling in just over 2,000$.

Basically what im wondering is - were the upgraded removable seals worth it ?After how long do you need to replace the seals ? did i really save myself a hassle or was it a stupid beginners mistake?


This is my first dry suit so i was pretty excited when i went to the store to get my measurements taken and pay for it that i didint think much of anything else. lesson learned.

Super excited to get my suit , should be here just in time for winter!

 

[lexvil]

Your only mistake is in the supplier, the seals should not add $600 to the suit, more like $200, less if you had gone Seaskin which would likely be in your hands in 6 weeks. I don’t know if they use something like “zip” seals which have some nice features like no stiff rings but suffer greatly in the cost department.

 

[rhwestfall]

Changeable is never a bad idea. If you tear one you are able to just swap and go...

 

[mnscuber]

User-replaceable seals are typically a good idea. Most people diving in my area have them or wish they did. They are especially relevant to you if, as you say, no one can reliably replace seals nearby.

A fellow diver just tore a seal on my last outing. Unfortunately for him, he had the wrong type of replacement seal along.

What might make them less desirable to someone is if they irritate you somehow or they are an inferior/problematic brand/model. I have DUI zip seals that some people don’t seem to like, but they’re working well for me.

You probably want to buy and extra set of seals for your gear bag so you can swap out damaged seals on site.

What kind of replaceable seals did you get?

I looked at Scuba Force suits online - they look nice. I hope it all works out for you. Happy diving.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

User-replaceable seals are typically a good idea. Most people diving in my area have them or wish they did. They are especially relevant to you if, as you say, no one can reliably replace seals nearby.

A fellow diver just tore a seal on my last outing. Unfortunately for him, he had the wrong type of replacement seal along.

What might make them less desirable to someone is if they irritate you somehow or they are an inferior/problematic brand/model. I have DUI zip seals that some people don’t seem to like, but they’re working well for me.

You probably want to buy and extra set of seals for your gear bag so you can swap out damaged seals on site.

What kind of replaceable seals did you get?

I looked at Scuba Force suits online - they look nice. I hope it all works out for you. Happy diving.

I got the Si Tech oval rings with SiFlex seals - I also uploaded a picture of the order summary

.

He let me try on the seals on his suit and it didint irritate me or anything of the sort so im happy about that.

And you're right, i haven't even thought about getting a pair of extra seals . perhaps it was a good expense after all .

Appreciate your help.

Your only mistake is in the supplier, the seals should not add $600 to the suit, more like $200, less if you had gone Seaskin which would likely be in your hands in 6 weeks. I don’t know if they use something like “zip” seals which have some nice features like no stiff rings but suffer greatly in the cost department.

Seaskin dont have an official distributor in my area, i focused on the brands that do.

My suit wont have stiff rings , its part of the upgraded seals .

The price for the upgrade of the seals includes the stitching of the suit and the first set of seals.

 

[lexvil]

I got the Si Tech oval rings with SiFlex seals - I also uploaded a picture of the order summary

.

He let me try on the seals on his suit and it didint irritate me or anything of the sort so im happy about that.

And you're right, i haven't even thought about getting a pair of extra seals . perhaps it was a good expense after all .

Appreciate your help.



Seaskin dont have an official distributor in my area, i focused on the brands that do.

My suit wont have stiff rings , its part of the upgraded seals .

The price for the upgrade of the seals includes the stitching of the suit and the first set of seals.

They don’t have distributors, which is why they cost less than 1/2 of most drysuits, there is only the cost of the part up grade since they build the suit for you not the rack. Look at their site and total up the cost, total would probably come in well below 1k.

Edit, link Step 3: Choose your seal, neck and wrist system options (Nova) - Seaskin Custom Diving Suits

Total cost, including silicone seals for neck and wrist is about $150 USD, pretty good exchange rate right now.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Where do you plan to do drysuit diving? Just curious--not really related to your question. Well, maybe. By enabling yourself to use dry gloves, you can dive in some really cold water. I have used my drysuit in both warm water (Red Sea) and cold water (Canada). The ring system really provides versatility.

 

[Fabiandelete]

What Lexvil said is true. Replacable seals should in no way cost 600. I got my seaskin yesterday and I paid in the region of €150 for a quick neck (newer version of your neck tite) and the ovals. I see similar prices for the sets in online stores (netherlands).

The way I see it is that you got overpriced outdated stuff.

But either way, silicone seals are awesome. It also makes it easier to install drygloves later on (especially with the oval).

 

[Sean Walberg]

I added roughly the same parts to my drysuit (you have the next model of the neck ring) and did the work myself. Was a little over $300US. If you go to Dive Right in Scuba and get them to install it, it'll cost you between $450 and $550 depending on if you take advantage of package deals or not. So depending on your local costs on things, you possibly paid a bit more than market, but not a lot. And it's a good system -- you'll like it.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

You made the right choice for replaceable seals. I went with neoprene seals for my current drysuit because I hated having the seals fail on me. If I ever go back to trilam, I'll get a system like you got.