List of Questions when buying used DRYSUIT

[Bubblesong]

I am looking at Used Drysuits online and I am starting a list of questions to ask up front;
1. Exact make and model
2. Year it was purchased
3. Still under warrenty and does the warrenty transfer
4. Recently serviced
5. Type of zipper installed
6. Type of pee valve installed
7. Type of foot, sock or boot
8. Condition, any leaks, repairs, worn spots, fades, cracking
9. Type of neck and wrist seals installed and condition
10. Comes with fleece underwear?
11. Pockets installed
12. Repair kit?
Can anyone add to this list?
Thank you!

 

[boulderjohn]

The item that leaps out at me is the suit material. That is probably the biggest difference between suits.

I am sure you already understand that the odds of you finding your ideal in every one of those items are about nil. I suggest you go down that list and make make a decision of what characteristics you find most desirable, then list what you would also accept. Identify any deal breakers--what feature MUST you have in order to make the buy? What would be unacceptable?

Here is an example of one that is a deal breaker for me--easily replaceable neck and wrist seals. I( once traveled hundreds of miles with some students to a dive site for a long weekend of dive instruction. The students were staying in motels, and they had taken off at least one day of work for the trip. Getting ready for the first dive, one of the students tore his neck seal. That was it. His suit would have to be sent to a repair center for replacement. He was incredibly lucky in that I had thrown my spare suit in the van for the trip, and he was my size, otherwise he would have been totally screwed. In contrast, I was once putting on my suit for a boat dive and tore a wrist seal. My buddy and I were scheduled to be the first of three groups in the water. I had to take the top half of the suit off and replace the seal, and as a result we were the third group to splash instead of the first.

You mention fleece underwear--is that a deal breaker? There are other kinds of underwear.

 

[Marie13]

What water were dives in - fresh or salt?

Look closely at knees, elbows, and butt for wear.

 

[lexvil]

Why used?
http://seaskin.co.uk/
I have the nova which was made to order, with the exchange rate they are hard to beat. It took about 6 weeks from order to delivery.

 

[stuartv]

Dimensions (height, weight, etc..) of the current owner and how it fits them?

Comes with inflator hose?

Last service date of inflator?

Last service date of exhaust?

Modifications from factory stock and who did them? (e.g. I just had the sleeves lengthened on one of my suits, done by DRiS)

 

[BoltSnap]

Here is an example of one that is a deal breaker for me--easily replaceable neck and wrist seals. I( once traveled hundreds of miles with some students to a dive site for a long weekend of dive instruction. The students were staying in motels, and they had taken off at least one day of work for the trip. Getting ready for the first dive, one of the students tore his neck seal. That was it. His suit would have to be sent to a repair center for replacement. He was incredibly lucky in that I had thrown my spare suit in the van for the trip, and he was my size, otherwise he would have been totally screwed. In contrast, I was once putting on my suit for a boat dive and tore a wrist seal. My buddy and I were scheduled to be the first of three groups in the water. I had to take the top half of the suit off and replace the seal, and as a result we were the third group to splash instead of the first.

Wouldn't neoprene seals be the most cost effective best solution in this scenario? the user replaceable seals are great but they are very expensive, aren't they?

 

[stuartv]

Wouldn't neoprene seals be the most cost effective best solution in this scenario? the user replaceable seals are great but they are very expensive, aren't they?

Neoprene seals can tear, too. And if you do tear one, you CAN potentially repair it yourself, with some Aquaseal, but you'll likely be done diving for the day.

The replacement silicone seals for my neck and wrists are cheap from Seaskin. I think around $20 for a neck and less for a pair of wrists. Replacement latex seals are even cheaper. And any of them can literally be changed in minutes, on a boat, using only one tool for the neck and no tools for the wrists.

It is my understanding that it's only the ZipSeal replacement seals that are really expensive.

EDIT: I have been meaning to order some spare seals, so I just did. A Si Tech silicone neck and pair of Si Tech silicone wrist seals. USD$46, including shipping from the UK to the USA.

I'll take that over neoprene seals any day. The only cost that hurts is the cost of the neck system and wrist rings. But, that's a one-time expense (and still not THAT bad).

 

[Lorenzoid]

I had started looking at used suits for sale and gave up and bought a new suit because I had a heck of a time getting sellers to answer questions as specific as those on your list. I got a lot of "I don't know," "I don't remember," "looks like it might be ...," "you still interested in the suit or not?" I wish you better luck than I had.

 

[stuartv]

I bought my main drysuit used, from someone here on SB. He was good about answering my questions.

But, the key to the deal was that we both agreed it would probably fit. Then, he agreed to sell it to me, send it, let me try it on, and if it didn't actually fit, he would take it back and give me a refund less the amount he spent on shipping.

So, if it didn't fit, I would be out the cost of shipping in both directions. He would be out the time it took. From my perspective, it was worth the risk, given the price he was offering it for (a practically new suit for less than half the price of that suit from any online vendor).

Fortunately, it did fit.

 

[boulderjohn]

According to Jill Heinerth, many women have trouble with neoprene neck seals because they are not as stretchy as other kinds. The seals need to stretch far enough to get around a large head with lots of hair and then spring back to fit around a thinner neck.