Need to repair my drysuit ASAP

[Ryan Nelson]

Tore the neck seal on my neoprene drysuit today. I was looking into repairing it myself and came across a few questions

1. Should I use neoprene cement or an Aqua Seal product? This is a temporary fix.

2. The tear is about 3 inches but on the part of the seal closest to the mating of the seal. It won't effect the seal as it won't be contacting the skin. Should I sew the tear then glue it? Keep in mind this is a temporary repair but I need it to last 2 dives.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Brandon]

Sandwich the tear between two Iron Mend patches + Aquaseal. Clamp and let dry. I've done that before and it got me through the week until I could send the suit in for repair.

I can't sew worth a damn, but if I could... sewing it + a layer of Aquaseal over the top to seal it would probably be even stronger.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

Sew the seam. This will take any strain off of it. Aquaseal inside and outside of seam. It will be fine.

 

[KevinNM]

When you sent it in consider having them install replaceable seals unless you are in love with neoprene seals. I love the replaceable silicon seals I got on my Bare, and they will also work with latex.

 

[antattack]

Some other field repairs for your consideration:
If the tear is not at the edge of the seal, then simply use duct tape inside and out. I've done this when some sunscreen got on a neck seal and ate a hole in the bellows of the neck. Another thing that will fix small holes is the material from a condom catheter. The glue portion of one of the latex condoms makes a perfect patch in a pinch.

If the tear is on the outside edge of a wrist or neck seal, then Duct Tape will save you for one dive. When you take off your gear, your seal will be worse off. I did manage to get two dives on a boat trip with a busted wrist seal using duct tape- I simply didn't take off the dry suit during my surface interval.

Just curious, has anyone tried a bicycle inner tube repair kit?

 

[Ryan Nelson]

Thanks for the help!

 

[lowviz]

...//... Just curious, has anyone tried a bicycle inner tube repair kit?

Yes, for latex only. Works extremely well, especially for barnacle cuts. See pic.

The OP is dealing with Neoprene, forget it. Sew then Aquaseal inside and out.

 

[muddiver]

Glue the edges following the instructions on the container. Then sew with dental floss starting at the outside edge working in. Make sure to stick far enough out to dig into good material or it will just rip again.