Santi Flex Sole - Hole and abrasion problem

[buddhasummer]

Given the "United We Stand" alliance with Halcyon it's a shame they don't seem to have adopted Halcyons customer service, which by all accounts is exemplary. Oh well live and learn. Good luck with the repair.

 

[Germie]

I had more or less the same after 150 dives and on the heel of the flexsoles. That was from my Hollis F1 fins too, but they don't have any sharp cut. I decided to glue some extra neoprene over the hole (I used an old 3mm wetsuit and cut some small parts out). And now it is ok. No worn places anymore. The soles are now after 300 dives getting a little bit loose, but I glue them with 'Aquaglutene'.

 

[buddhasummer]

Using "light weight" boots that are attached to the suit seems counter intuitive given the cost and hassle of having them replaced.

 

[underH2Oman]

I use the flex sole. I have 146 dives on it and the boots do not show any wear like that.

 

[insomnia]

I think it very much depends on what fins you use and maybe some other factor like spring tension, etc. Anyway, I think boots should last more than 50 dives no matter what fins you use.

I am using DiveSystem Tech fins Tech Fin

 

[aaen]

My flex soles are approaching 4-5 yrs old and the neoprene is starting to degrade/weep a bit of water in. Two patch jobs this summer. One more and I'll replace the boots. However to do love the flexibility of the boots and the comfort of them.

The suit itself is bomb proof and still looks great. Well it's showing some age in a a few spots and from the dam Velcro on my counter lungs.




Regards

Steve

 

[Stoo]

My eMotion has about 70 dives on it, and I've been getting soaked for the past 25 or so. The TiZip is done which seems to be par for the course on a large percentage of the suits. On the upside, the neoprene standard boots I had put on are great.

I am waiting to hear if Santi will replace the TiZip with a YKK brass zipper. If not, I'll replace it with another TiZip and sell the suit. As a Viking Pro guy for the past 35 years of so, this whole getting wet in a DRYSUIT thing is foreign to me. Those suits are heavy, infexible beasts, but I NEVER get wet until they finally and suddenly die after 7-800 dives.

Having said that, the Canadian Halcyon rep has been extremely responsive and I am hopeful that SANTI backs him up... Talk is cheap, as they say.

 

[aaen]

Just had my flex soles replaced. Although the halcyon/santi rep was extremely helpful and wanting to go the extra mile, I also know him. I just couldn't justify the cost to have the boots replaced with original santi. The price I was quoted was close to 700 dollars cdn all in. The boots themselves were relatively cheap, but the install fee's from the factory service centre in Quebec were downright crazy. Not knocking their work but the installation fees are not inline with the rest of the industry. Anyways, I ended up going with bares tech boots, a lot nicer boot IMO then the flex soles for almost half the cost of the santi including shipping. I got this done from Scott at Custom dive services in Barrie, my usual drysuit service spot for when it's beyond my abilities to repair and could not be happier with the result.

I'm not bashing santi, just saying on a 4-5 yr old suit, I couldn't justify the cost of 700 dollars when the suit is probably not worth much more then a 1000 now. I'm just hoping to stretch out the suit for another year of hard diving, until I figure out what I'm going with next. Sadly, I just started to develop a few pin hole leaks in a couple of spots, so I'm guessing it's gonna be a year of patches on the espace now.


Regards

Steve

 

[Ouvea]

After reading this thread, I decided to examine the flexsoles on my Santi E. Motion. Sure enough, I caught a small area where the protective outer fabric had worn out and the neoprene degraded. It appears that the ankle strap is set fairly low on mine and is digging into the forward lateral area of my boot. It's a bit disappointing, as these boots are barely two years old. Used Aquaseal over the effected area and completed a 100 minute dive. Didn't have any leaks, but I'm going to keep an eye on this. I may ask my LDS to glue a protective kevlar/cordura patch over the repaired area.

O.

 

[aaen]

Just get yourself an old latex neck seal and some seal cement. Cut a piece to fit the area that is wearing in the flex soles. This can be your sacrificial layer. Scuff up the latex and the boot, then clean with rubbing alcohol or whatever. Make sure it's dry.

Apply two coats of seal cement to both the latex and the boot. Allow to get tacky btw each coat, then press them together firmly. Hold it or place a weight on it for an hr or two until it starts to really setup.

Grab a tube of aqua seal and a small putty knife or modeling clay knife. Then out a smooth layer of aqua seal around the outside of the latex. Lay the spot flat as aqual seal will run a bit. Go grab some talcum/baby powder whatever and sprinkle it on top of the aqual seal. This will stop it from being super tacky and stick to material should that happen. Let it sit for 12 hrs inspect your work, give yourself a pat on the back. You've just patched/repaired your flex sole.s and made them
More Durable.




Regards

Steve

---------- Post added December 28th, 2015 at 11:10 PM ----------

And yes this works. I did it on both the inside and outside of my boots as after 4-5 years of hard diving they were disintegrating. I had 9 months of wet feet before I decided to replace the boots.


Regards

Steve