Question Sew on wetsuit pocket

[Doctor Rig]

I’ve got this Dive Rite strap on pocket which I dislike….. to many dangling straps & not secure. I’d like to attach it to a 1.5mm Henderson wetsuit and thinking about hand seeing it on, maybe with a backer on backside.

Anybody done this before and have some suggestions or warnings?

PS Like the pocket, not the straps

 

[Boarderguy]

Loads of folks here have successfully glued pockets onto both wet and dry suits. I'd be concerned with your stitching giving a fail point where the wetsuit material may end up tearing.

 

[Jcp2]

I glued on recycled drysuit pockets onto my wetsuit successfully. I wore my wetsuit to stretch out the leg appropriately. Then I put the pocket where I wanted it and marked the outline with a marker. Then I took off the wetsuit and stretched the leg over an ironing board to make the marks match the pocket again. Then I applied many layers of neoprene cement to the wetsuit, but just adding the inside vertical lines of the marked position (both sides, about 10 layers with drying in between). I also applied 3 layers of neoprene cement to the vertical sides of the back of the pocket. I stuck the two together and piled all my soft weights on top of the pocket with a sheet of parchment paper in between.

Gluing only the vertical edges of the pocket lets the neoprene of the suit stretch and contract easily without affecting the pocket, which is not stretchy. The central space between the pocket and the wetsuit goes away when it’s worn.

 

[Doctor Rig]

I glued on recycled drysuit pockets onto my wetsuit successfully.

@Jcp2 What did the backside of your pocket look like? Anything like my DR strap on pocket below (with the strapping removed) which is not neoprene.

Another blended approach might be sewing on a neoprene material to the pocket and then glueing that material to the suit. Any better????

This seems to be a redundant approach, but is it significantly better?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Unless the pocket has a neoprene back, don't try it. The stitching will cause the suit to fail. In order for a pocket to be properly attached to a suit, it needs to be able to stretch with the suit. Stitching it to neoprene is going result in the same thing. The neoprene stretches with the suit and the stitching will fail.
I've glued pockets to numerous suits. XS Scuba makes a pocket with a neoprene back and it's made to be glued on using the process that was somewhat referenced in an earlier post.
You put the suit on and lay the pocket against it.
Using tailors chalk or even a light soft colored pencil, trace the outline of the pocket.
Then cut pieces of cardboard in roughly the shape of your leg.
Wrap them with a towel to avoid cutting the lining of the suit.
Adjust the cardboard or towel thickness until the pocket and outline match.
Trace just inside the outline with aquaseal.
Then make an X across it and a line up and down through the middle.
You can also put some on the pocket if you like.
Place a large book or board on it and weight it down. The more weight the better.
Allow to set for 24 hours.
That pocket/suit bond will last longer than the suit and most marriages today.
It will also flex with the suit.
You can also do some mods on the straps on the pocket to make it fit more securely.
I'd try that before trying to modify it to be glued on.

 

[Jcp2]

@Jcp2 What did the backside of your pocket look like? Anything like my DR strap on pocket below (with the strapping removed) which is not neoprene.

Another blended approach might be sewing on a neoprene material to the pocket and then glueing that material to the suit. Any better????

This seems to be a redundant approach, but is it significantly better?

The back of the pocket was the trilaminate material of the drysuit that it came off of. No stretch.

 

[Doctor Rig]

Thanks for all the helpful input. Here’s an alternate approach to gluing the Dive Rite pocket on…. give me your thoughts on this.

The pocket is designed to hang from a belt and strap around your leg. I didn’t like hanging it from my BC belt strap…. an entanglement trap, IMHO. What about gluing on some kind of patch to my 1.5mm suit and have the pocket hanging strap connect to and hang off this patch. This would secure it from movement and eliminate the entanglement issue.

Here’s the pocket showing the top “hanging strap”.

 

[happy-diver]

Mate leave it hanging from your bc belt, get dressed clip it around your leg and go diving
like all the other unentangled divers in the world

 

[Jcp2]

At this point, sell the pocket and either buy tech shorts (expensive) or, since you are using a thin wetsuit, not for warmth, a pair of cargo shorts.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Thanks for all the helpful input. Here’s an alternate approach to gluing the Dive Rite pocket on…. give me your thoughts on this.

The pocket is designed to hang from a belt and strap around your leg. I didn’t like hanging it from my BC belt strap…. an entanglement trap, IMHO. What about gluing on some kind of patch to my 1.5mm suit and have the pocket hanging strap connect to and hang off this patch. This would secure it from movement and eliminate the entanglement issue.

Here’s the pocket showing the top “hanging strap”.

I can't imagine a scenario where an OW diver would get entangled due to hanging the pocket from your belt. Unless you are in a wreck or cave and following a line. Or someone screwed up really badly and failed to assess an OW site and started swimming through monofilament line.
There's a quick release on the strap hanging from the belt.
Don't try to overthink possible bad situations. You'll drive yourself crazy with what if's that are not based in reality.
If you get into actual overhead diving, then you'll have a a reason to think up more scenarios that are based in genuine hazards. And you won't be doing them in a 1.5mil suit.