sun and your wetsuit

[MDTzak]

i dive around 3 or 4 days a week and it takes almost a full day to dry all my gear out. i leave my wetsuit in the sun for 3 or 4 hours to dry is that bad? i hear the start to go bad after long sun exposures is this true? just a little curious thanks

 

[spectrum]

Yes it's true.I'm pretty sure it's the UV rays. If you can get it out in the breeze but out of direct sunlight you will be doing better.
Pete

 

[dbg40]

UV rays will on contact, start to deteriorate your'e wetsuit, and any other neoprene gear you have exposed. Dry your gear in a shaded place, A shed, Garage, ect. Any place that is protected from sunlight, and has good ventilatoin. As a side note, Heat aint the best thing for it eather! So throw in cool as well!

 

[kidspot]

I have a suit I dry in the sun... it's a bit stiffer now, my neighbors have dried the same type of suit under their tree in the breeze and it's still like new... of course I use mine a LOT more

 

[Charlie99]

I have a suit I dry in the sun... it's a bit stiffer now,

If you rinse out the salt first, it won't get so stiff, Tim

When possible, I dry my wetsuit in a shady area, because like a lot of other stuff, the ultraviolet rays from direct sunlight will cause the wetsuit to age. It's not a dramatic "5 hours in the sun and it dies", just the normal, gradual wear and tear you can see with lots of other stuff when it gets sun exposure.

OTOH, boots dry slowly, so I leave them out in the sun so they dry faster. It's just a tradeoff between smelly boots vs. having them last a bit longer.

 

[kidspot]

so that's the problem... I wonder if that would explain why my weight belt will stand on end too...

 

[mccaigk1]

dive 3 or 4 times a week got dang! Some people have all the fun....................

A trick i used to use after surfing for my oneil 3/2 full suit, After taking it in the shower to rise off the salt, i spun some beach towels around ( you know, like ur gonna whip someone in the locker room.....) and put one for both legs ( kinda bent like a horshoe) and one going across for the arms. In my experience the lower parts or the suit always stay damp the longest ( arm and ankle cuffs) due to the water bleeding down from the top of the suit. About half a day, and the suits mostly dry and the towels go in the dryer, no nasty funk i n the bathroom from drying wetsuit and voila no ticked off mom telling me to hang it outside ( on the 15th floor of our complex? i think not) Dont know if this will work for a thicker suit, maybe have to change towels frequently. Oh yeah, sun made my old oniell reactor spring suit lose alot of elasticity, suit seemed to flush out all the time. will nvr leave a suit to dry on the beach again....

-kevin

 

[veek]

Using a fan to blow air at my dive gear helps it dry out much faster.

 

[Irene]

I throw our wetsuits inside-out into the dryer for 15 min on low heat. It may wear them out faster, but it sooo worth it not to have the stink, and to have a dry wetsuit the next day.