Weird wear pattern on wetsuit

[Taxgeek]

Ok, I have a mystery for you all. I use a Pinnacle Elite wetsuit, 7mm, diving in socal. Actually I'm on my second one. My LDS sent the first one back and Pinnacle replaced it, now I have the same problem with the second one.

After about 100 dives in it, (about a year), the front side of the right thigh is completely pilled up, and the thread on the seams is very frayed and disintegrating. No loss of integrity in the seams yet, but it's worrisome.

No wear to speak of anywhere else on the suit. There's a slight bit of the same on the left thigh, but mostly the right thigh.

I can't figure out what's doing it! I stay off the bottom, I don't have danglies, I don't go around scratching my suit with velcro on the survface entervals . . . I can't figure this out. I can't think of anywhere that I sit (I dive on day boats mostly, no shore diving) that would rub it (like the rough underside of a table), or anything like that. The only possibility I have been able to come up with is when I peel the suit down to the waist at the surface enterval (back zip), the neck velcro might be banging around at my thigh level under my boat coat . . . will have to check that one. I'm careful in rinsing and storing the suit, so I don't think it's happening there.

Anybody run into this before? It's probably something totally braindead I'm doing, but I'm pretty stumped, unless it's the neck velcro thing.
Thanks!
Taxgeek

 

[Scuba Jerm]

Taxgeek,

The only thing I can think of is when you put the suit on and off. If your anything like me, i tend to pull on the thigh area you discribed when getting into and out of the suit. I have gotten some similar wear patterns in my suits from that, both surfing and diving suits.

So if you're doing 100 dives a year, over time that localized stretching of the suit could cause that.

 

[cap_bert]

I think you might be on track with the velcro idea. It could be catching on that one leg when it gets folded up or packed up after a dive. I have had a similar results from velcro catching on the arm of my suit while i am cleaning the suit after a dive. I hope that you get to the bottom of this. Its a nice suit. Good luck.

 

[Taxgeek]

Thanks - I will try to watch myself from above next time I put it on and see what I"m doing, and ditto with the velcro. Fingers crossed. I do like the suit.
Taxgeek

 

[JcoldwaterIL]

how high up on the thigh is it? Is it anywhere near wher your weightblet sits/ I get quite a bit of pilling on my suit from the weightbelt rubbing.