Warning: that 'budget' drysuit from the online shop in Florida cost me 900 bucks and a trip to the ER

Spent $900 on a cheap drysuit off some Florida website, and the wrist seal blew at 40 feet last month during a hull inspection. Anyone else had a wrecked day from going too cheap on gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathanking13d ago

Man, that's rough. I've been there too with cheap gear at depth and it's a panic you don't forget. @the_shane is right about the fire hose feeling - I had a wrist seal give out at 50 feet on a wreck and it was like someone turned a garden hose on inside my suit. For anyone reading this, always check the glue seams on budget drysuits, especially around the latex if they use it. I've found that spending a bit more on a brand that actually tests the seals before shipping saves you that ER trip. Hope you're back in the water soon, just with something that doesn't try to drown you.

the_shane13d ago

Jesus dude, that is brutal. 40 feet is no joke for a seal to just give out, especially on a hull inspection where you're already dealing with a stressful situation underwater. I've been diving for almost 15 years now and I learned that lesson the hard way too, but not quite that expensive. Had a cheap neck seal tear on a rental once and it was like a fire hose down my back, scared the hell out of me. Really glad you made it out okay and didn't get a worse case of the bends or something, that could have gone a whole lot different. Hope you're healing up alright and the ER bill wasn't as bad as the suit.