Repairs
The other important factor to consider in maintaining your suit is repairing any damage before it worsens or compromises the warmth of the wetsuit.
All seam damage, including unraveled or ripped out stitching and unglued seams, should be repaired as soon as possible--seam damage spreads like the plague and soon you'll have half your body hanging out, with only a few flaps of rubber to shield you from the elements.
Seam repairs are best left to the pros. Either send your suit back to the original manufacturer (most companies offer a lifetime warranty on all seams and workmanship these days), or bring it to a local dive shop. Even if it's not under warranty, wetsuit companies only charge a small fee for most repairs, but the quick turnaround time at a dive shop is worth it if you're in a hurry.
As far as zipper problems go, again, it's either the manufacturer or a dive shop. It's about 6 of one and a half-dozen of the other. The only thing to consider is that a zipper job might be covered under the warranty of your suit, especially if it's fairly new.
Finally, a tear or hole leaves you more options. If it's a clean tear or slit in which the two sides fit together pretty tightly, just go out and buy a can of wetsuit cement and fix it yourself. The black, stuff works best.
First, just hold apart the two sides of the rip and coat them lightly with the cement, brushing it on evenly. Let this dry for about a half hour or 45 minutes (keeping the two sides separated). Then, coat again, and press the two sides together to seal. The first step is extremely important and this priming often makes the difference between a permanent repair and a hole re-opened within days.
If the gash is more than you want to handle, or if there is missing material, send the suit out to the manufacturer or bring it to a dive shop. For a reasonable charge, they'll patch it and you'll never feel the difference.
Casey O'Callaghan
Correspondent
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