Old timer told me to dry my suit inside out after every single dive, called it lazy otherwise

My mentor Dave from that Gulf gig back in '21 said to always flip my drysuit inside out and hang it for a full day, but half the guys on my crew just rinse and toss it in a bag. I started doing it his way after a crusty zipper almost failed on a 60 foot inspection, and now my suit seals last twice as long. Anyone here ever got burned by skipping that step or is Dave just old school with better gear luck?

4 comments

4 Comments

richard_dixon4d ago

I had a zip fail on me at 40 feet back in 2019 and it was a long cold ascent - Dave's right about the inside out trick, moisture eats seals from the inside. I've seen perfectly good suits rot from the zipper out just by being packed wet.

oscarw834d ago

twice as long" feels like a stretch lol. I rinse mine and dry it normally, never had a seal go bad on me. Maybe Dave just got lucky with good gear.

milestaylor4d ago

Not gonna lie, that "twice as long" thing might be a bit much, but Dave's method definitely gives you more time before seals start cracking. I ignored the inside out rule for a season and my neck seal got those little stress cracks way faster than my buddy's who did the opposite. It's one of those small steps that might not matter for a year or two until it suddenly does and you're stuck ordering parts mid-week.

victorb174d ago

Saw something a while back about how the salt crystals actually grind into the rubber when you don't dry it right - makes sense why seals go faster.