My wetsuit has ripped open along one of the seams to the left of my lower back. I am going to follow the directions I found online; and sew it back up with some strong thread. Then go with the neoprene cement over that to keep the water out. The tear is about 3 inches long.
Sooo, how likely is it that this thing is just going to rip open again? Has anyone here succesfully sewn back up a busted seam, and had it stay?
Also, I have swam in it a few times with the thing ripped open, and I could feel water rushing in, but wasn’t sure if it was slowing me down? IF it does bust open during a race, would this be slowing me?
if it’s not too old, contact the manufacturer. with a split along the seam you could argue it’s a warranty issue. if it’s only a couple seasons old i’m sure they’d help you out.
ironman wetsuits took care of me a few years back when my 2 seasons old elite fs split along the seams on both armpits. i sent it in and they sent back an updated model stealth no questions asked!
I would be a bit wary of DIY home neoprene repair of this nature. It’s a tricky material to work with. You want to make sure that the repaired section of seam has the same integrity as it had before. If you don’t do it juts right, you may damage the neoprene on either side, over-stress it and cause more ripping and damage.
If the suit is still under warranty, take it back to the dealer where you bought it.
If not, find a dive/surf shop in your area that is experienced working on triathlon wetsuits and let them do the repair.
If no warranty, use Aqua-Seal.
glue first. then sew so that you don’t get a leaky seam.
note that sewing it will compress the fabric further stressing what is already a stressed section.
Even if it’s not a Desoto suit, you can still use their services for wetsuit repair. Well worth the dough. They’ve repaired two for me this year. I would not trust any home made job.
mine ripped on the last race I did, got a sudden rush of cold water to the back…
It won’t slow you down unless it’s actually gaping open I think.
I’m going to glue, sew, then do a couple of test swims to see how it holds up. Then again this is an old wetsuit, 10 years or more, and if it doesn’t hold I’ll happily buy a new one. Xterra is having a 50% off sale.
If it was newer and out of warranty, I’d go with the local dive shop for repairs, get someone who knows what they are doing rather than a dangerous amateur with a needle (me)
Thanks the replies, yea this is sort of in a place that I stretch alot while swimming(the suit is not quite long enough for my torso), so it is liable ot bust open again.** **Broke the zipper on my other suit(which is sleeveless), so I gotta fix one before IM Florida!!!
When I took my QR wetsuit to a dive shop for repair, he just sold me a can of cement, told me to follow the directions carefully, and put a stitch in if it needed it. That was about 5 years ago and I’ve made several repairs since but never the same spot. It’s about as difficult as patching a tire.
Got a rip in the seam of my Desoto at IMCdA while doing px swim and Lena Cardoso of Inside/Out did a great repair. I dropped mine of at the Inside/Out tent and picked it up several hours later.
