Anyone have any experience with the ‘new’ liquid seal seams? I’ve only got a some Gul gloves with this kind of seal, they have seen less than one year of use and already the seal is cracking. There are tons of small holes in the seal and water is seeping in. Granted the gloves are very flexible so the seal is most likely stressed when I pull of the gloves. No big deal for a pair of gloves costwise, but I’m reluctant to buy a wetsuit with this kind of seal if that’s the life expectancy I can hope for with this kind of seal. It’s cold around here and even a small leak can ruin your day.
Anyone got some experience with wetsuits with this kind of seal?
yes, although this is not “new” around here… I’ve had a couple of expensive wetsuits with liquid seal (as opposed to the older tape method). I returned several of them before their 1 year warranty was out (because of leaks, cracking, etc in the seams) and was given brand new suits both times. I still have one more that I probably should have returned because it’s even worse; the liquid seal has fractured in many places leaving sharp points on the inside of the suit, uncomfortable!
Very much a cost-saving, going-backward-on-the-quality-scale method, as far as I can see. My advice is, save your receipt if you buy a suit like that, and return it before the warranty expires if there’s any sign of deterioration.
Yup, my Rip Curl with the liquid seal is cracked and peeling and gives me a rash. This was a replacement suit for another that failed. Delamination of the inside lining. Maybe time to try a different manufacture. Mike
I’ve been using RipCurl for about four years now. One year ago I bought my last one, three months turned it in and they sent me a new one, three months later (cracked liquid seams) sent in and got a new one… this kept up untill two month ago! The last one they sent me is doing GREAT!!! I love RipCurl suits, they just fit me fine and they stand behind their products. Try them one more time, you won’t be disapointed! Oh, and I bought another a bit thicker for this next winter.
The liquid seams are much better now than when it first came out.
(small print… I am not paid by RipCurl and do not recieve (although I would like to… hint, hint, hint) monetary or product compensation for this endorsement)
I thought the idea was that the new liquid seals were supposed to be more flexible that the old tape on the inside to make a flexier suit,not a cheaper one? Personally I’d like a suit with liquid seal on the outside AND wide flexible tape on the inside. I think that would hold up pretty well. I’ve been think about getting a hold of some neoprene tape to do this myself (and repairs), but have yet to find a good place to get that tape.
Most likely I’ll order my next suit from the US like the last one. That will set me back about $300 including shipping + customs. Same suit cost about $900 here… But it won’t be as easy to return it, still the $5-600 price difference may be worth some extra hassle.
I Have a 4 month old O’Neill Psycho II… The liquid seam is still as new. It seems that the quality of the rubber on the liquid seam is quite good. No signs of any problems.
I have a rip curl ultimate (4 years old) and in within 6 months of use the liquid seam started to break up, soon after that the suit became a big sieve. Either the quality of the liquid seam rubber was not as good as the O’Neill or it wasn’t applied properly… It was wider and a bit thinner than the O’Neill liquid seams.
I’ve had problems with this O’neill Psycho II and funny enough… today I took it to the O’Neill warehouse and my friend that works there replaced the suit for me… I got a brand new Mutant suit (the one that comes with a free hood and has a new zip-free entry)… Let’s see how it goes.
The problems with the Psycho II were:
*One Knee pad got damaged after my Duck-Dives. There was a through hole in the rubber, and it was leaking lots… (I should say I’ve never had this problem before)
*There was a leak in the bum somewhere… I believe it was another hole on the rubber This one was small, but I can tell there was water leaking in from that area. I have a big suspection it was caused by my bony butt, yep, that’s right… When I sit on the board those bones squeeze the suit against the board, this is so true that the thickness of the rubber (supposed to be 3mm) at that squashed area was 1mm, easy, if not less…
I have a 6/5/4 Xcel that just completed its fourth season of frequent, heavy use during the winter, which lasts approx 5 months) Only recently has it started to exhibit crackeley-ness in the liquid seams, but no leakage so far… any leakage would be evident in water in the low 30’s. I think it might make it through the next, or hopefully at least half of, the 08-09 season.