Picasso Ghost Problems

[fishimani]

Hey Everyone,

I own a Picasso Ghost, i bought it for way too much (almost 400 bucks) because i really loved the pattern and how well you can blend in to the reef......it is pretty comfortable but still is a little bit of a pain in the ain' .....it has a couple of problems and i was wondering if it was just my wetsuit or all of them. The SEAMS!!!!! They always come apart. Three dives after buying it there were strings hanging off the dmn thing...once you stitch it back up and trim it...the same thing happens!!!:rcard......I cant remember a dive where the loose threads from the hood section around the face didnt stick in my mouth and piss me off! The armpit has a hole about the size of a whales female genatalia on my right side....held together only by my wife's constant efferts to stitch it back together. ......whew..... aside from that....im sure that this is common amongst all wetsuits but i figure i should ask the question regardless......

Do all wetsuits deflate so quickly? It was a 3 mm when i bought it....now after 6 months it is a .5 mm and quickly shrinking to oblivion. Anyone else in my boat?

 

[sunfish]

I have the same wetsuit in 7ml. The same problems all apply but to a lesser extent in the 7ml. The yamamoto neoprene is very soft and while this makes it warm it also means it tears more easily and takes fingernail cuts if you're not careful. Mines still around 7ml while I'm on the surface but as soon as I dive it compresses rapidly, making for buoyancy problems in depths over 30 ft.
It's fine for winter, then in summer I wear a 5ml medium density Elios wetsuit. Much tougher and no buoyancy problems.

 

[Erik]

....im sure that this is common amongst all wetsuits

It's not common. Only in crappy suits, sorry. When you put the seams back together, are you using neo glue made tacky twice, then sewed up?
One word my friend: Elios.
Cheers, I hope it gets better,
Erik

 

[Newbie_spearo]

Get some aqua seal in clear, and run it over the thread on the outside to hold the thread in place and keep it together. The new Torelli suits are like this outta the shop and I think it's a really good feature.

 

[hudasmt]

Buy a new wetsuit is the best solution.

 

[Old Man Dave]

I noticed that a few months ago several suppliers were selling the Picasso ghost at knock down prices. Looked at some reviews and they were not good. Also noticed a similar thing with some Omer suits as well.

All "modern" spearing/freediving suits seem to suffer to some extent from lack of durability. The thinner the suit the more so the problem. Unlined insides and soft neoprenes are supposed to make suits a better fit and to keep you warmer but they don't last too long.

I have found off the peg cressi suits to be good but there is no doubt that Elios MTM has a great reputation abeit at a price and you gotta wait a while.

I personally have moved away from this type of suit and am currently using a medium density neoprene with nylon lining inside and out, just like ny old scuba suits. Mine was MTM by Diveskin and I'm very pleased with it.

Dave.

 

[Newbie_spearo]

I have had my beuchat 5mm for 12 months now and have dived I would say once a week on average every week since I got the suit. apart from the normal nicks and cuts from finger nails etc the stitching has help up and I have no holes in the suit any where. I did a lot of research before buying my suit and based my decision on jimdoe2you saying that it was the rolls royce of suits. I have heard about the ghost suits falling apart from a number of people. Is it not maybe a bad batch they had? My suggestion would be turn your suit inside out and inspect all the seams and reglue/aqauseal any where that looks to be coming apart?

 

[Lazuli]

I bought a 5mm open cell suit from "Must Dive" Greece and when it arrived I applied neoprene glue to all the places where the seams intersect, threads end, join etc, around the ankle seams and other vulnerable areas. So far no loose stitching whatsoever. Worth doing.

I do have the same problems on my cressi gloves. Barnacles just seem to unpick the stitching whatever I do.

If the workers in the factory/workshop get the machine tension or setting wrong for just a few suits, you have a bad batch and/or variable quality. Also depends how good the quality control is. Elios, of course, are famed for their high standards and attention to detail in this regard.

 

[fearthespear]

I agree with OMD, the Cressi suit has always served me well - never a hint of coming apart and I normally get two and a bit years out of each one before the neoprene starts to degrade (not surprising, the amount of p*** that it has to deal with!) You won't be disappointed with them unless you are a wierd shape!

 

[Mr. X]

Get some aqua seal in clear, and run it over the thread on the outside to hold the thread in place and keep it together. The new Torelli suits are like this outta the shop and I think it's a really good feature.

The stitching in wetsuits is mainly intended to hold it together while the glue sets. The glue is what generally holds them together. I think Picasso sell a wetsuit glue called something like Black Widow for just such repairs.

With open cell, you need to trim your nails & be careful.

Getting a tailor made suit (quite reasonable from Elios) should ensure your suit is a good fit, which might help avoid unnecessary force. (Presumably you are using a lubricant to put your suit on?).

My made-to-measure Elios suit was very reasonably priced (about £99 several years ago). I ran some ideas past Elios & paid close attention to their responses. I got the cheapest neoprene: 5mm Ecoline open cell with nylon outer ("fine for spearing"), spearo-style high pants (rather than farmer John style), a loading pad but on their advice did not bother with knee or elbow pads. I've been very pleased with it. Apparently the benefits of many of the fancier neoprenes are really only of use to folk spending a lot of time at depth (SCUBA divers). I snorkel and don't dive real deep, so no obvious benefit for me.

 

[Aimrite TKO]

Yea some glue should fix it