3rd winter using my Pyro pro and i’m still having problems with small holes developing in the thin fabric at the knees. The difference in thickness and flexibility between the thin waterproof fabric and the thick taped seam seems to cause the thin fabric to crack along the seam. The first time this happened i sent the suit back to OR hoping it would be fixed under warranty but it was a few weeks over a year so i ended up getting dinged with a $100+ repair bill and waiting 6 weeks to get my suit back. The second time i repaired it with Tear-aid which adheres for a while but then falls off. Another hole has developed next to the repair OR did so the suit is leaking again. The tape they used to repair it looked like Tear-aid but nothing like the heat activated patches in the repair kit. I tried to repair the suit with a heat patch but it wont adhere to the taped seam like it does to the other fabric, the adhesive patch doesn’t seem to adhere to some of the fabrics the suit is made from. No way am i sending the suit to OR since they will probably charge me a bunch of money and take weeks to get the suit back to me again.  I only use this suit 15 or 20 times a year so i’m pretty frustrated with these leaks. So what i’m looking for is advice on the best type of glue and patch material for a strong, neat, waterproof repair i can make at home?

Hi Paul,

Are you applying the dry adhesive patch to the inside of the suit?
You need give the smooth inside PU surface a quick wipe clean with acetone or MEK. (removes body oils)
The dry adhesive patch should fix the hole.

If you post or PM me a picture of the problem area I can walk you through the repair method.
Cheers,
Richard

I am trying to apply the patch to the inside of the suit. I cleaned both the inside of the suit and the adhesive surface of the patch with acetone. I get some pictures posted over the weekend.

It will take about 3 or 4 posts to get all photos of the holes posted.

more images of holes along thick / thin fabric seam

same problem back of both knees

I had to use several posts to upload all the photos i took. This problem started very soon after i bought the suit. It started leaking the first season i used it. I sent the suit back to OR when i had owned it about 13 months and I expected the problem to be sorted out under warranty since to me it looks to be a design or manufacturing problem. The holes are not appearing in an area where the suit gets abrasion or physical wear and the problem is developing on both sides. I was very dissapointed in OR when they charged me for the repairs and didn’t do a very effective job, applied some tape like Tear-aid which has since come off. This suit represents a considerable investment and i expect it to last a long time. I take care how i dry and store it, lubricate the zip and condition the latex seals. Unless i can find a good way to repair the current leaks and the similar ones that you can see are developing i don’t see the suit lasting much longer and i can’t in good faith sell it and buy a different brand.

I was annoyed when taking the photos i checked the other leg and saw it also has the same problem and already a small leak that will also need repairing. As i stated when i first reported this problem to OR at the end of 2008 i think this is a design or manufacturing problem caused by the way the thin fabric flexes along the very stiff taped seam.

I need advice on how to neatly, permanently, repair and reinforce these seams

I’d be very interested to have other owners of Pyro Pros inspect their suits for similar problems or did i just get lucky?

Paul, I had the exact same problem with my Pyro Classic. It was where the leg material of the two legs rubbed together when walking. ‘Twister’ on this forum recommended a liquid glue that you just applied to the inside of the leg over the seam and main area of material. It worked a treat. I’ll try and find out what the stuff was called (I think I have a tube of it tucked away somewhere) Failing that I’m sure ‘Twister’ might chime in if he reads this first.

Found it quicker than expected:

‘Stormsure’ was the stuff.

http://www.stormsure.com

“Fixes rips and holes FAST!”

andy - 27 March 2010 01:01 PM

Found it quicker than expected:

‘Stormsure’ was the stuff.

http://www.stormsure.com

“Fixes rips and holes FAST!”

I seem to have developed the same problem on my Pyro Pro. I thought I was going nuts because I couldn’t understand why the inner side of my upper calfs were getting wet. I should order some Storm Sure. Do you know if it is urethane based? If so, I have some Tennis Shoe Repair Glue that will probably work the same.

kind regards
Kirk

Thanks for the suggestions. I think Goop! would be the equivalent product in the USA.

If the explanation is correct then why wouldn’t OR have wrapped the the thick cordura further in over the wear area instead of exposing the thinnest fabric on the suit. I can also see the beginning of the same problem on the outside edge of one of the panels where it definitely doesn’t get the wear suggested. I showed the holes and the suggestion of the cause and how to fix it to a couple of friends and they thought it was pretty lame. This suit represents a substantial investment and their has to be a better way of fixing it than smearing the seam with Goop! If this is a known problem then OR should modify the affected suits to either better protect the area or deal with the flexing issue which is still the problem. If this had been done when i first returned the suit it wouldn’t have got so bad or developed on the other leg as well.

I’m going to post on a couple of other forums and try and get better suggestions on how to make a neat and permanent repair ‘cos i really don’t want to fixing my suit with Goop! until it’s old and trashed!

Hi Paul,
I’ve posted a “how to” on fixing a seam leak as done in our repair department.
This process is fast and easy, with no setting time.
If you PM me your ship to info I’ll send you some patch material on the house.

Cheers,
Richard

PM sent. I’m very glad you don’t what me to Goop! my suit. I’ll update this thread after i make the repairs.

Kite forum has a curious post from Argentina asking specifically for opinions about the Pyro Pro drysuit. Maybe someone is fishing. I could have written something about the, what I define as, the chafe problem with this line of suits but I didn’t do it!
here is the post

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2363802

but i will say something here. The observations listed on this exact thread point to a clear area where the Pyro series of suits can be improved. I am not saying anything is wrong with the original suits but they can be “improved!”. Suggestions for the improvement:
1) placing a glued or sewn chafe panel on the inner lower leg region from knee to mid calf. It could even look cool similar to what you see on snowboard and ski pants. (Hey that new Pyro Pro 2011 model looks tough!)
2) Rotating the seam of the breathable panel backwards or forwards so that the chafing action of walking does not degrade the material adjacent to the seam.
or
3) Getting rid of the breathable panel in the lower leg completely. Save on sewing, robustness of manufacturing process and you can still market the Pyros as having breathable panels (just not as many of them but who is counting?).

regards
Kirk

I have got the same problem here, not just as big as on the foto’s. Yesterday i was standing in the water and noticid my leg was getting wet. Today i found the leak at the innerside at the knee hight. This wil be the tird time i found a leak in this area. Sorry for my English.

Tigger - 10 December 2010 06:53 AM

I have got the same problem here, not just as big as on the foto’s. Yesterday i was standing in the water and noticid my leg was getting wet. Today i found the leak at the innerside at the knee hight. This wil be the tird time i found a leak in this area. Sorry for my English.

We are kind of out of luck because we have the first version of this famous drysuit. I just treated the area with Storm Sure like Andy suggested. I treated both the inside and outside of the entire seam running down both inner lower legs. Now the suit is fine. Every suit has a life. When my drysuit starts leaking again from the neck or leg/arm seals, rather than replacing these, I am going to buy another Pyro Pro. The newer versions are supposed to have corrected this problem.

kind regards
Kirk