Hydroglove, A Tribute to the Totes Rubber Drysuit

This entry is dedicated to the memory of Bill Sewell, the creator of the wonderful Hydroglove suit

By 2004, three of my four catsuits had seen their last useful days.  I had the last shoulder entry suit and the wader suit, but I had repaired these two suits many times, using scraps from the failed sits.  My search for replacements developed a new urgency.  SOA was gone; a fire had destroyed their Eastsound location.  They never came back.  Latex clothing like I now wanted was expensive and all reliable manufacturers were in Europe.

One of my searches stumbled on the Hydroglove two-piece rubber drysuit.  I went to the site and saw the solution to my problem, I hoped.  I decided that the price was reasonable enough to get one suit to try.  I ordered the suit and was surprised it showed up three days later in a priority mail box.  I inspected the suit like a kid with a new toy.  I had to try it on immediately.  My size had advantage with the suit.  The XL suit, the largest he made, pulled on easily and was snug on my body.  Once the top and bottom seams were rolled, the suit formed a virtually watertight barrier.  I jumped on my computer and ordered a second suit and the latex fishing waders (very similar to the old Seal-Dri waders) that were also advertised and four pairs of gloves, two to attach to the suits and two pair as spares.  I didn't even take the suit off while I completed my order.  I did finish the job the suit started on my body.

I had a trip to Oregon the following week.  Two Hydroglove suits and chest wader were in my kit along with the last catsuit and wader suit.  Every evening of that short trip was a heavy rubber storm.  Of special note, the Hydrogloves were designed to wear while swimming so they were, for a normal person a little loose fitting and the legs tended to have loose folds for movement comfort.  They were perfect for me with my long legs.  They fit right to my crotch with minimal stretching of the latex and the snug fit assured good seals at the waist.  They were also very supple and soft to the touch.  They made an amazingly erotic base garment for any rubbery fun.  I had no plans to use them in a nearby lake.

On another note, I was on disaster duty in Idaho in 2006, I took the opportunity to visit the address of Customworks (Hydroglove).  I expected to see a light industrial building with many suites and figured I'd go into a lobby and ask about product.  The address was a single story ranch style home from the early 1970's.  Bill obviously worked out of his garage and most likely was a one person operation.  I couldn't get up the nerve to stop and knock on the door. 

    Enjoying Hydroglove layers

I went through many of these suits over the years.  They were durable but heavy use takes a toll on any latex garment.  In 2017, I was actually in the process of ordering two new suits when I learned of the death of Bill Sewell.  Logging onto the site that day, the message informing customers of his sudden passing and the suspension of sales was quite a shock.  I don't think he was a rubberist.  He was a fan of the old style rubber frogman suits and drysuits.  Most of his products were variants of his original suits.  He didn't leave any manuals or detailed writings of his process.  Everything he learned went with him to his grave.

I can imagine the frustration of the trial and error, the new owner of the Hydroglove equipment and supplies is going through trying to figure the right combination to unlock the secret of the product.  Maybe the new owner will get it figured out and I can order some new Hydroglove suits.

Here is an example of the comments made on the obituary page for Bill:

I owe Bill a tremendous debt. I had not known that there was a reliable source for latex rubber suits until I came across Hydroglove. On two or three occasions, we corresponded by e-mail. He was courteous and professional in all he said and did. He took great pride in his products, and would not let the smallest defect go unresolved. I personally used his suits to help me further a life goal. Thank you, Bill. May your memory be for the good.

Stuart Harrow

I echo the above sentiment.