Re: Workaround
well, the dependency on a single space suit's systems NOT to fail is always a bad idea.
Here's what I came up with: emergency space suits that are, for all practical purposes, balloons with straps that you tighten in specific places to make them somewhat manageable.
So here's what you do: your space craft or station has an explosive decompression event. You have about 30 seconds to put one of these on, +/- whatever condition you find yourself in, bleeding ears/eyes and so on. So you go to the wall where one is stowed, rip open the package [large handle, bright colored paint], step into this thing, and zip it up, then pull the O2 lever and it inflates.
Then you adjust a few straps around the legs, your torso, arms, and whatnot. VOILA, instant space suit!
I bet you could make them for under $1k and they'd be 100% reliable. Then you make them MANDATORY on ALL space flights, like O2 masks on airlines.