Northwest Dive Club

Hi Guys!
Happy ThThTh!
Greetings from the beautiful shore side of Muck.

I'm not diving tonight since my neck seal just gave way again! So not sure what to do? Pay for a repair again? I also need a new Drysuit skin since my outter zipper just broke too! Last week it took 4 very strong guys to unzip me!

My suit ls not 2 years old yet, but I dive a lot I guess. I'm up to 276 dives.

My suit is a whites fusion essence back zip. I just got a new inner zipper put in.

What do you guys think? Keep repairing this one or hope to buy a non leaky used one?

Also my Suunto Cobera dive computer decided to go crazy too! It thinks I'm under 463 feet of water and In deco and counting down my nitro psi while not in use! I just had a new battery put in but that didn't help! :(

Any ideas guys?

fix the suit but expect to pay about $400-450 for new zipper and seals.

a used suit will be at least $400 and you will also likely need new seals and or a zipper shortly. you just gotta suck it up buttercup

Fix the suit ...

Fixing the suit is the best option.

You can easily do the neck seal yourself. Switch to a neoprene seal, they last longer. I don't know what the back zip fusions look like, is it a straight zipper, or is it like the front zips where it's shaped like a U? If it's relatively straight, go tizip. You can do that yourself too if you're cash strapped.

+1 on Neoprene neck seal.

The zipper that you're having issues with now is the for the exterior skin, not the waterproof inner one, right? Is it possible to have it fixed/replaced by a local tailor?

Can you explain/show what the problem is with the zip? There are vid's online that show zipper repair options- and Seattle Fabrics has a bunch of replacement parts(and info) on it's site.

Hmmm, neoprene ends up losing it elasticity after a year and 100ish dives and it ends up smelling like butthole which doesn't wash out. At least this has been my experience with my neoprene neck seal. I'm so looking forward to going back to latex.

A lot of smaller women have problems using neoprene neck seals as they don't stretch much and the size necessary to go over their heads can be a bit big relative to their neck. Just something to keep in mind.

Guys rarely have this problem as our head to neck ratio isn't as different.

CaptnJack wrote:A lot of smaller women have problems using neoprene neck seals as they don't stretch much and the size necessary to go over their heads can be a bit big relative to their neck. Just something to keep in mind.

Guys rarely have this problem as our head to neck ratio isn't as different.

I actually had this problem with the rental when I got my drysuit cert last month. My head is really big (I wear L/XL bike helmets, 24") but my neck is average for my size (~16.5"), and I ended up tearing a latex neck seal because it was really hard to put on if it was tight enough to not leak. Not sure what to do about that when I eventually buy a suit. Silicone?

/threadjack

A quick search shows that you can get a new one of those suits for a bit under $700, so I'd be almost tempted to do that, if you're going to be spending $500 on repairs anyway.

Edit: Of course, they're backordered, so that probably isn't a great option for getting back in the water soon.

ScubaJess wrote:Also my Suunto Cobera dive computer decided to go crazy too! It thinks I'm under 463 feet of water and In deco and counting down my nitro psi while not in use! I just had a new battery put in but that didn't help! :(

If you need a computer to borrow, let me know, I've got an extra one.

I'd say pick up a new skin, put on a new neck seal then start saving your money for a better quality suit. You can always keep the Whites for a back-up and if your doing 130 + dives a year you're going to want a back-up drysiut.

I'd say just start over and get a new dry suit that can put up with the hardiness of diving the waters of Puget Sound.
The new Bares are nice but I am a tried and true DUI CF200....with latex seals, dry gloves...I can dive the heck outta these suits...
Kirsten

Zippers, seals and undergarments need to be considered a 'consumable' with regards to budget. They are just something that will need to be replaced every 2-5 years give or take depending on how much you dive, how much you baby them and the design (front/back/quickzip vs classic zip vs flying squirrel). A more robust suit won't change that.

Take the computer in to a dealer and see if the mfg will play nice.

BillZ has a great point. No matter what suit you get, there will be times that it is great to have a backup.

ljjames wrote:Zippers, seals and undergarments need to be considered a 'consumable' with regards to budget. They are just something that will need to be replaced every 2-5 years give or take depending on how much you dive, how much you baby them and the design (front/back/quickzip vs classic zip vs flying squirrel). A more robust suit won't change that..

^^^ Well said. Just like cars need to regular oil changes to periodic larger tune-ups, so does your drysuit and all your other gear for the most part.