Drysuit Zipper Care How I Do It 

Thanks for sharing @TanjaHase_Fronczek. The towel is a great idea.

Thanks john metyk

Thanks sayittrue. Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your seals.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Come see us, and you can try mine out.

@@LakeHickoryScuba Your address please... Thanks brother.

420 Taylorsville Beach Ct., Taylorsville, NC 28681

LakeHickoryScuba Thanks brother...

You most likely heated up the glue holding the zipper on, causing a leak. I wouldn't recommend using a hair dryer.

@@LakeHickoryScuba What a beginner's mistake. Indeed, even though I was gentle with the hair dryer, I noticed the brass got quite hot. Thanks for your feedback! The suit is in warranty and hopefully I can get away with it...

Hopefully you can get your suit repaired very quickly. You can also order the glue and do it yourself, but, if its still under warranty, just let them do it. They can also pressure test it for you.

Hello Andrew Chang, this is a bag that comes with any new Drysuit from OS Systems.

Thanks Logistic Time.

The biggest benefit for using a neoprene drysuit is, they are warm without any insulation, and if they are custom fitted, they work the same as a wetsuit in the event of a catastrophic failure. For the types of diving you have described, I would suggest the neoprene. I use both for very specific reasons. You could always add a 3mm hooded vest under you 5mm, this way you would have 8mm on your chest and an additional hood. Much cheaper option. It all comes down to comfort.

Hello Simon, for front entry suits I like the Brass Zipper, for back entry suits I prefer the Plastic Zippers.

@@LakeHickoryScuba thanks, how come brass for front entry? Do you think theyre more durable, better etc?

As far as durability goes, I have found the Brass Zipper to be more durable in the long run. For the types of diving I do with my front entry drysuit (Salvage and Public Safety Diving), the brass zipper holds up better than the plastic zipper. The biggest issue for the plastic as a back entry zipper, they tend to be more comfortable going across my shoulders.

Hello hanschristianlundberg7681. Starting on March 6th, we have an entire series coming out on Drysuit diving. One of those videos goes into details on zipper lubrications. But a short answer would be, I simply lubricate the outside edge of the teeth. Just enough so the zipper truck gets an equal amount of lubrication while zipping and unzipping the suit.

Hello Brian Redmond. This is a tricky one. If it is closed and you need to open it, you can reach through the neck seal and use a tooth brush with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to help break up the corrosion in the zipper. You can do the same if the zipper is already open and and the zipper truck is corroded to the teeth. Just mix the baking soda and vinegar in a bowl, and then dip your tooth brush into it. Then scrub around the zipper and inside the zipper truck. This should free it up. Make sure you scrub the teeth out with the brush as well, then apply a thin layer of paraffin wax to the teeth. This should keep it nice and lubricated for you. Also, if it is closed and stuck, when you reach through the neck seal, make sure there is no lose threads stuck in the zipper. Do an inspection both inside and outside to see if you can see any threads sticking through. Hope this helps.

@@LakeHickoryScuba thanks. Is PTFE spray recommended?.

Brian to be honest, I couldn't tell you. That would be a great question for the manufacture. The biggest concern is the seams and seal tape that is used to waterproof the seams of the zipper. I'm not familiar with the agents (ingredients) in PTFE. I'm not certain if it would damage the material of the suit. You can always reach out to the gear manufacture and they can help as well with recommendations on what to use on the zipper.

Hello Reza, sorry about the whiteness in the video. Our lights definitely over saturated the shots.

@@LakeHickoryScuba Not a problem Still enjoyed the video alot.

Thanks.

This is always a great option, and a very inexpensive way to keep your zipper in good working order.

Until you realize you can't pee in the drysuit. Usually from July to October, we start hating our wetsuits and can't wait until colder weather so we can start diving our drysuits. Then around the middle to late April, we get tired of all the extra weight and hassle of putting on our drysuits, and we start craving warmer weather, so we can easily slip into our 3mm wetsuits. Its a never ending cycle with us.

@@LakeHickoryScuba personally I dive a drysuit pretty much year-round. I dive in quarries, and as you may know it is normally really deep or a really shallow. And because of my depth limitations I'm normally in shallow water for a really long time.

@@LakeHickoryScuba p-valve 😉