Adding a zipper cover to a drysuit - ideas needed

[SeanQ]

I've had my Bare Nex-Gen for about a month. So far I really like the suit with the exception of one feature. The Nex-Gen does not have a cover for the zipper. This is a back entry suit and the zipper has a tendency to fold (not kinked) up or down against my back when I put my BP/W on. The zipper naturally folds down against the plate and is a PITA to change once the rig is on. In order to have my BP positioned properly the zipper needs to be folded up; otherwise, the edges of the plate get caught on the zipper teeth.

Adding a cover to this suit will have two benefits:

1) It will extend the life of the zipper by reducing wear.

2) It will make donning the rig easier.

I've thought of getting a scrap of cordura nylon and gluing the top and sides to the area around the zipper, leaving the bottom free. I also briefly considered the cheap and dirty solution, aka duct tape, but I'd rather have something more permenent and one that doesn't leave glue all over the zipper.

Has anyone added a cover to their drysuit? I'd appreciate any tips or ideas.

Thanks.

 

[johnsub]

I want to do something similar to a back entry suit so i thought why not resurrect this old thread...

How would you go about doing this? Has anyone done something similar?

What i was thinking, is to take a piece of cordura and sew a good plastic zipper with nylon thread on it. Then glue that piece around the zipper using neoprene cement.

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

Aqua seal the flap and Velcro patches to hold it down?


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[johnsub]

@TNRonin Thats also a good idea. It would be even easier i guess. But should i use Aquaseal or Neoprene cement to glue the material?

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

I would glue it so that when you "seal it" the seam is hidden. Get fabric that accents it and it will look cool.


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[spectrum]

I kind of like the Velcro idea in case you need to get it out of the way. I'd use plain Velcro and bond it with contact cement. I have never seen Aquaseal behave well over time.

For the actual flap I'd consider a strip of EPDM rubber roofing material. It's ,04" thick and you'll never need to deal with threads and fraying. Get it at a lumber yard. Many will sell by the foot for a slight premium.

If Velcro's not your thing the contact cement will bond the rubber very nicely.

Pete

 

[elan]

Airspeed press has a great book on dry suit repairs WETSUIT AND DRYSUIT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR by Steven Lindblom

They have a section describing how to do it... it's a great investment.

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

I like the idea of Velcro pads on each side. Put fuzzy pads down so that they're always there. The hook portion on the flap so you can peel it off if you don't want to use it. Then the panels will always be there and not hook on anything.


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[zider]

As a Bare Nex-Gen owner I can say that there are very few adhesives which adhere well to the Nex-gen material. I tried to use Aquaseal to install some pockets and it peeled off within a few dives. I then used contact cement and it has seemed to hold fairly well over the past few months. If the contact cement didn't hold my next attempt was going to be sewing the pockets on and sealing the stitches on the inside. I even talked to Bare about this at a dive show in Febuary and the rep ageed that adhesives don't work well with this material. Good luck on your project and post some results when you are done.

 

[johnsub]

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

The removable velcro flap is a great way to do it i think. As TNRonin said install a panel on the suit and then have a removable flap. Seems good and relatively easy to do.

As for the material of the flap, i'm not sure if i can find the EPDM rubber that spectrum suggested locally here in Sweden. I'll try to see if i can find it but if not then i'll have to go with something else. Cordura or neoprene i'm thinking as they are more easy to source.

My only concern now is what glue to use to adhere the velcro panel to the suit. The suit is a Hunter VSN-1100 and i'm not sure what bonds well with this material.

Suit material description:
2mm non-compressible hybrid stretch trilaminate material consisting of an inner and outer layer of Armatex nylon, with a mid-ply of specially compounded rubber.

Anyone knows whats best to use?