Drysuit neck seal

[NuclearBuckshot]

I just purchased a new DUI CF200 and am looking forward to doing some cold water diving this winter. However the neck seal is super tight. To the point of nearly cutting off circulation to my head. I am leery of making any changes myself (i.e. cutting part of the seal) will a dive shop resize it for me or will they want to put in a bigger seal? And any preferences on zipper care products? Or is there something noninvasive I can try? Also the wrist seals are a little too snug also. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[soonerwink]

The shop you purchased through will probably be glad to help. They are not that hard to trim though. I just got a large can and slid the seals over and trimmed around it just following the line. I used smaller can for wrist seals. Just do one or two lines at a time to make sure you don't trim off too much. You can probably find a diy video on you tube.

 

[TSandM]

There are two kinds of seals, bottle seals and conical seals. Bottle seals are big at the base, and then suddenly come in to a smaller diameter and stay there. Conical seals taper gradually from wide at the base to narrow at the end.

Conical seals can be sized by trimming off a little bit of seal until the diameter is larger. This can be difficult to impossible to do with bottle seals, since they don't taper.

If this is a DUI suit, I think it will have conical seals -- at least, the replacement seals I buy for my Fusion are DUI, and they are conical.

 

[claymore]

Your shop should help you trim the seals. I had to strech my neck seal over as AL 80 and let it sit for a couple of days to strech out.

 

[NuclearBuckshot]

There are two kinds of seals, bottle seals and conical seals. Bottle seals are big at the base, and then suddenly come in to a smaller diameter and stay there. Conical seals taper gradually from wide at the base to narrow at the end.

Conical seals can be sized by trimming off a little bit of seal until the diameter is larger. This can be difficult to impossible to do with bottle seals, since they don't taper.

If this is a DUI suit, I think it will have conical seals -- at least, the replacement seals I buy for my Fusion are DUI, and they are conical.

They are conical seals. and have the rings inside them. I'm taking a drysuit class in a week so I think I'll have my instructor help with this.

 

[alecto]

what is a good way to get your head out of a neck seal if it is tight? I have my buddy stand in front of me and pull at the back while I try to get it over my chin and not choke. this process takes a long time and usually have to stop and rest as i turn very red. Is this a sign I need to trim or loosen the seal or that it is just too small?

 

[bergersau]

My Local dry suit repairer recommended that I do not trim the conical Latex neck seal he fitted to my suit when I asked about that. At least initially.
He suggested gently stretching it overnight over a suitable sized tank or similar object. He also says that the Latex will naturally loosen a little over time and not to go too far with either stretching or trimming else I'd be back in a few months for a new seal when the latex naturally stretches. He says that when new it should be pretty much as tight as you can tolerate without restricting blood flow or breathing.

Turns out that I don't need to trim or deliberately stretch mine at all.

 

[PfcAJ]

Don't stretch the seal. The entire point is that its stretchy, and stretching it over a tank for a long period makes it less stretchy.

Now, to trim it, its cool to stretch it over something and go in half-ring increments with an exacto knife. It will be snug, but if you see veins popping out, its too tight. Cut off another half-ring and try again. Keep doing this till it doesn't make your forhead vein pop out then leave it alone! You'll get used to it.

 

[Hickdive]

Don't trim it. Latex slackens with age. Trimming it to be comfortable now will mean that it is slack and leaky in a few months.

Instead, as others have suggested, accelerate the slackening process by stretching it over something slightly bigger than your neck diameter overnight and then try it again. Repeat the process until it is still a little bit too tight then wear as normal and it will be perfect in no time.

In nearly 30 years of drysuit diving I've never trimmed a personal neck seal however I have replaced for other people many neck seals that aren't perished or punctured but are now too slack and leaky because they were trimmed when new. The other classic trimming problem is leaving a nick on the edge which, when the seal is donned over the head, instantly turns into an edge to seam rip; canning the dive.

Remember latex neck seals are principally manufactured for people who don't actually spend that much time in their suits and, even when they do, they often aren't in the water for long, if at all, and never fully immersed. Divers are oddball critters that spend hours wearing their neck seals whilst completely submerged and under pressure. Trimming rings on the seal are really for those people who can afford to value comfort over dryness and who typically don't actually own the suit they're using and so don't encounter the slack and leaky effect because it isn't them using the suit a few months down the line.

 

[Glenn08]

Another option is to use a neoprene neck seal. Either way, you will need to become accustomed to the seal. And having a more experienced diver (drysuit course) help judge the sizing is a good idea.