Drysuit zippers: care, problems, life span

[FlyinV]

Trilam HD Tech Dry -- Frontzip

Keep a close eye on the fabric edges on your zipper and clean up any frays right away.
I think my problem happened when I let a little fray stay around, but why the hell is it fraying after only 100 dives and following the care instructions!

Also just as a side note -- I have a relief zipper and it has the same fraying problem.
Someone mentioned the fraying could be from self donning ... but do most people have a dive buddy close the relief zipper for them

 

[boattech]

i just purchased two yes two bare trilam hd pros, and after one dive i see some fraying, after reading this i called them...they were very nice they said the fraying is a normal occurrence in there zippers and thats not where they seal,sealing occurs at the teeth inside. i have an apollo suit with about 200 dives on it no frays no leaks so one of those things im gonna watch if this zipper needs to be replaced after 100 dives ill def be the squeaky wheel.

 

[dracos_99]

Yup.... definitely gonna keep an eye on mine now as well.

 

[knowone]

The slider is the means with which to compress the rubber sealing surfaces and interlock the teeth.
Do not use it as a device to force a gaping hole shut.
The wearer should be standing in a position so the edges are as close together as possible with tension at the start of the zipper so that part of the suit remains stationary.
Find a buddy that is able to hold the faces together despite undergarments etc and is not a yanker.
Have the zipper as clear as possible so the operation is as fluid as possible.
Stopping and starting is bad.
Add a longer pulling device like surfers have and find a protrusion somewhere for self donning and doffing.
Either way you have more control with your hand through a loop.
If you are a self donner and doffer practice in a mirror.
Seal the edges and any thread terminations or fluffy bits on all your stuff except masks with a lighter during and after fraying.
Run some marine rubber compound along the edges with your finger before fraying becomes obvious because it is already there because a thread reinforced rubber sheet has been cut leaving the thread exposed.

Aquaseal is for urethane. It has a different consistency than rubber and sits on the surface.

BCD's and bladders have urethane.

Rubber sealant BONDING adhesive compound is for rubber. It has the same CONSISTENCY as rubber and it MELDS.

Both adhesives can be thinned.

Ok you have Aquaseal and it says it's good and you have used it and it has worked and it's handy

BUT YOU DON'T WELD STEEL WITH LEAD or vica verca.

DIR is good.

 

[divingsteve]

What models of Bare suits are you guys having problems with? I just got a Bare XCD2 tech and would be interested to know.

thanks

I'm currently diving the same suit xcd2 and the suit before that was the d-6 both zippers did the same thing.
steve

 

[divingsteve]

i just purchased two yes two bare trilam hd pros, and after one dive i see some fraying, after reading this i called them...they were very nice they said the fraying is a normal occurrence in there zippers and thats not where they seal,sealing occurs at the teeth inside. i have an apollo suit with about 200 dives on it no frays no leaks so one of those things im gonna watch if this zipper needs to be replaced after 100 dives ill def be the squeaky wheel.

I'm sure they where very nice, but I dont think there is anything NORMAL about a $1800.00 dry suit zipper that frays! I have seen other brand suits much older than mine with hundreds of dives and the zippers are not fraying at all. Also I understand that the seal is at the teeth, however once the fraying reaches the teeth it will cause the suit to leak even though the zipper is still fine. I think if you spend that kind of money on a suit the zipper shouldn't fray period!
No more BARE for me!

 

[divingsteve]

Run some marine rubber compound along the edges with your finger before fraying becomes obvious because it is already there because a thread reinforced rubber sheet has been cut leaving the thread exposed.

Thanks for the sealing tip. You would think Bare would seal the zipper edge if they know its going to fray in the first place. They see all the zippers coming back for repair so why dont they admit its a problem and fix it? I guess they figure it's money in the bank. We take great care on my boat with our suits they all get zipped with extreme care and follow the guidelines you mentioned but let me be clear these zippers start to fray immediately, like someone else mentioned here his brand new suit is fraying after one dive! That's not customer error, or lack of care, that's a product flaw and Bare should admit it.

thanks again for the tip!

 

[Aqua-Andy]

You can't blame bare for the zipper because they did not make it, they just bought the zipper. just about all dry suit manufacturers use the same zipper (I know Bare,dui,whites ,pinnicle,viking and many others use YKK/BDM zippers). Like previously said this zipper will fray because it is fabric reinforced and then cut. If you are upset I would contact The new zipper company limited (the makers of YKK/BDM zippers) I have a bare nex-gen and had an issue with the zipper and Bare was more than accommodating with the replacement. Bare makes an excellent suit and when it comes to replacing my nex-gen it will be with a trilam HD. All the zippers I have seen start fraying like this, I think it is something we will have to live with.

 

[David_57]

I have a DUI CLX 450 with over 50 dives and no sign of fraying, prior to this I had two Atlans and both showed signs of fraying after a few dives.

 

[beekeeper5]

I called Bare to ask about the zipper fraying. They said it's normal and to cut them off instead of burning them. I mentioned that DUI zippers do not fray like Bare and they said that Bare, DUI and all the major drysuit brands use the same BDM-type zippers.

As for Aquasealing the fray strings, I would say that this did not work for me. It actually made it worse. The fray strings would now be glued together and instead of fraying individual strings, it would fray a bunch of strings. See my other post on redneck zipper fix to see how the group fraying looks like.