Neck seal too tight?

[hfx]

I'm replacing a silicone neck seal and trying to figure out if the stock size is too tight. It feels pretty snug and does seem to be restricting some blood flow, leaves ring marks on my skin when I peel it back, but I can breathe ok.

The seal I'm replacing had 2 rings removed, but that was for the original owner. I dived it about 4-5 times before it failed catastropically and there were some mystery leaks, so I'm wondering if I should try the uncut version before trimming it. Or is this too tight and I should take it down a ring? Neck size is 15.5-16". Thanks for any insight!

 

[lexvil]

It looks to tight but I always dove them before trimming because one small mistake on silicone leads to catastrophic failure more often than not. I no longer use silicone neck seals since buying a waterproof neoprene neck seal, it the way to go in colder water. Don’t know if you went today but breakwater was 60 to 63° weird but it can happen.

 

[Zef]

The silicone neck and wrist seals come in 2 sizes, standard and small. Are you sure you neck seal is not the "small" size? My neck size is between 17.5 and 18 inches and I have not needed to cut my silicone neck seals down.

If you do decide to cut yours, as @lexvil mentioned, one small mistake can cause the seal to split. When I was dealing with latex seals as a whitewater kayaker, I had achieved very good results trimming my seals by clamping them between two 1-inch by 1/2-inch boards that were a couple feet long, and then using an ultra sharp scissors, cut along the board to get a straight, even cut without any nicks....the nicks cause a stress riser when the seal is stretched, which becomes the nexus for the seal to tear.

Double check what size you have first, though.

Good luck.

-Z

 

[hfx]

The silicone neck and wrist seals come in 2 sizes, standard and small. Are you sure you neck seal is not the "small" size? My neck size is between 17.5 and 18 inches and I have not needed to cut my silicone neck seals down.

If you do decide to cut yours, as @lexvil mentioned, one small mistake can cause the seal to split. When I was dealing with latex seals as a whitewater kayaker, I had achieved very good results trimming my seals by clamping them between two 1-inch by 1/2-inch boards that were a couple feet long, and then using an ultra sharp scissors, cut along the board to get a straight, even cut without any nicks....the nicks cause a stress riser when the seal is stretched, which becomes the nexus for the seal to tear.

Double check what size you have first, though.

Good luck.

-Z

It's the replacement seal that came with an ML size Waterproof suit, so I would think it's the regular size. Are they labeled somehow?

I'm not sure I follow your method, are you pressing it flat folded between two slats? I was going to gently stretch it over a plastic cylinder (like a Clorox wipes container) and cut it along the line with a new box cutter blade. Is that not a good idea?