Neoprene neck seal - water getting in when air escapes?

[nexion]

I have a neoprene neck seal on my dry suit and I've noticed that whenever I position myself vertically with my head up, some water tends to get in. It happens mostly when the air bubble reaches the neck seal and escapes through it into the hood. I've had this happen with both of the two dry suits I've had a chance to use.

Is this a common problem or is my neoprene neck seal just not good enough (too loose or too old/worn)? It does have a half-inch crack/tear on its outer edge, which certainly doesn't help, but the previous suit I dove had its neoprene neck seal in a good condition and still had this problem. Basically, I'm wondering if it's a common problem with neoprene seals (or all seals?) or if it's just mine.

I'm considering replacing it with latex. Would that help?

If I do, are latex neck seals generally fairly standard and should fit any dry suit? I'm almost certain the answer is yes, but I'd like to make sure

Thanks, guys! Hopefully I can make it a truly dry suit.

 

[Akimbo]

I never get a drop past neck or wrist seals since going to Silicon. You must use plastic rings since glue won't adhere, but they are field-replaceable. I used Neoprene and Latex for years. Silicon is far more comfortable and has better stretch characteristics. As a result, you have lots of latitude in cutting to fit, especially compared to Neoprene.

 

[Glenn08]

Are you inverting the neoprene seal ? In my experience, latex seals are worn flat, but a neoprene neck seal should be inverted.

 

[nexion]

Are you inverting the neoprene seal ? In my experience, latex seals are worn flat, but a neoprene neck seal should be inverted.

I tuck the outer half inside, so that's the part that touches my neck. The half of the seal closest to the suit is on the outside around the neck.

Sounds like my problem isn't standard for neoprene seals?

 

[TSandM]

If any seal is loose enough to allow air to escape, water will enter around the air bubble. It doesn't matter if it's latex or neoprene.

Neoprene seals are warm and soft, but they are less stretchy than latex. This means that if the circumference of your head is large in comparison to the circumference of your neck, the seal will either be very difficult to get on, or it will leak. In addition, neoprene stretches over time, so a seal that fit well when it was new will loosen with time, and may eventually leak. The good news is that such seals can often be repaired to make them tighter.

Latex seals, I believe, can be installed on virtually every suit, but they have to be the proper size and often need to be trimmed, and that needs to be done correctly.

 

[in too deep]

I have a neoprene neck seal on my dry suit and I've noticed that whenever I position myself vertically with my head up, some water tends to get in. It happens mostly when the air bubble reaches the neck seal and escapes through it into the hood. I've had this happen with both of the two dry suits I've had a chance to use.

Is this a common problem or is my neoprene neck seal just not good enough (too loose or too old/worn)? It does have a half-inch crack/tear on its outer edge, which certainly doesn't help, but the previous suit I dove had its neoprene neck seal in a good condition and still had this problem. Basically, I'm wondering if it's a common problem with neoprene seals (or all seals?) or if it's just mine.

I'm considering replacing it with latex. Would that help?

If I do, are latex neck seals generally fairly standard and should fit any dry suit? I'm almost certain the answer is yes, but I'd like to make sure

Thanks, guys! Hopefully I can make it a truly dry suit.

i had my new suit's wrist and neck seals replaced with silicone, dry now!

 

[Captain Bil]

I learned through trial and error that neoprene neck seals have a sweet spot in the fold. To much or to little tuck and they'll leak. Once I discovered the spot, I've been it had an issue.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Byrdie]

I learned through trial and error that neoprene neck seals have a sweet spot in the fold. To much or to little tuck and they'll leak. Once I discovered the spot, I've been it had an issue.

Same here. My neoprene neck seal was leaking and I found out that I was folding too much of it over. I now only fold about 1/3 of an inch over and it leaks much less.

 

[Edward3c]

I tuck the outer half inside, so that's the part that touches my neck. The half of the seal closest to the suit is on the outside around the neck.

Sounds like my problem isn't standard for neoprene seals?

A common mistake is to tuck to much in then its trying to seal around the bottom of the neck – not the best place to attempt to get a seal.