Review Review: Replaceable Neoprene neck seal

[stuartv]

I just received a Waterproof brand replaceable neoprene neck seal from @Dive Right In Scuba.

Neoprene Neckseal

I figured I would start a thread for it since I couldn't find a thread specifically about this, I think it's new, and it seems like a lot of drysuit diehards may not know about it.

It is made to work with the Si Tech Quick Neck, and other compatible, system.

I have not installed it on my suit yet. I just tried it on by itself. I have never used a neoprene neck seal before. I have had 2 suits with latex seals all around and I know have 2 suits with replaceable neck and wrists that have silicone seals.

The size guide said I was barely into the XL/XXL size category, so that's why I ordered. I'm definitely glad I didn't get one any smaller. It does feel tight. Not uncomfortably tight, but not far from it. I have a large head, so I imagine it won't take too many don/doffs before it stretches out a little.

To me, silicone is noticeably more comfortable than latex (neck or wrists). This neoprene seal feels even more comfortable than silicone. Compared to latex, silicone has almost none of that "pinch"-ey feeling. But, there is just a tiny bit. This neoprene seal has none of that.

I am definitely looking forward to trying it out in the water. I'm guessing it will prove to be more comfortable than my silicone neck seal and, I think, warmer, also.

I will post an update after I get some water time on it.

 

[lexvil]

Looking forward to hearing more

 

[JackD342]

Aqualung has them for the Fusion suits with the neck ring now too. No idea who is actually making them, might be the same item.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I am definitely looking forward to trying it out in the water. I'm guessing it will prove to be more comfortable than my silicone neck seal and, I think, warmer, also.

I love my silicone neck seal - I have the original seal and it is still going strong after 2+ years.
I sent my suit in for a replacement zipper and they mentioned one wrist seal had a pin leak so they replaced with neoprene wrist seals - they are not as pliable or soft as the original silicone. But that is me...
I will be interested in your review...

 

[stuartv]

I love my silicone neck seal - I have the original seal and it is still going strong after 2+ years.
I sent my suit in for a replacement zipper and they mentioned one wrist seal had a pin leak so they replaced with neoprene wrist seals - they are not as pliable or soft as the original silicone. But that is me...
I will be interested in your review...

Your suit had silicone wrist seals? You must have had some kind of wrist ring system for that, right?

So, are you saying they removed the ring system and glued on neoprene seals? Or is there some kind of replaceable neoprene wrist seal on the market, like this replaceable neoprene neck seal?


I like my silicone neck seals much better than the latex seals I had before. If the neoprene neck seal doesn't work out for me and I go back to silicone, I won't be upset by it. I just can't resist trying different options. Up until now, everything I had read was that neoprene neck seals are more comfortable, but they have the tradeoff that they leak more easily and the only way to have one is to have it glued on. Well, now that you can have neoprene in a replaceable seal system, I have to know - do *I* like it better or not? I'm thinking about ordering a neoprene drysuit and I want to figure out if I want to order it with the neoprene neck seal that it comes with by default, or pay extra for a neck seal system, so I can use a silicone neck seal.

 

[JackD342]

Your suit had silicone wrist seals? You must have had some kind of wrist ring system for that, right?

So, are you saying they removed the ring system and glued on neoprene seals? Or is there some kind of replaceable neoprene wrist seal on the market, like this replaceable neoprene neck seal?


I like my silicone neck seals much better than the latex seals I had before. If the neoprene neck seal doesn't work out for me and I go back to silicone, I won't be upset by it. I just can't resist trying different options. Up until now, everything I had read was that neoprene neck seals are more comfortable, but they have the tradeoff that they leak more easily and the only way to have one is to have it glued on. Well, now that you can have neoprene in a replaceable seal system, I have to know - do *I* like it better or not? I'm thinking about ordering a neoprene drysuit and I want to figure out if I want to order it with the neoprene neck seal that it comes with by default, or pay extra for a neck seal system, so I can use a silicone neck seal.

Here is the neoprene neck seal Aqualung sells for the SLT neck rings.
SLT Neoprene Neck Seal
Sizing is more critical than the silicone seal.
2XS/XS (<13” neck)
SM/MD (14-15” neck)
LG/XL (16-16.5” neck)
2XL/3XL (17-17.5” neck)
4XL (>17.5” neck)

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

So, are you saying they removed the ring system and glued on neoprene seals? Or is there some kind of replaceable neoprene wrist seal on the market, like this replaceable neoprene neck seal?

Yes - very odd to mix and match... but I was happy to get my suit back...

 

[dive2617]

Any updates on how you are liking the neck seal? Debating one myself!

 

[stuartv]

Well, it obviously took me a while, but I can finally report further on this.

I got a Seaskin Ultra compressed neoprene drysuit right after New Year's. I ordered it with non-replaceable neoprene seals at neck and wrist. I have done 8 dives in it now, over 3 different days. All in water that is/was around 50F degrees. All 3 dive days, I donned the suit and kept it on all day until we were done diving, then took it off. I never even took the top down between dives. The neck seal is totally comfortable and has not leaked a drop, yet.

Weekend before last, I went to the lake again but dived my trilam, which still had the silicone neck seal. When I first got in and submerged, I had a brief moment of shock. I thought my suit was flooding at the neck. Then I realized that it was just the cold water coming in between my hood neck and the neck seal. That cold water outside the silicone neck seal felt like it was right against my skin. Obviously, it has always been like that. I just never really noticed it before, until I got used to using a neoprene neck seal.

This past weekend, I went to the lake again and took my trilam again. But, this time, i took the silicone neck seal off and installed the neoprene neck seal (that I got from @Dive Right In Scuba 9 months ago?). The first time submerging, it was so blissful to have my neck stay warm! My head got that cold shock as the water came in under my hood, but it was not nearly as bad as when the water also felt like it was directly against my whole neck.

I did 2 dives with it and it worked exactly the same as my neck seal on my other suit. It felt too tight when I first put it on, but by the end of the first dive, it no longer felt anything but very snug and totally comfortable. I wore it all day and it was totally comfy and never let a drop of water in.

Now that I've tried a neoprene neck seal, I don't think I will ever go back to using silicone - and certainly not latex (BLEH!!).

It was not cheap. But, I think it should easily outlast silicone by a wide margin. And, there are a lot of things that could happen to it that would be repairable (unlike silicone). Ironically, one of my buddies that was there yesterday was diving the Waterproof D9X suit that I sold him. The first dive, when he submerged, he found that he had somehow gotten a cut/hole in his silicone neck seal sometime between the end of his last dive, a week prior, and the start of yesterday's. Oops! Fortunately, he had JUST received a spare in the mail this past week, and I had the tool with me for changing. So, he literally was back in the water with a new seal less than 30 minutes after his initial try.

Gotta love changeable neck seals. Gotta love neoprene neck seals. And REALLY gotta love that we can now get changeable neoprene neck seals!!

 

[stuartv]

Here is the neoprene neck seal Aqualung sells for the SLT neck rings.
SLT Neoprene Neck Seal
Sizing is more critical than the silicone seal.
2XS/XS (<13” neck)
SM/MD (14-15” neck)
LG/XL (16-16.5” neck)
2XL/3XL (17-17.5” neck)
4XL (>17.5” neck)

I don't know anything about the AL SLT system. But, that looks a lot like the Waterproof seal that works in a Si Tech Quick Neck.

Is the AL SLT system the same as the Si Tech Quick Neck? Will their neck seal fit in a Si Tech Quick Neck ring?