TIL a lot of divers ignore their drysuit zipper maintenance until it seizes up

I saw a guy lose a full day of work last month because his zipper corroded after he never rinsed it, and he didn't even know you were supposed to wax it every 10 dives has anyone else run into this on a job site?

3 comments

3 Comments

alexlewis17d ago

I read somewhere that a lot of guys don't realize how fast salt water gets into the zipper teeth if you don't rinse after every dive. A friend of mine had his drysuit zipper lock up solid on a Friday evening and he had to drive three hours to a shop to get it fixed, cost him like 150 bucks for a simple cleaning. The weird thing is the manual that came with his suit had a whole page about zipper care but he never even looked at it. I figure most people just assume the zipper is tough and will keep working no matter what, but that's definitely not the case.

wrenstone17d ago

Stick with what you said about people ignoring manuals. It's true that most folks treat their drysuit zipper like it's indestructible. That salt water gets in there and crystallizes overnight, then the teeth start grinding against each other. Your friend got lucky it was just a cleaning, I've seen guys who let it go too long and the zipper is completely shot. A new zipper install on a drysuit can run you 400 or 500 bucks easily. On top of that, the manual thing is dead on, I think a lot of people just assume they know better until something breaks. A quick freshwater rinse after every dive is such a simple habit that saves a ton of headache later.

mason.paige17d ago

Isn't it funny how that same "I know better" attitude messes stuff up in so many other parts of life too?