vid(Offline)

OK, who has a DUI AND also uses either neck or wrist zip seals?

Any problems? easy to fit as per the marketing blurb or really the devil incarnate?


vid

limeyx(Offline)

I've been looking for the same answers and dont have anything conclusive (all I know is that the duct tape on my wrist seals has only a couple more trips of use on it and I have to make a decision!!)

Things I have heard:

Neck seal is good as it uses 2 O-rings, but harness can press down on it, grinding it into your bones (yum)

Wrist seals: seem to be flexible and work well, but only have a single O-ring so might leak more easily, and with ZipGloves, you dont get an inner seal so a puncture of the glove exposes the whole suit.

You're also restricted to using DUI ZipSeals instead of your favorite kind of seals also ...

Cali(Offline)

Vid,

I've got a CLX450 with zipseals for the wrist and neck seals. No problems to date, and I've had the suit for just over a year. I liked the idea of being able to easily switch to dry gloves and didn't want the bulk of the ring systems.

I heard similar things to limeyx before purchasing, but none of these things have eventuated. It takes a couple of mins to put the seals or gloves on. The neck seal I pretty much leave alone. And I haven't had any problems with the neck ring and the harness.

Primary downsides are the cost of the replacement seals (weigh it up against the convenience if you're on a trip somewhere remote), and should I ever puncture one of the heavy duty gloves I may get water into the suit (how much would depend on the size of the hole and how tight the strap is around the glove) due to the lack of an internal seal under the dryglove.

I picked up the Airspeed Press divesuit repair manual last week (http://www.airspeedpress.com/divesuit.html) and he suggests keeping the rings when you eventually stuff a seal, as you should be able to glue a standard seal to the zipseal ring. This may get around the problem with not being able to use a preferred seal?

Anyway, HTH. Let me know if you want any further info.

Cheers,


Cali

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slimer(Offline)

I have both wrist and Neck Zips on my CLX450 that I have had for over a year with many dives in all kinds of conditions. Have not had a problem with them. Once I did have the wrist come loose when I was putting the suit on so I was able to fix that befor I got in the water. I have ruiend a wrist seal and was able to get it back in business for diving in minutes and saved the trip instead of taking a day off to repair it. The newer neck seals are larger to make it easyer and les restictive to get your head in. As much fun as it is to repair or instal a new neck seal from the older way is a pain and takes time. I have used DUI Suits for many years and many others also. I hate replacing neck seals and this makes it go in a snap.

SLIMER

vid(Offline)

thanks for the replies so far folks

if any one else has any further experiences / info, then please share

ta
vid

fraser(Offline)

I'm fairly sure zip seals are not DIR.

Seems like a bad idea to risk compromising a wrist/neck seal on a long dive....

Fraser.

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limeyx(Offline)

Hmmm, who's gonna be the one to tell My Rhea then
I am presuming this is "The" David Rhea

DUI ZipSeals™ and David Rhea

I started diving the original prototype ZipSeals in February of 2003. I have used the ZipSeals exclusively for over 230 hours teaching cave classes in Florida. Many of these dives are achieved in high flow caves, some expelling as much as 40 million gallons per day. I am excited to say that I have never had so much as a drop of water come through the new ZipSeals. After 15 classes and over 150 teaching cave dives, I am more than sold on the ZipSeals.

JohnKendall(Offline)

As I understand it a number of GUE instructors have Zip seals on their Teaching suits. Certainly David Rhea and JJ have suits with Zip seals, but to the best of my knowledge they don't have them on their exploration suits.

HTH
J

Brian Allen (Online)

Are those like the polarbear cuff ring system? They look surprisingly similar...

If so, mine have never leaked ever, been using them for 5 years, and in that time they have saved 4 or 5 days of diving. But i was teaching at the time and it was handy, but then duct tape could have done the job to get me back in the water. I do find that the cuff sometimes makes it harder to get into/out of my harness, so is useful for teaching but if i was really pushing the limits i'd prefer to dive without. I've heard that the neck ring system is also handy on school suits but can get uncomfortable sometimes.

Are they the same? I heard that maybe some other manufacturers have started copying.

JohnKendall(Offline)

No they are very not similar. The DUI ones are head and shoulders better than the Polar Bears system. You can't tell they are Zip seals unless you look closely and know what you are looking for, whereas the Polar bears system is huge.

HTH
J