zip placement on dry suits

[SOUTH DEVON]

I'm having a membrane dry suit made to measure for me shortly, and I would really like the zip to be at the front, as I want to remain as independent as possible, and occasionally I like to solo dive, hence I do not want to have to rely on a buddy.
I'm told having the zip on the front means it is more likely to get damaged,and I was wondering if anybody has any experience with front zips.
Thanks for any replies/Steve W

 

[Soggy]

I have a cross-chest front zip on my Bare ATR-HD. Works fine. It isn't more likely to get damaged...comes with a second protective zipper. I can get in and out all by myself.

 

[SOUTH DEVON]

Thanks Soggy , I think I will go for the front zip, not really sure why most divers go for the zip on the back, perhaps it's just because it's cheaper and standard!
Cheers/Steve

 

[budgy]

Regards suit zips in front or on the back their easy to break. I suggest you wax your zip before each dive day. When removing the suit open the zip fully, as its often stress on the teeth that causes problems. I often dive solo and have no problem fastening or opening a back zip using the car boot pillar and a double piston clip. Front zip suits (self donning) have to be longer in the body some people struggle with them. If I was ordering a suit today I think I'd try a neoprene collar and a quick change latex ring system for the cuffs.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have both a Diamond and a SP Cape Horn dry suit with front zips and have never had a problem with breakage. The only slight concern I have had was the potential for wear on the zipper on my Diamond where it rubs on the weight belt. But this has never really developed into a problem. The SP Cape Horn uses a protective cover over the zipper and totally eliminates this concern.

I agree with the statement that you should wax the zipper before every dive day and that the suit should be rolled and/or stored with the zipper open. A sharp bend on a closed zipper will put a lot of strain on it.

Both these suits have been completely self donning and are easy to get into with their diagonal zippers across the front.

I also used to use a semi-dry with an across the back of the shoulders dry suit zipper and getting into and out of it solo was possible. I could hook the zipper pull on hook on the boat ladder and then rotate around the hook to zip it up. This would be much less easy with a shell drysuit and underwear to potentially snag, but would work still well with a neoprene dry suit depending on the undergarment.

Getting out is a snap in any suit with a zipper across the shoulders as all you need is a 3 ft gear line with a boat clip or bolt snap on the end. Reach over your shoulder and clip it to the zipper pull and then just pull the line across your shoulders to unzip.

 

[SOUTH DEVON]

thanks for the tips guys/steve