semidrysuit zipper leaking

what do you drysuit wearers use on your zippers to keep the water out,my zipper looks like the drysuit zips ive seen,have been getting a trickle of water through it lately,more noticible as the water has been dropping into the low 50s high 40s.Any little bit helps to stay warmer,and yes i know i need a drysuit.

A drysuit zipper should not need anything to keep it from leaking if it is in good condition. They should be kept clean and lubed with wax to keep them in good condition, but the only cure for a leaking zipper is replacement.

the wax is what i need but what kind of wax?

divinginn:

what do you drysuit wearers use on your zippers to keep the water out,my zipper looks like the drysuit zips ive seen,have been getting a trickle of water through it lately,more noticible as the water has been dropping into the low 50s high 40s.Any little bit helps to stay warmer,and yes i know i need a drysuit.

Click to expand...

you are not using a drysuit..only drysuits have a zipper designed to not leak..some wetsuits have barriers designed to minimize water entry ..you say you are using a semidry dry so you most likely have a neopene type "seal" at wrists and possibly ankles again to minimize leakage but not to keep you dry..try placing some warm water from a thermos bottle into suit before going in water..cold trickle of water into suit would be less noticable that way..wax on zipper is for lubrication only,it is not going to keep water from entering..

thanks oly,hopefully will have drysuit next winter.

Some semi-drys do have a sealing zipper that is far superior to any wetsuit zipper.

divinginn, Have you been storing the suit unzipped? That allows the sealing faces to rebound so they will have some compression when you do zip up.

The mentioned waxing is to lubricate the mechanism. When the halves are brought together there is a lot of force, the waxing eases the process. It is not a sealing features.

Some zippers have a little pocket where the slider docks. An annual dab of silicone grease in these can make a difference.

If you're just getting into the 40s now a drysuit may not be required in a good semi-dry. Your tolerance of cold is the biggest factor. I choose to dive wet above 50F especially if the air is the same or warmer.

Pete