Silicone neck seals....Yay or nay

[manni-yunk]

What is the latest on these? I know you need a ring system for them to work. Im mostly concerned with comfort. I cant stand Latex neck seals as I feel they are to tight for me to be comfortable. I like Neoprene, and stay generally dry but every once in a while, certain head movements cause a leak....and Ive gotton to the point that I feel that it is part of the seal - on the plus side NEO is more comfortable.


Is Silicone the compromise between the two. Comfortable and Dry even with head movements?


What is the downside of them?

 

[Akimbo]

I will never go back. I find Silicon more comfortable, stretchy, durable, and seals better. Field replaceability is a huge bonus. I find myself wearing the drysuit much longer on deck than I ever would with Neoprene or Latex.

A good trick is to hang the suit so the weight slowly causes the neck ring to sag over the shoulders. A wide dive suit hanger works well.

 

[ajduplessis]

I dont think there is a down side to replaceble silicone seals, either wrist or neck. I think if you have small shoulders the ring might be an issue especially outside the water and potentially be restrictive when doing valve drills, but each person is different. I cant think of anything else really.

I love the system and believe this is the way forward for all drysuits. It makes the drysuit a truely modular unit with an quick and easy way the change seals and gloves. The new oval wrist rings are fantastic with a low suit/hand profile.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Only downside in my book is that they have a greater tendency to burp when you are upright. Having a ring is nice. I had my silicone neck seal tear on a boat dive. Fortunately, I had a replacement (latex) seal to put in that is still on my suit. The latex is tighter on my neck, doesn't burp, but isn't as comfortable. But I am comfortable enough.

 

[TSandM]

The silicone neck seals are amazingly comfortable, and so far, I haven't had "neck burn" from them. I think they are a bit more fragile than latex but probably more durable, if handled carefully (unlike the wrist seals, which just aren't durable enough to be practical).

There IS a down side to the neck ring. If you are narrow across the shoulders, it can significantly decrease your range of motion, making it hard to reach your dry suit dump valve, and hard to reach your manifold valves if you are diving doubles.

 

[Akimbo]

… I think they are a bit more fragile than latex but probably more durable, if handled carefully (unlike the wrist seals, which just aren't durable enough to be practical)….

That is the opposite that I have found, and have never been accused of being gentle with dive gear. I would have gone through one or two latex wrist seals by now. I have heard that there were a batch of early production wrist and neck seal that were too thin and/or had molding problems, but that was resolved a couple of years ago.

It is worth mentioning that Silicon is the least effected by chemical attack. A thin film of gasoline floating on the water or airborne hydrocarbons in the air where the suit is stored will degrade latex.

Regardless of the type of wrist seals you use, this trick works great.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/409621-easy-drysuit-don-doff.html

 

[manni-yunk]

I am 6'1" 205 lbs and I dont think Ive ever been accused of having narrow shoulders. So if the narrow should thing is nullified - is the potential loss of range of motion also nullified?

 

[Kevrumbo]

DUI Neck Zipseal -Silicone, lasted barely four months before it expanded beyond its "stretch memory". And it was cut two index rings smaller than the recommended on the size chart for my neck. The silicone also was too sticky making it difficult to d'on & d"off.

Total POS -going back to latex.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have been using silicone neck seals for nearly 5 years now. I was originally told they were fragile, and I did rip a neck seal and a wrist seal. I was then told the newer ones were less fragile. I have not ripped one in a very long time. I think they are extremely comfortable, and they are less likely to leak if you don't get them just right. Ironically, I got wet on a dive because I was so used to not having to work too hard to get it right that I went into the water on that dive without making ANY attempt to get it right. I had the "Ooops, I forgot" moment pretty early, but even then I managed to complete the relatively short dive without getting very wet.

 

[TTPaws]

I've had latex on my wrist and neck seals on my fusion for 3 years. I had about 20 dives on the old latex and felt like I was being choked until I trimmed back so far I had a leak. Since I went to silicone I have about 100 dive in fresh and salt water in them and I've split one wrist cuff. I caught it on a rusty anchor line. Because of the cuffs, I replaced it when I got to the boat in a couple of minutes. Wrung out my sleeves and made the next dive

I have the old style neck ring and I have had a couple of times caught it under my wing and weight harness shoulder straps. As soon I got in the water everything rearranged and there was no problems. Usually I pull up on the ring as put the weight harness on and it stays out of the way.

I do not plan on ever going back to to latex. You can even find different colored ones. I picked up a pair of blue wrist and neck seals from Dive Tech.