Apollo bio-seal ... does it work?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have a friend who gets bad neck chafing when she dives ... a drysuit with latex seal. She's thinking about getting one of those Apollo bio-seals to wear inside her neck seal.

Has anyone tried one of these things? Do they work? Will it help the neck-chafing problem?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[USIA]

They do work. We recommend them to a lot of customers who have problems with chaffing. The only problem is that they take some getting used to. They kind of feel like a slimy collar and a lot of stuff gets stuck in them and makes them a bit of a pain to use. But once you get used to them, and get use to caring for them properly, they do work.

 

[Derek S]

I have a friend who gets bad neck chafing when she dives ... a drysuit with latex seal. She's thinking about getting one of those Apollo bio-seals to wear inside her neck seal.

Has anyone tried one of these things? Do they work? Will it help the neck-chafing problem?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob -

Hate to potentially overstate the obvious, but has she tried anything like powder to help with the chafing?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob -

Hate to potentially overstate the obvious, but has she tried anything like powder to help with the chafing?

Powder, yep ... Seal Saver, yep ... still came home looking like she tried to hang herself ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[String]

It has stopped me getting a neck that looks like ive tried to hang myself after 6-8 hours in a drysuit on multiple days. It stops it feeling sore and stinging from salt so in my experience yes it works.

One thing i would be cautious of is it can apparently reduce the lifespan of latex seals.

 

[dbg40]

I dont have a chafing problem, but my neck seal leaks on me. I used a bio seal last week, and it stopped it cold. Aside from it being a little tight, I had no issues with it at all, and it worked perfectly

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well, I ordered one ... it came yesterday. Today we opened the container, checked out the product, and read the instructions.

Among the things it says is ...

"Bio Seal is created to reduce water leak into the dry suit, however, it cannot prevent water leak perfectly."

Hmmm ... the problem isn't due to water leak ... will the use of the product introduce a problem she doesn't currently have?

"Bio Seal will react when in contact with Latex, causing it to break down little quicker than usual".

Huh? I thought these things were designed to use with drysuit neck seals ... and guess what those are made out of?

I'm sending it back ... a little disappointed that neither the Apollo rep who contacted me about this product, nor the dealer who sold it to me (who I spoke to on the phone and was specific about the application) mentioned this little caveat.

If the product breaks down quickly due to contact with latex, it's not made out of a material appropriate to its intended application ... and if, as String points out, it damages the latex seal in the process, it's REALLY not worth the money.

Maybe I'm missing something here ... but I really wish the folks who sell these things would've been a bit more upfront with me about the caveats. Oh well ... it's only money ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[rds4640]

I had the same problems with my neck seal giving me a rash. After trying EVERYTHING I switched to a neoprene neck seal. I couldn't be happier or dryer!

 

[waynne fowler]

Well, I ordered one ... it came yesterday. Today we opened the container, checked out the product, and read the instructions.

Among the things it says is ...

"Bio Seal is created to reduce water leak into the dry suit, however, it cannot prevent water leak perfectly."

Hmmm ... the problem isn't due to water leak ... will the use of the product introduce a problem she doesn't currently have?

It does not leak any worse then when not using it. If it is leaking profusely, it cannot stop it perfectly.. That is what they meant.. It will not create leaks if it is properly installed.

"Bio Seal will react when in contact with Latex, causing it to break down little quicker than usual".

Huh? I thought these things were designed to use with drysuit neck seals ... and guess what those are made out of?

I'm sending it back ... a little disappointed that neither the Apollo rep who contacted me about this product, nor the dealer who sold it to me (who I spoke to on the phone and was specific about the application) mentioned this little caveat.

If the product breaks down quickly due to contact with latex, it's not made out of a material appropriate to its intended application ... and if, as String points out, it damages the latex seal in the process, it's REALLY not worth the money.

Maybe I'm missing something here ... but I really wish the folks who sell these things would've been a bit more upfront with me about the caveats. Oh well ... it's only money ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob you should not let this detour you in it's use. The degradation of the seal is so slow you may loose 1/3 of the span of the seal.. but if that means you don't get the neck rash... thats an alright trade off in my book.. I used to get the rash's really bad when I was working in the water and in my suit 8 - 10 hrs a day... The bio-seal worked awesome and in truth I couldn't really figure out if it did shorten my seal life or not.

Food for thought.
However I ended up waring a buddies hood for about a week.. mid week one day I left my bio-seal at home.. amazingly I didn't get a rash... the next day I again forgot the bio... no rash.. I thought that maybe I wouldn't get it again.. so tried to go without it the following week.. got the rash.. hmmmm.... I'd used my hood that day.. borrowed the buddies hood after a few days of using the bio-seal (wanted the neck to heal).. no rash.... put my hood on... rash..
as it turns out the neck of the hood was so snug it didn't allow the seal to turn with my neck freely it tried to bind it and in so doing jacked up my neck. Got a hood with a looser neck area and this solved the problem permanently.

I do believe they put all this information about degradation on their website. Or at least they used to.

 

[Snowbear]

Have you suggested she try a neoprene neck seal?
Helped me out immensly with the same problem.