Isotherm - their weakest point = zipper ?

[trappist]

I own an Isotherm 6/XL which I was very happy for the last 5 years I dove with it (~120 dives on it). I dive various conditions typically between 40-75F (Europe mostly).

yes I said I was very happy, until this summer... When I realized my zipper was teared on both ends, letting water get in (and when you do 3 dives in a day with temps around 40F it gets really cold - wasted money on the charter as I had to abort my last dive...

I also noticed that the "flaps" all along the zipper are starting to come off. I talked with my LDS and he said this is not possible to replace the zipper... why not ? I mean this is only 5 years old, small amount of dives on it. I have a buddy that bought s Scubapro at the same time and had similar issues (no tearing though as I had) and they replaced his zipper for free ! My LDS is a very good one, they're not trying to sell me another one, they know I have a drysuit for the winter...I don't blame them, but her recognizes the after sale of Mares is far from what he has from Scubapro...

Lost for lost I might try to change the zipper myself... and if I need to buy another suit, Scubapro will have my business.

 

[peterrobbemond]

Maybe Zak can shine a light on the situation to give it a different perspective?

 

[Zak OHara]

I own an Isotherm 6/XL which I was very happy for the last 5 years I dove with it (~120 dives on it). I dive various conditions typically between 40-75F (Europe mostly).

yes I said I was very happy, until this summer... When I realized my zipper was teared on both ends, letting water get in (and when you do 3 dives in a day with temps around 40F it gets really cold - wasted money on the charter as I had to abort my last dive...

I also noticed that the "flaps" all along the zipper are starting to come off. I talked with my LDS and he said this is not possible to replace the zipper... why not ? I mean this is only 5 years old, small amount of dives on it. I have a buddy that bought s Scubapro at the same time and had similar issues (no tearing though as I had) and they replaced his zipper for free ! My LDS is a very good one, they're not trying to sell me another one, they know I have a drysuit for the winter...I don't blame them, but her recognizes the after sale of Mares is far from what he has from Scubapro...

Lost for lost I might try to change the zipper myself... and if I need to buy another suit, Scubapro will have my business.

Hi there. I'd like to address your comments as best I can. Technically speaking the zipper can be replaced. Mares does not sew / assemble the wetsuits internally. This is a contracted service provided by another vendor. So your LDS is correct, Mares cannot physically replace the zipper. I would also be surprised if Scuba Pro has this capacity as well (although they might because I don't know for sure). In the U.S. there are several small custom wetsuit manufacturers that could do this operation if presented with the suit. I don't know about EU. This might be worth investigating.

In my opinion 5 years is a long time. Neoprene breaks down with time and evnviornment exposure. Normally UV rays and the pressure from diving will break down a suit, as does time. UV will generally make the suit a bit more brittle, and also slowly degrade. Pressure from diving continually squeezes the microcells and repetitive squeezing eventually will contribute to thinning, resulting is less thermal protection as well as slow degradation of suit. This applies to all neoprene, not just Mares.

Mares offers a 2 year warranty on the wetsuits and would most likely have given you a brand new one if this issue had occurred within the 2 year time frame. Again 5years is well after the warranty guideline, and I think quite some time for normal use.

As for the tearing, this can also be affected by how the suit is being zipped. The zipper definitely is more fragile than other items, and more difficult to repair. One should always take care when pulling on the suit to either open or close the zipper. This applies to semi drys and drysuits. Not suggesting you or a buddy was being abusive, just general information.

I really think if you look around on the internet or inquire with some dive stores, you will find a small company or even a dive shop that has the capacity to make a repair to your suit. I wish you luck and hope you find a good solution.