Lesson Learned

[coldwaterdufus]

I bought a brand new Bare Nexgen drysuit April 2009. 70 dives later, March 2010, I changed the zipper due to 2 loose teeth. $ 350.00 I like the drysuit fit and comfort, so this is not a knock on the Nexgen rather a knock on the recommended folding procedures.

I was told to lay it flat, zipper down ( back zip ) and inflator up. Note, the drysuit was never laid on the ground to be folded post dive, rather in the back of my SUV. My diving consists of driving to the sites, so it was laid out in the back of the SUV, never in a gear bag. Teeth were cleaned and waxed regularly. Point is, it was taken care of. Once flat, fold from the feet up all the way to the top, covering / protecting the inflator valve. Then, pull the arms in and lay the arms on the top. note : this method folds the ends of the zipper around ( back to front ), albeit rather gently , or so I thought. The suit was then put in 2 bags on the shelf with nothing on top ( ever ! )

The 2 zipper teeth that were loose were each located on either end right where the fold occurred. This was after, as I said, a grand total of 70 dives and just under 2 years. I'm in Canada, so a lot of time was spent on the shelf during the winters.

Needless to say , it's a done deal. but I'll never fold the arms in again as it was recommended. I still fold the arms in, but past the zipper's end. This makes for a longer package, but at least the zipper stays straight. I'm hoping it will last a little longer this time .

 

[j yaeger]

my suggestion?.....
use it more
sorry about the zipper!!!!!
have fun
yaeg

 

[Julian55]

My buddy went through 3(I think) in a short period of time, he has since replaced the metal plastic with a plastic one and he has had no issues

 

[Bubbletrubble]

It sounds like you took care of the zipper yet only got 70 dives over less than a year out of it.

I think you have every right to be pretty upset about that.

In my experience, most people take great care of the dry zipper while the suit is being stored in-between dives. It's generally during transport to/from a dive site when an "event" occurs which initiates zipper death. My drysuit gets transported in a Rubbermaid tub with cover on. This is particularly important when my suit is getting transported in the back of a car/truck/SUV with a bunch of other heavy dive gear.

For comparison, I think I have 270+ dives on my Bare Nex-Gen. I store it as you described (according to manufacturer's recommendations). It still has it's original zipper, although the zipper is showing signs of wear. I hope to get another 100+ dives out of it before needing to replace it.