DUI ZipSeals neck ring system

[Dusty2]

Anyone here use the DUI ZipSeals neck ring system? What are your likes and dislikes. I am contimplating the new silicone neck seals but they require a neck ring system.

[John Rawlings]

Ask to try to put one over your head. I found that I couldn't get a DUI neck ring comfortably over my head and face and that COMPLETELY ended any consideration of them as part of my dry-suit system. You're a large guy, so I think that you might have a similar problem.

[Dusty2]

Yeah that was my concern but I have since read a couple other boards and find you can't get them except to have them installed on a DUI suit by DUI techs so to DUI and their anti competitive policies!

[ljjames]

I have both neck and wrists on my CF200 and LOVE them. I'd never have a suit with anything else... and SOON they are going to be available in silicone, which should be just THE BOMB!!!!!!

[whatevah]

At the PS Diving Day hosted by DUI at Mukilteo recently, we got to check out all their various suit materials, and I demo'd one of the PS suits with zip seals. Liked it a lot. When my current suit eventually gives up I'm going to be taking a good look at my bank account to see if I can stretch to cover the cost of a DUI suit with zip seals. I would like the option of zipping on a regular neck seal and wrist seals for everyday diving, or swapping out for a dry hood and dry gloves to go along with a full face mask for PS dives where there might be biological or chemical hazards in the water. The zip gloves take away one of the main reasons I don't like to dive with dry gloves - those inflexible plastic ring systems bug me. The negatives I suppose are the very high cost (so high that carrying spares gets quite ridiculous), and perhaps more difficulty in doing on-the-spot repairs during a dive trip.

[seainggreen]

Yeah that was my concern but I have since read a couple other boards and find you can't get them except to have them installed on a DUI suit by DUI techs so to DUI and their anti competitive policies!

This is because the zipseals are only available on DUI suits. They require quite a bit of modification to the suit so you want it to be done properly by the folks who built the suit. They also warranty all work which most local techs do not do.

I will tell you that when I originally ordered my TLS350 it did not have zipseals. I actually paid to have them put on at a later date and have not regretted it. In fact they bailed my kiester out on a week-long dive trip where a ripped seal would've ended my diving for the week.

[Pez7378]

Silicone!?!? Man I am so out of the loop. As far as the Zip seals, I love love love them. Silicone should be the cat's Meow!

[Pinkpadigal]

I like them better now, than when I first got mine 5 years ago. I found that the latex didn't seem to hold up as well as a standard latex seal. Not sure why, but the neckseal kept splitting, straight down. The newer ones seem to hold up a lot better and after seeing them being used at DOG days, I was sold.

They are expensive, but what is your time worth? Spend more on the Zipseal and do a 90 second repair job yourself, or wait for the LDS to install? I think the Zipseals win out for me.

Not a fan of the Zipgloves though. I like having my hands free and my gloves are the last thing on and first thing off. Having standard seals, with Diving Concept rings mounted seems to be the way for me.

[lizard0924]

What's the deal with silicone that makes it *the bomb*? Inquiring minds want to know.

I don't have the neck zip seals (I have a neoprene neck seal, 'cuz I'm a cold water wuss and every little bit of insulation helps), but I love my wrist zip seals (I converted from the DC ring system and will never go back).

[Pez7378]

What's the deal with silicone that makes it *the bomb*? Inquiring minds want to know.

I don't have the neck zip seals (I have a neoprene neck seal, 'cuz I'm a cold water wuss and every little bit of insulation helps), but I love my wrist zip seals (I converted from the DC ring system and will never go back).

Silicone should be more flexible, durable, won't require powder or seal saver and reportedly more comfortable. For those with Allergy problems, they are a better (or at least another) alternative to neoprene.

[Mattleycrue76]

I had a TLS350 with Zip Seals and much like John I couldn't for the life of me get the neck ring over my big noggin. I hated it so much that I sold it after a few dives. As far as being able to replace the seal on the spot, I went to a neoprene seal which shouldn't fail suddenly like a latex one. I can appreciate the DUI soft ring system for the wrist seals, but they require getting kitted up in gloves up and I want my hands gloveless till the last minute. Be sure to try fitting one over your head before you buy!

If I was interested in a latex/silicone neck ring system I'd take a hard look at the Si-tech system. $35 for a new seal and 5 minutes to replace it sounds good. OTOH they may have the same issue regarding fit that the DUI one does.

Obviously YMMV.

[ljjames]

i have a set of the silicone seals from Si-tech... if anyone wants to see them, and feel the benefits of silicon over latex, i'll bring em to the next tweek. In my work with the She-P i can tell you for sure that silicone is a far superior material if you can mold it... Y'all can judge for yourselves when you see the wrist seals, it is indeed ridiculously stretchy, durable and much more comfortable than its latex counterparts... I suspect it will cause less issues for those who get 'neckburn' too.

[elemar]

I can appreciate the DUI soft ring system for the wrist seals, but they require getting kitted up in gloves up and I want my hands gloveless till the last minute. Be sure to try fitting one over your head before you buy!

Personally the neck seal works fine for me, but I agree about the gloves. I dive with a camera most dives and although I USUALLY have all the setup done before I suit up, I really want the ability to futz with the housing, etc, even after I'm suited. I've ended up using a dry glove on one hand and a wet on the other as a compromise... though I'm not fond of the system for wet gloves either because I tend to find the big ring limits what wet gloves fit well... IE, anything with a long tail on the glove tends to not fit well with the soft ring.

[whatevah]

They are expensive, but what is your time worth? Spend more on the Zipseal and do a 90 second repair job yourself, or wait for the LDS to install? I think the Zipseals win out for me.

I glue my own seals on my suits - doesn't take long and I can do it anywhere. The alternative, paying $118 per zip wrist seal to $138 for a zip neck seal, just to have them on hand for the unlikely event that one will fail during a dive outing is a little harder to swallow - especially since the latex has a limited shelf life.

Can understand the desire to have hands free of gloves until the last minute before a dive, but I can't seem to get along with dry gloves - they are an annoyance to me when trying to use my camera - I much prefer wet gloves and I find that the difference to my overall heat loss is minimal. So, for everyday diving I just need the regular zip wrist seals - would only be using zip gloves on occasional PS dives.

[ljjames]

At least one of my buddies got his suit arms cut just shy of an inch short specifically so he could wear rings on the suit, and had the zipseals there for convenience of repairs.

[-Aaron-]

I have zip seals on my TLS-350 and have been very happy with them. The ability to easily swap out seals or gloves based on the conditions or a leak is great. I'm not sure if there are different neck ring sizes, but I am a large guy and I have no problems at all getting the neck seal over my head. The only down sides are the replacement cost (my buddy with Si-Tech rings can get new gloves for 12 dollars). Also, as mentioned having your gloves on as soon as you put your suit on is a bit of a pain.

Personally I would recommend doing the zip neck seal and zip wrist seals, along with viking or SI-Tech rings. That way you get the ease of replacement of Zip seals along with the cheap replacement gloves and free hand convenience of a ring system.

I just bought a new Latex neck seal, wish I had heard about the silicone ones, I would have waited and tried them out.

[ljjames]

keep in mind, i have *heard* that you can glue new neck seal/hood whatever to the old one if it has not split all the way to the insertion point... Same with the wrists... if you have an old set, you can glue new seals or gloves or whatever onto the outside.

[seainggreen]

Not a fan of the Zipgloves though. I like having my hands free and my gloves are the last thing on and first thing off. Having standard seals, with Diving Concept rings mounted seems to be the way for me.

Actually you can have both! I have the wrist zipseals on my suit. I then put the rings on the latex part of the zipseals. Works like a charm.

I am shooting a vid system so I much prefer having bare hands right up to the last minute for futzing and setting things, etc. Especially when it's raining I want to be in my suit ASAP but not have my gloves on until I'm just about ready to hit the water.

By doing it this way I get a lot of upside for no downside: replaceable latex seals (should one break or just wear out). I can put my gloves on right before tumping in. Also, when it comes time to dive in MX or FL barehanded in my drysuit, instead of having to dive warped latex (stretched from the rings) and/or send the suit in for new seals, I just pop on a new/different set of latex zipseals and I'm ready. Also-also I switch between a TLS and a CF200 pretty regularly and I can use one set of rings on two suits by just zipping and unzipping. Super nice.

If you want to see how I have it set up just PM me and I can send you some photos.