Found a cheap fix for leaking drysuit zippers in the field

I was on a job in San Diego last month and my drysuit zipper started weeping halfway through the day. Tried using the regular wax stick but it didn't hold. Someone on the crew told me to rub a bar of plain ivory soap on the zipper teeth before zipping up. Worked way better than the fancy stuff I was buying at the dive shop. Has anyone else tried soap instead of the expensive zipper lubes?

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2 Comments

leeknight2mo ago

@blairf48 nailed it with the Ivory soap thing. I had the same problem on a job in Seattle last fall, my suit started leaking at the shoulder zipper halfway through a long shift. Tried the fancy wax stuff from the dive shop too, it just flaked off and left this weird greasy feeling. A buddy on the crew gave me a bar of plain ivory and I rubbed it on the zipper teeth real quick. Worked perfectly for the rest of the day and it didn't wash off when I rinsed the suit. That $18 tube of zipper lube sat in my garage for months before I finally threw it out. Soap is cheap and it actually does what it's supposed to do.

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blairf482mo ago

bro soap is literally the OG hack for everything sticky, i've used it on sticky zippers, sticky o-rings, even a sticky car window once. ivory is perfect cause it doesn't leave that weird residue like some fancy waxes do. the dive shop stuff is such a scam, i paid $18 for a tiny tube of "zipper lube" and it lasted like 3 dives. soap costs like a buck and works better, plus you can use it to wash your hands after lol.

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