Wasted $300 on a cheap drysuit zipper repair kit

I tried to save money by fixing a leaking zipper myself with a $60 kit from Amazon. Took me two hours to put it on, and it failed on my first dive in Puget Sound last month. Water got in fast and I had to cut the dive short after just 15 minutes. Ended up paying a shop $240 to do it right. Has anyone else had bad luck with those DIY zipper patches?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron3187d agoTop Commenter

idk man I feel like $60 for a kit is still way cheaper than what you ended up paying even if it didn't work out. maybe you just got a bad batch or installed it wrong?

raymartin7d ago

You said "installed it wrong" and honestly I felt that. I did the exact same thing with a different brand a few years back. Spent a whole Saturday trying to get it to line up right and finally had to give up and call a pro anyway. Ended up costing me more than if I had just paid someone to do it from the start. Sometimes you just get a bad roll of the dice with those kits.

luna_sanchez4d ago

Think about what that $60 kit cost you in time and frustration though. Saturday is not free for most people, especially if you had plans or could have been doing literally anything else. Plus you had to drive to the store, watch a bunch of tutorials, and then deal with the mess when it went wrong. I bet that Saturday could have been worth way more than $60 if you had just spent it relaxing or doing something you actually enjoy. Sometimes the cheapest option is the one that respects your time too, you know?