Wasted $90 on a cheap drysuit zipper lube that gummed up after two dives off the Oregon coast

Bought that generic silicone spray from a tackle shop instead of going with McNett or Aquaseal and it turned into sticky goo in saltwater, cost me a zipper replacement, anybody else learned this lesson the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden7201mo ago

Lean into that cheap stuff and you're just asking for trouble... I tried that once on a zipper seal for my dry bag and ended up picking sticky gunk out of the tracks with a toothpick for an hour. Saltwater turns that cheap silicone into something closer to warm honey than a proper lubricant. Ended up having to replace the whole zipper on that bag too, cost me nearly as much as the bag itself. Lesson learned the hard way I guess, stick with the name brand stuff even if it hurts the wallet.

kaimiller1mo ago

Is it really that bad? I've used cheap silicone grease on a few old tent zippers and a cooler gasket before and never had it turn into goo. Maybe it depends on the brand of cheap stuff or how often you're dunking it. My dry bag zipper gets rinsed with fresh water after every trip and I've never seen it melt down like that. Could also be a saltwater vs freshwater thing though, I mainly paddle on lakes.