Re: [Paddlewise] freezing

From: Philip Wylie <pjwylie_at_planet.eon.net>
Date: Sat, 02 Jan 1999 18:04:45 -0700
A caution is offered here for what it's worth. 

I used bees wax on my technical jacket and guess what? 

The zipper does not want to hold together. Lack of friction causes
both halves of the zipper to want to easily separate whenever.
Alcohol rub down via a cloth and tooth brush was needed to 
restore the needed friction back to the zipper. All in all
it seems that a happy functioning zipper (plastic that is)
doesn't like wax but rather cleanliness and freedom from
fuzz balls. I once ripped the crotch out of my neoprene
diving suit during a winter dive (minus 15 below zero) and
got the screaming meemies. Now to have a dry suit separate
at the zipper would be a horror as well. What does the manufacturer
say or recommend? Silicon spray via that tiny little straw
tube might be a better solution (I dunno) but gosh I was frustrated
over my jacket separating at the primary zipper at 30 below
during New Years Festivities. For me the wax turned out to be
a poor idea of mine. Now I suspect the dry suit has metal zippers
so the silicon spray  "might be"  a better idea. 

Cheers,


Philip

____________________________________________________________________

Bhansen97_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> Jon Browning asked about ways to prevent zipper freeze in frigid weather.
> Though I do paddle in winter, I haven't paddled in conditions such as those he
> describes (and I don't plan to), but my friend and teacher Tom Bergh convinced
> me to try candle wax as lubricant for drysuit zippers, and it's a very good
> lubricant for that purpose. That should work, I'd think. If not, why not melt
> a little parafin wax, the kind used for canning, in the top of a double
> boiler, and paint that on the zipper?
>  - Bill Hansen
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Received on Sat Jan 02 1999 - 17:09:56 PST

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