Just got a replacement NRS farmer john (broke zipper on last one - love NRS’s no hassle return policy!) and it came with 2 black square pieces of cloth, each about 2" square - one attached to each zipper with a small plastic clothing tag type thing (what they use to hold labels on). What are these? Patches? If so, how would one install them?
They’re patches -Use Aquaseal to glue
them on when necessary.
If it’s a tiny hole, use just Aquaseal
But keep those fabric patches for bigger jobs.
They’re not patches, but . . .
Neoprene can take a memory. When the wetsuit was built, it’s folded up and shoved in a box with a bunch of other wetsuits. Neoprene is heavy. In order to protect the wetsuit from taking an impression from the zipper, they stick on a sacrificially square to cover the zipper and protect the wetsuit during shipping.
If you look at other neoprene products, you’ll find similar adaptations to packaging. My Chota’s came with a huge chunk of neoprene to keep the lace locks from damaging the other boot.
I’m not so sure about that w/ Chotas
Mine came with a huge piece too, but I bought the Mukluk Lights, which have no laces. The soles were packaged away from each other, toward the sides of the box, and the extra sheet of neoprene was folded underneath, protecting nothing. I assumed at the time it was because Chotas don’t come in half sizes and cut the profile of my feet out of the extra sheet to add inside the boots for a tighter fit. Could be wrong, but it sure worked out nicely for that.
YoS
You’ll need a glue
can get it at dive shops. I find wetsuits tend to get holes at the base of the zipper that need to be patched. I patch one once, then when it fails again, it’s time to retire the wetsuit.
So now we see
…that providing versatile items with no directions as to what they are for makes us consumers think up our own uses!
:DDD
That’s the fun of getting stuff in the mail too.
YoS