This is not a competition.
Perception is everything. Try rereading.
relef zipper open could kill you
Were you ever in a hurry to get going with friends? All that stuff to find… If you swim with relief zipper open, it is quite possible you are dead.
Drysuit only
It’s been a long time since I wore a farmer john.
It’s Neoprene shorts and a dry top right into the drysuit and backwards in the Spring. I don’t like the pulling ond overheating of the Farmer John. I live in CT and in the late Fall - winter, I know from experience that If I ever come out of the boat, I will get cold in a farmer john. Will I ever come out of the boat? Probably not but I feel more mentally secure and relaxed with the Dry suit on.
Sometimes a Self-Correcting Problem
While a not-fully-closed relief zipper is very possible, same with the upper one, it’s usually a very minor amount of water that can get in.
Having the relief zipper more wide open, the one or two times I’ve forgotten it, was totally self-correcting. The minute I walked into the water to finish burping the soup I realized I’d forgotten something. Especially that early spring day with water and air temps at 42. Oops…
This does assume that you have the habit of getting into the water to at least dunk your head before paddling. That said, once the water temps get past 40 degrees, I often chicken out and burp on land. At that point I suppose I am placing myself at risk from a 55 year old fading memory.