Third type of pee zip for wmn's drysuit

-- Last Updated: Mar-20-10 10:17 PM EST --

Is there a good reason why a women's drysuit cannot use a front-to-back zipper similar to what a few women's wetsuits feature?

It'd be easier to access than the half-moon zip in back, and it would (I think) be useable without a fenis.

I wonder if this has even been tried.

When wearing a backpack, I've sometimes not wanted to deal with unbuckling, unstrapping, pulling down shorts etc. and it turns out that really baggy shorts legs have enough room to allow reaching in one and pushing aside undies to pee standing up. Why not a drysuit zipper that allows the same?

(For those who are crying, "TMI!": Never read a msg whose title contains the words "pee" and "women".)

zips damage
I have several pairs of wool leggings that I use under my drysuit. Every one of them has at least one hole, and a few have several holes, in the back that was caused by getting the wool caught in the relief zipper.



Enough said.



Lyn

Climbing suits
I think the full climbing suits use this type of zip. But people usually aren’t sitting down in them - this may be the manufacturer’s concern. Personally I think it’s an interesting idea.

to Celia
Celia have you tried the new Peak UK drysuits with a zipper running along entire inside leg from left ankle to right ankle? Seems to me that this would be ideal for women peeing. Unzip, open, squat and the get the business done.

Climbing suits don’t use…
…bulky waterproof zippers, which could be uncomfortable for walking. The problem with dry suits is that a crotch zipper would have to be waterproof with a low enough profile and adequate flexibility to be comfortable.

There’s a workaround for that
A zipper flap inside.

that was tried long time ago
When I first got involved w/ Kokatat, I asked the lead designer and a women paddler. She said they tried it but that the zipper was too bulky and very uncomfortable. Just sorta imagine a bulky water proof zipper between your tailbone and the seat and you can imagine why it isn’t done today.



Suz

Another variation?
Would a horizontal version work better? Sort of as if it were the lowered men’s relief zipper placed at the crotch instead of above it. The idea being to get rid of the need for other devices.



Kobzol described another system, which strikes me as being much more zipper than is necessary. But if you made it just wide enough to get a hand in to push aside underwear, maybe that would suffice. I wonder if the zipper would be too stiff to keep bent in the U position while paddling. Even if the zipper is not at the exact bottom of the crotch and were a little farther forward, drysuits are baggy enough that maybe you could scrunch the material out of the way towards the back.




won’t happen
Remember you need to walk in a drysuit also - not just sit and paddle.

I had this same conversation with
Michael Duffy at Kokatat. He said they tried it in the beginning, when they first made women’s drysuits with relief zippers, but they couldn’t make it comfortable with the big zippers they needed to use to make it dry.

in reality…
i use a mens suit…it takes me only a few minutes to take a life jacket and spray skirt off and unzip my suit to pee. not really that big a deal…just don’t wait so long that it is an emergency.

Which way does the main zipper run?
On my old Stohlquist suit, the zipper zips UP to seal and down to open.



If it zipped DOWN to seal instead, with a baggy suit it might be possible to use a fenis with just the lower foot or so of the zipper opened. Is this what you are doing, or are you using a men’s pee zipper?

My wife
Had a men’s type horizontal zipper added to her suit and it works great. She just uses her pee attachment and it works like a charm. Very fast and no fussing with the big zipper along her bum.



Regards,



Damon

I don’t know.
If I had to carry with me urinary devices or pooboxes or whatnot I’d much rather plan ahead with what I eat and when I eat and drink so that I could at least have greater flexibility in when I choose to go - and in those instances I’d just unzip my drysuit and go for it.

That sounds good in theory…
…but putting it into practice on the water can be another thing entirely. It makes more sense to be to be prepared, then eat and drink as necessary to ensure your ability to perform on the water. It’s very easy to become dehydrated while paddling and I would rather have to deal with stopping more frequently to urinate than to risk dehydration, as I find the latter a lot more difficult to deal with.

not really
it was the wool getting caught in the outside zipper that caused the problem. That can happen with an inside zip, too, it would just be more expensive.





Maybe it depends on the fit of the drysuit. Mine has become a bit snug !

Huh?
Same zipper (work it from the outside). Just add a fabric flap on the inside to prevent contact between undies and teeth. Like the flap inside a sleeping bag.

nothin to carry
Forgot the name of the apparatus she uses, but it’s very pliable and fits in a pocket. Nothing to carry. Very easy for her to unzip and pee just like a man. She was truly excited when she found how convenient it was…