I am trying to purchase Ti-Zip Lubricant to use on my Stohlquist b-pod drysuit zipper. The suit came with a small tube of it that is now almost empty. I contacted Stohlquist for their recommendation and received the following:
You should be able to find it at bike, outdoor, and dive/whitewater sports stores. I don’t believe it’s a special formula, if you want something the same/similar, look for something with Polydimethylsiloxane and inorganic fillers in it.
I have googled it and even on Ti_Zip’s website they talk about it but there didn’t seem to be a way of ordering it directly from them (only the zippers themselves). One company (Ortlieb?) sells it online for $2/tube but the shipping is $9.20 for a total of $11.20/tube.
I have called several outdoor shops and dive shops but not been successful. I live near Philadelphia.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Jeff
in the pictures on their site
they use zip-tech… http://www.tizip.com/bilder/step_2.jpg
that is made by McNett and available at most dive shops and probably easy to find online…
Outdoorplay has zipcare
I bought a tube of Zipcare along with my bPod from Outdoorplay for $5 - but I’m still working on the tube supplied with the suit so haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product.asp?SKU=ARP_MNZIP
In a pinch…
Or if you are just cheap, you can use paraffin wax, like you’d buy in a grocery store for canning. I used it for years on my diving dry suit with no problems. I think it’s basically the same as the McNett zipper lube, but not as soft. It does work, and when my McNett is gone that came with my last dry suit, I’ll probably revert to the paraffin.
a couple options
Buy MaxWax. It’s what the Kayak Academy sends free w. every Kokatat drysuit sold, and they will sell it separately www.kayakacademy.com. They have a list of things they sell - take a look, for purposes of combined shipping.
A long time outfitter in the Seattle area, who now consults in our office on totally different nonpaddling stuff : D… told me it’s okay to use plain old Chapstick too. Keep it in my smallest drybag along with other little handy things hooked nicely in the rachet straps of my backband.
Maxwax is used in toilet bowl rings,
made by Oatey, in case anyone wants a larger supply.
I like the Chapstick idea, though. When it runs out, refill it with maxwax from the toilet bowl ring.
I received this reply from the zipper
manufacturer, themselves.
Dear Jeff
We do not supply lubricants to end customers as it would be to expensive to ship it from Europe.
Any silicon based lubricant can be used for lubrication. We recommend ZIP TECH from Mc Nett that can be found in every dive shop. The cheapest would be simple Vaseline.
Do not use wax! Small particles may stay between the teeth and affect the sealing function of the zipper.
Best regards
Stéphane Aubert
TITEX Vertriebs-GmbH
Hardstrasse 81
CH-8004 Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Tel. 0041 (0)43 311 02 52
Fax 0041 (0)43 311 02 53
sta@tizip.com
www.tizip.com
Don’t agree
Never, ever had a leak when using wax on my diving dry suit. And we are talking well over 200 deep dives (150’+),with a tank and BC constantly stressing the zipper by way of location (zipper directly under the BC/tank) and air pressure inside the suit. But that’s just my experience.
Sil-Glyde
is a silicone lubricant available from NAPA car parts stores. I have used it very successfully for many things from zippers to door locks.