Tiny tear in semi-drysuit neck - trim or glue?

Advice
#1

So, my fourth trip out I have a small tear (less than 1/4") developing at the top of the neck of my semi-drysuit. I assume over time and with repeated stretching it will migrate? Do I want to trim it or glue it? I have roughly 1.75 inches of very tight neoprene at the top of the collar, so I have some room. My worry is I could initiate more tears if I don’t trim just right?

#2

Are you saying that you have a tear in neoprene? Or is this a dry suit and you are talking about a tear in latex?

I am less familiar with the idea of trimming neoprene necks. That operation is usually for latex.

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#3

My advice is to do nothing. If anything you can glue it but that can set up a stress point at the repair location. I have seen this before on neoprene gaskets and just let it go. Over time the whole edge will be ragged. Just the nature of these but it is OK the gasket will still do its job.

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#4

Can you post a photo?

I had similar questions to Celia. Semi-dry suit should be a neoprene neck, not latex. Latex is the material that people often trim.

With neoprene, at most you might use some Aquaseal or neoprene glue to hold it shut.

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#5

Thank you. That’s The info I was looking for.

#6

I can attest Aquaseal works quite nicely. I discovered a small tear in my dry suit’s latex neck gasket this fall. I applied Aquaseal and it’s held very nicely, even with stretching the gasket over my head.

Plan to send it out for replacement this winter.

#7

Aquaseal works well on either neoprene or latex gaskets as does neoprene cement for neoprene. If you have a spare piece of the appropriate material you can use it to make a small patch over the tear to further reinforce it.

Keep in mind that if a gasket tears with no obvious cause you should probably start to think about replacing the gasket. It will likely fail again in a different area before too long.

Kokatat recommends periodically treating its latex gaskets with 303 ® to slow aging and extend life. The manufacturer says that it can be used on neoprene, but to wipe off any excess as much as possible and allow to dry completely before exposing to water.

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