Re: [Paddlewise] 303 substitute?

From: Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 09:55:39 -0500
Sisler, Clyde wrote <snippage happened>:
> 
> I was on the verge of buying a dry suit and all the recent talk on
> Paddlewise pushed me over the edge 
> 
> I drove an hour or so to the Kittery Trading Post, a favorite sports shop in
> Maine, on Saturday and tried on a large (6', 185 lbs) Kokatat Gortex suit.

My non-Goretex suit probably doesn't weigh more than 5 lbs. ;)

> 
> Anyway, I spent half the morning looking for 303 Protectant for the gaskets
> without success.  Is there a reasonable substitue?  I have a TurtleWax
> product for vinyl, etc. that brags about it's state-of-the-art UV protection
> I'm tempted to try.

A full set of gaskets costs about $100. They're latex, which is
different from vinyl. You can experiment if you want to, but I don't
think I would. You might try http://www.303-products.com/  They have a
sample package for cheap. Also a list of dealers. In fact, every kayak
outfitter I've ever set foot in sells the stuff.

> When I finally got my head through the neck gasket I noticed it was just a
> wee bit tight and as  I was on the verge passing out, that my feet were also
> starting to fall asleep too.  I heard/read somewhere to stick some
> appropiate sized objects into the gaskets for a few days to help them
> stretch.  Any comments on this technique?

Definitely try the stretch technique before you start cutting. If you
still think you need to cut, look at the concentric lines on the inside
of the gasket and cut _one_ at a time.

> Of course then I'd probably have to piddle in the suit and slosh
> around in it all day :-(.  Any idea as to the cost of having a fly put in
> and how long it takes?

About $100, which seems excessive to me. The full suit, including a long
zipper, costs $400-500. A second short zipper should cost 20-25% of the
whole thing?

Steve
-- 
Test Scoring & Reporting Services       Sometimes, you never can
University of Georgia                     always tell what you
Athens, GA 30602-5593                       least expect the most.
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************
Received on Mon Nov 23 1998 - 06:53:10 PST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:01 PDT