Re: [Paddlewise] summer wear revisited

I applied 303 protectant to the latex seals on my wife's and my Kokatat
drysuits last night, which reminded me that the suits are now 11 years old
(the dates of manufacture are written inside). In that time I have
replaced the neck gasket on mine twice, the wrist gaskets once, and the
latex booties never. My wife has replaced the neck and wrist gaskets on
hers once. I don't think that's too frequent. We tend to use our drysuits
only in the spring and early summer till Lake Superior gets above 55
degrees, and I always wear neoprene boots over the latex booties.

As for inconvenience, we are fortunate to have a shop in the Twin Cities
(Thrifty Outfitters) that replaces drysuit gaskets for what I consider to
be a modest charge, so I have never had to do it myself. As usual, YMMV.

A bigger problem is that the fabric under the armpits has worn from
chafing against our Palm PFDs. I noticed it before the chafing wore
through the Gore-tex and protected the chafed areas with self-adhesive
fabric patches. Though the patches look a bit strange and are peeling at
the edges, so far we have not had any leaks. With modern PFDs that have
larger armholes, I expect this would not be so great a problem.

Chuck Holst

> I've been avoiding buying a drysuit because I have heard
> the neck and wrist gaskets have to be replaced frequently,
> which seems like a terrible inconvenience. Are there drysuits
> that actually hold up for extended periods?
>
> Brad Crain
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