Brian Nystrom

Here's my take on this: Carabiners work better than knots when you're wearing gloves. Carabiners are less fiddly than knots. You can clip and unclip a carabiner easily in rough conditions. Try tying that knot when your boat is bouncing around. If you use a carabiner on both ends of your contact tow, attached to opposite gunwales, you can use the tow on either side. I have cord running across my deck, so I clip both 'biners to it and just grab either one, with either hand, and pull it to the appropriate side. A short tow is not meant to be used for a substantial length of time, so a quick-release is not really necessary.

The bottom line is that you really can't restore the factory level of water repellency and whatever you use will probably have a much shorter life than the factory coating. "Durable" is really a misnomer when it comes to these coatings (or a lie, depending on how you want to look at it). An employee at an outdoor store showed me something that really demonstrated how bad these coatings are. He took a brand-new Gore-Tex garment and poured a little water on it, which beaded up and ran off, as expected. Next, he poured some water in a little depression in the fabric, then rubbed it with his finger. Within a few strokes, the outer fabric started absorbing the water, as the DWR stopped working. I was stunned! My conclusion is that while you probably won't do any harm by applying a repellent coating, anywhere that the fabrics gets folded or rubbed the coating will fail pretty much immediately, so any benefit is probably more psychological than real.

How I've done it in the past is to put the suit on the floor, fully stretched out. To make the cut, you'll roll the suit, so once you've determined which way to roll it, roll it a half-turn or so in the opposite direction to "wind it up" a bit before starting to cut. That will make it easier to do a continuous cut.

The answer is quite simple and you likely already have what you need: talcum powder. If you apply talc to the inside of the seals before donning the suit, they'll slip right on. Just sprinkle a little on the seals or into your hand and spread it around. The differences is truly night-and-day. Pure, unscented talc is best, as any added oils or perfume could potentially cause long-term damage to the seals ("baby powder" is generally not the best bet). The product I use is called "tire talc", as it's made for coating the inner tubes of truck tires. It's pure talc, has no scent, it's inexpensive and you can find it easily online and at some auto parts suppliers. A small shaker can of it will last for years. Note that this only works when the seals and your hair, wrists and ankles (if you don't have booties on your suits) are dry.

The material in diving dry suits is not waterproof-breathable, so having a DWR is irrelevant. The only advantage to it would be that the suit would dry a bit faster after use.

The state of preservation is simply amazing. Talk about a vessel that was aptly named... Very cool!

Considering that breakthrough infections with Omicron are becoming more common, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they don't consider vaccination and a booster to be enough.

That sounds nice in theory, but in emergency towing situations, it's not always possible to take the time to lock a screw-gate carabiner and I would never use a self-locking 'biner in salt water. While it's not impossible that someone could accidentally become clipped to something on a sea kayak, it's highly unlikely.

Again, Rob is on target as far as making mods based on how you use your tow rig. For me, it was an evolutionary process that coincided with training and actual emergency use. Your NRS rig is already incorporates some of them and some others we suggested may not be desirable, or even possible. The use of a heavy-duty plastic carabiner is interesting; the stresses on a tow rig are not very high and climbing or marine carabiners are serious overkill. The only thing that concerns me is whether you can open the gate with heavy gloves on. An interesting side note is that I sent pics and descriptions of several mods I made to Northwater (the manufacturer of the rig I use). A few months later I noticed that they had incorporated several of those mods in new rigs they introduced. They never said boo to me about it or even acknowledged my email. I realize that they may have gotten similar suggestions from others or developed mods in-house, but it would at least been nice if they thanked me for the suggestions. ?

Rob is right on the money with his suggestions. I typically daisy-chain my rope to a length of no more than 30', which is plenty for towing under most conditions. My tow rig has evolved considerably over the years and I've modified it considerably: The daisy chain clips to a rope-and-bungee shock absorber (rope spiraled around heavy bungee cord), which makes towing much more comfortable. The clip also allows me to shorten the deployed rope by throwing a quick overhand loop in it and clipping it to the end of the shock absorber. I also have a short tow rope that exits out the opposite side of the bag from the long tow. The carabiners for the short and long tow ropes clip to loops I added on each side of the tow belt (the loops have plastic tubing inside the webbing to stiffen them). That way I can quickly grab a short or long tow as needed. Quickdraws provide good handles for the 'biners and prevent them from slipping through the loops on the tow belt (some of the pics were taken before I installed the quickdraws). I have a shorter contact tow clipped to my deck rigging, so I can deploy it instantly in emergency situations. It also serves to hold two or three boats together when rafting, by passing it through the deck rigging of the adjacent boats. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it handy. BTW, I use cord and sliders for deck rigging, not bungee. I buck the trend of using a quick-release buckle and use a belt I made with ~12" of Velcro as the closure. It's very secure, but releases quickly and it's more comfortable than having a big plastic buckle digging into your gut as you tow. I prefer to keep the tow rope low - rather than up on my PFD - as it reduces the strain on my torso when the towed boat tugs on the line. The pic shows the original belt which had a separate quick release for the bag, which I never used. The new belt is much simpler.

The warranty covers all defects in the fabric, though I don't know what else would be likely other than delamination. Of course, it does not cover wear and tear, which is standard for any warranty.

Thanks for the clarification, Bill. However, when I had a problem with a Gore-Tex drysuit, they didn't even ask if I was the original owner or for any proof of purchase. The only thing the person I spoke with seemed to be concerned about was making me happy. I asked if I could order a higher-end suit than the one I had and pay the difference and he said "Tell me what you want and I'll send it right out." He refused to take any payment. Perhaps they may be more strict now than they were then, but I would still contact them with any warranty-related issues. You have nothing to lose but a few minutes on the phone.

No, actually it doesn't. You should be able to pinch the seal with your thumb and forefinger and easily lift it off your skin. Stretching is a generally an ineffective waste of time and it damages the seals by creating micro-tears in the material (that's how it stays permanently stretched). Trimming is very easy and your suit will be comfortable and usable NOW, not at some possible time in the future after you've stretched the seal on every progressively larger object you can think of. Trim a little at a time and test it before trimming more. Leave it slightly snug initially, until you have a chance to paddle with it for a few hours. Once you've trimmed one, you'll have a good idea what works for you and you'll be less nervous about the process in the future. This is not true. The warranty on the material is from Gore and they will honor it, even if Kokatat says no. IIRC, there is nothing in the Gore warranty that specifies that you must be the original purchaser and they don't even ask for proof of purchase. If you ever have a warranty claim denied on a Gore-Tex garment from any manufactuer, contact Gore and send it to them; they will make it right. I speak from experience.

That happened six years ago and there a documentary film about one of the paddlers' efforts to try to identify the whale involved. I won't ruin the ending for you.

I have no idea why I was presented with one, since I've been on this site for over 20 years and I check it every day. It was one of those really annoying ones that requires clicking on pictures with a specific item in them...twice. I was surprised by it, hence my reaction. I haven't seen it since.