Drysuit field repair

[josko]

Ripping up your drysuit in cold weather can quickly become a serious matter. Is there a (Kokatat) dry suit field repair kit and/or instructions somewhere on how to replace a gasket, fix a major tear, zipper failure etc? I'm planning a long camping trip, and could use help in larning what i can repair in the tfield, and assembling a kit to help me do it. Any help appreciated.

[Brian Nystrom]

Ripping up your drysuit in cold weather can quickly become a serious matter. Is there a (Kokatat) dry suit field repair kit and/or instructions somewhere on how to replace a gasket, fix a major tear, zipper failure etc? I'm planning a long camping trip, and could use help in larning what i can repair in the tfield, and assembling a kit to help me do it. Any help appreciated.

Replacing a wrist or ankle seal is at least feasible in the field, but a neck seal is another matter, as it requires forms and lots of clamps. If any of your seals is iffy, replace them before your trip. For an extended expedition, consider switch to neoprene seals instead of latex. Fabric tears can be fixed by sewing the edges together then covering the damaged area with duct tape, Aquaseal or one of the Goop products (Marine goop is best for exterior applications). I've seen people duct tape torn seals in a pinch, but it's better to carry some latex and/or neoprene and a tube of aquaseal or Goop as well, so you can effect a more durable repair. Remember that many dive shops do dry suit and seal repair, so they're an option if you're near civilization. If a zipper fails, You're pretty well screwed, but zipper failures are pretty rare. Again, I've seen suits duct-taped together, but it's not pretty or very effective.

[Suz]

Here are directions for neck and ankle wrist repairs:

http://kokatat.com/media/pdfs/KokatatNeckgasketW.pdf

http://kokatat.com/media/pdfs/KokatatAnkleWrist.pdf

Works for holes/tears in the gore-tex:
http://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/gore-tex-fabric-repair-kit#15310

Brian's suggestion of carrying aquaseal is a pretty good one. BUT, if you are going to do that, you should also carry cotol which is the accelerant. It does allow for a quick repair that dries quickly. If using aquaseal alone, you need to dry overnight.

On a trip this summer, we effectively patched a wrist gasket for multi day use. Have also done it on a neck gasket for multi day use. Gorilla tape is the best for that.

Personally I wouldn't try and patch a hole in the material but instead would tape it from the inside and the outside over a larger area than needed.

I would also recommend testing your suit prior to a multi day trip to make sure that the 'dampness' you felt last time wasn't delamination by this time. That also happened on this summer's trip. The user was very cold as the front of his suit was delaminated and he became chilled every day as he was pretty wet underneath his suit.

For a really long expedition, I might consider bringing two drysuits rather than one. But, I am the woman who owns plenty so perhaps that is why I have that preference:)

I must say that I was super comfortable in my gore-tex lightweight paddling suit this summer. It has the neoprene gasket and latex on the wrists. It made for really comfortable raingear in the Newfoundland RAINY environment we encountered. Found I put it on in the morning and took it off when going to bed at night.

Suz

[josko]

Suz,

how would I go about getting my drysuit ('12 Meridian) tested? Can that be done locally, should I contact Kokatat, or work with a local dealer?

[Suz]

Dealers can't do. Only Kokatat has the forms to do a leak test. They fill the suit inside out and then watch to see if it leaks.

If you want to check yourself, you can wear gray cotton undergarments and then zip it closed and then get in the water for 20 min.

Get out, dry the outside of the suit with a towel and then unzip and take off without getting the inside wet so that you can see if you have any leaks. If you are dry, that's a good enough test usually. If wet, follow Kokatat's instructions on returning for repair.

[EEL]

Josko:

If you have any doubts, concerns, etc. about how well a Kokatat Goretex product is performing in terms of being waterproof, as Suz says , send it to Kokatat to be tested. The worst that can happen is they will tell you it is fine. The middle ground is they will repair it. Otherwise the stories are legend; except the legends are true. Suffice it to say they will treat you right.

Ed Lawson

[Dan Foster]

How to leak-test a drysuit:

[John Martinsen]

This looks like it would work in the field. http://oscarmanguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-fix-your-drysuit-neck-gasket-in.html?m=1

[Suz]

I think I would rather just bring the flat neck form and clamps rather than a basketball and a pump... The forms are flat and could easily be packed against a bulkhead and take up very little room. I could do a neck seal with 6 clamps without a problem. The clamps take up a bit of room but probably not so much. I will try to take a picture tonight.

Personally I don't go through neck gaskets very often. So, I would just change the gaskets ahead of time and not bother to bring for a month long trip.

BTW, while you could do the drysuit test noted above by Dan, it won't be under pressure (as Kokatat does) and you would need to be doing it outside for sure on a well supported table as the drysuit filled with water gets very heavy.