Bill Tuthill wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote:

You could glue cuffs one with Aquaseal or a similar adhesive/sealant.

Good advice. Aquaseal is also recommended to glue on neck and wrist
gaskets, plus booties if you choose booties instead of ankle gaskets.

There are also cements made specifically for gluing latex seals. If you
order seals from OS Systems, you should order some of their glue, too.
One big advantage of their glue is that glued items can repositioned to
some degree - if necessary - by heating them.

As Pete said, use circular plastic containers of appropriate size
to stretch the latex gaskets before glueing.

What possible advantage could there be to doing that? Seals come in
stock sizes that are designed to be glued to garments made in the same
sizes. If you did manage to stretch a seal somewhat, you would simply be
compromizing the fit of the seal to the garment. You DO need to use snug
fitting forms in the garment when replacing wrist and ankle seals or
installing latex socks. The purose is to create a smooth surface and
prevent bunching of the material, not to stretch the seal.

In my experience, stretching latex seals to fit the paddler is also a
waste of time and can damage them. Unless your neck/wrist/ankle
dimensions are very close to the seal dimensions, you're going to have
to trim them to fit. It's easy, it's quick and the suit is comfortable
immediately.

Nobody has mentioned it, so I'll add this: after every trip, spray
all latex gaskets with 303 Protectant, especially on the inside where
salt-perspiration degrades the latex. Doing this will prolong latex
by a factor of 3-5x.

Good idea especially on the outside, where the latex is subjected to UV
in use. On the inside, I prefer to use talc. It makes it so easy to slip
your head/hands/feet through seals you'll be amazed.

Good idea. Latex socks are vastly superior to ankle seals.

And Goretex (or equivalent) socks are vastly superior to latex socks
for longevity, unless you never stand up and don't walk anywhere
with your drysuit on. My latex socks never lasted more than a year,
always failing at the crease, but I walk a lot while boating.

The only problem is that Gore-Tex socks are not available as an
aftermarket item, unless you've found some source that I'm not aware of.
Kokatat will only install them on their own suits. If you own another
brand, it's latex or nothing, unless you can make your own socks. I
would love to have Gore-Tex socks on my Stohlquist suit. My latex socks
have held up for several seasons, but I like the idea of having socks
that are thinner, breathable and that slip into boots easier. BTW,
putting talc on latex socks and in the boots really helps, too.

My relief zipper leaks, as I've said here before. One time I had to
stand in armpit-high water to help perform a rescue. Afterwards it
was necessary to remove my entire drysuit, an turn it inside out
to empty about half a liter of water per foot.

Why don't you find the leak and seal it? I had some leakage with mine,
but it turned out to be leaking not through the zipper, but through some
seam tape around it that had become unbonded. Perhaps yours has the same
problem. If the zipper is actually leaking, waxing it with parafin, bees
wax or paddle wax may help.

That said, a rafter on the Illinois river (Oregon) in flood stage
once died in a long swim, probably owing to torn neck gasket, which
had been repaired with duct tape at put-in.

At the risk of sounding callous, anyone who does something that stupid
deserves to become a victim of natural selection. You don't knowingly
paddle in a compromised dry suit!