Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Yeah, I know what some of you think: "He never wanted a dry suit."

Granted, I didn't, mostly because of the high price they normally are.

Yesterday I bought a brand new one for 10 euro's (That's roughly 12 US$)
at a local smoke and water dagame shop, the only downside was that the
latex neck and ankle gaskets were damaged.

I thought that there was already an amazing price on the tag, but due to
the extensive damage to the gaskets I talked the owner down to 10 Euro's
:-).

Since it's really comfortably my size (6'8") and since the ankle gaskets
were shredded, I guess very few people would be interested in even
asking for the price.

Now that I have bought it, I have a couple of questions for experienced
dry suit owners:

-I want to add a relief zipper.

Can this be done by someone handy enough to replace the latex gaskets,
or do you recommend having it done by a company who specializes in that?

-I want to add neoprene gaskets over the latex ones, in part to prevent
scratch and UV damage as well as to keep the water out even better.
Anyone know of a company in Europe who does that kind of alteration?
I can do it myself, cutting up an old thin wetsuit and sewing on the
gaskets myself. Still, I prefer it done by someone who knows what
they're doing... :-)

-I was thinking about having latex socks added to it instead of gaskets.
I remember reading on RBP (probably years ago) that it is better for the
circulation as well as making certain that you keep your feet dry. I was
thinking about wearing booties over them. Anyone know where I can find
those latex socks in Europe (or online?) ?

Finally, I only found one company (Hiko, in Prague, CZ) who seems to do
the replacement of latex gaskets. Anyone know of such a company closer
to the Netherlands?

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Per Wilko:
Now that I have bought it, I have a couple of questions for experienced
dry suit owners:

-I want to add a relief zipper.


You can have mine. (just kidding...)

But truthfully, I got a Kokatat bag suit a couple of years ago. Everybody told
me I just *had* to have a relief zipper, so I paid the extra bucks and got one.

I find it counter productive when windsurfing because it interferes with the
harness's catching that rope that hangs down from the booms.

Haven't tried paddling with it yet - but probably will within a few days.


Is the zipper on your suit cross-shoulder or diagonal?

I could see the relief zipper's being worth something to me if my suit's zipper
was cross-shoulder, but it's diagonal and it's so easy to just unzip it that the
relief zipper really doesn't add anything for me.

I also see a marginal safety issue: one more thing to forget to zip, and having
the suit peeled down off the upper body seems to me like a much better reminder
to get it all closed up before going back on the water.

OTOH, if somebody is determined to use the thing while *on* the water.....
--
PeteCresswell

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

But truthfully, I got a Kokatat bag suit a couple of years ago. Everybody told
me I just *had* to have a relief zipper, so I paid the extra bucks and got one.

I find it counter productive when windsurfing because it interferes with the
harness's catching that rope that hangs down from the booms.

I think that's less of an issue when paddling. There's nothing that
should come so close to the relief zipper that it can catch. Also, I
could add a flap with velcro over it, just as there is over the normal
zipper on this drysuit.

Is the zipper on your suit cross-shoulder or diagonal?

Diagonal, and on the front.

I could see the relief zipper's being worth something to me if my suit's zipper
was cross-shoulder, but it's diagonal and it's so easy to just unzip it that the
relief zipper really doesn't add anything for me.

Even with a tight spraydeck and a PFD over it? Knowing from wearing
wetsuits with a semi-drytop how much trouble not having a relief zipper
is, I hate to have to undo all of that instead of using a seperate zipper.

I also see a marginal safety issue: one more thing to forget to zip, and having
the suit peeled down off the upper body seems to me like a much better reminder
to get it all closed up before going back on the water.

Hmmm, I never forgot to close my zipper when wearing a wetsuit, so I
doubt that I'll forget it when wearing a drysuit. But who knows what
happen to my memory as I get older... ;-)

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

On 18-Mar-2006, Wilko wrote:

I talked the owner down to 10 Euro's

Good price!!!

-I want to add a relief zipper.

Can this be done by someone handy enough to replace the latex gaskets,
or do you recommend having it done by a company who specializes in that

If you're brave, you could do this yourself. The biggest problem is finding the
zipper. Perhaps a dive shop could help if there are no local paddling shops
that can get it.

Almost anyone can do the basic work (even a lot of friendly neighbourhood
sewing enthusiasts). The only really hard part is testing it for waterproofness
to some standard that a company like Kokatat might do. That is - it might
stand up to pooled water but leak at the pressure of even a metre or so of
depth. If you jump into a local lake to test, you can fix the waterproofness
with well-placed beads of Aquaseal.

-I want to add neoprene gaskets over the latex ones, in part to prevent
scratch and UV damage as well as to keep the water out even better.

Scratch and UV? - yes; water out? - no.

I can do it myself, cutting up an old thin wetsuit and sewing on the
gaskets myself. Still, I prefer it done by someone who knows what
they're doing... :-)

Rather than neoprene, just use some nylon or polyester fabric. You could
make an adjustable cuff to cover and sew it on. Then waterproof the seam.

-I was thinking about having latex socks added to it instead of gaskets.

Here I'd recommend neoprene. You might even find generic neoprene socks
that will do.

Mike

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Per Wilko:
But who knows what
happen to my memory as I get older... ;-)

"Getting old is not for sissies"
(Anon..)
--
PeteCresswell

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 23:24:32 +0100, Wilko wrote:

(Snipped)


-I want to add a relief zipper.

If that doesn't work out or will cost a lot, remember Depends, adult
disposable diapers.


No, I'm not trying to be funny. It's a logical solution and workable.
Okay, it may also be funny.
--

r.bc: vixen
Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher, etc..
Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless.
Really.

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Wilko wrote:
Yeah, I know what some of you think: "He never wanted a dry suit."

Granted, I didn't, mostly because of the high price they normally are.

Yesterday I bought a brand new one for 10 euro's (That's roughly 12 US$)
at a local smoke and water dagame shop, the only downside was that the
latex neck and ankle gaskets were damaged.

I thought that there was already an amazing price on the tag, but due to
the extensive damage to the gaskets I talked the owner down to 10 Euro's
:-).

Since it's really comfortably my size (6'8") and since the ankle gaskets
were shredded, I guess very few people would be interested in even
asking for the price.

Now that I have bought it, I have a couple of questions for experienced
dry suit owners:

-I want to add a relief zipper.

Can this be done by someone handy enough to replace the latex gaskets,
or do you recommend having it done by a company who specializes in that?

-I want to add neoprene gaskets over the latex ones, in part to prevent
scratch and UV damage as well as to keep the water out even better.
Anyone know of a company in Europe who does that kind of alteration?
I can do it myself, cutting up an old thin wetsuit and sewing on the
gaskets myself. Still, I prefer it done by someone who knows what
they're doing... :-)

-I was thinking about having latex socks added to it instead of gaskets.
I remember reading on RBP (probably years ago) that it is better for the
circulation as well as making certain that you keep your feet dry. I was
thinking about wearing booties over them. Anyone know where I can find
those latex socks in Europe (or online?) ?

Finally, I only found one company (Hiko, in Prague, CZ) who seems to do
the replacement of latex gaskets. Anyone know of such a company closer
to the Netherlands?

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Is the wet suit a diving wet suit or for paddle sports. ie are there
valves for inflating the suit for bouyancy, Paddle suits designed for
surface usage don't have the valves, and the material tends to be
lighter weight, and more flexible. I got one out of Gortex that is
supposed to breathe. You could try a regular dive shop, they replace
the gasgets in the dive suits, and I don't know that they would be
diffierent. You would want to check it out though because the paddling
exercise is much more vigourous than diving. Dive suits are tempting to
get, and more available, but I have talked to folks that got one to
start to avoid the expense of the paddle type, only to find out they
were way uncomfortable. Also be careful with one that has been setting
around, the UV can destroy the integrity of the material resulting in
blow outs which you don't need at critical times. HYY

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Hanta-Yo-Yo wrote:

Is the wet suit a diving wet suit or for paddle sports. ie are there
valves for inflating the suit for bouyancy, Paddle suits designed for
surface usage don't have the valves, and the material tends to be
lighter weight, and more flexible.

Actually it's a drysuit, not a wetsuit, and it's definately the surface
variety model without valves. It's also pretty flexible, I tried moving
in it while sitting and doing (rodeo style) paddling movements before
buying it.

I got one out of Gortex that is
supposed to breathe. You could try a regular dive shop, they replace
the gasgets in the dive suits, and I don't know that they would be
diffierent. You would want to check it out though because the paddling
exercise is much more vigourous than diving. Dive suits are tempting to
get, and more available, but I have talked to folks that got one to
start to avoid the expense of the paddle type, only to find out they
were way uncomfortable. Also be careful with one that has been setting
around, the UV can destroy the integrity of the material resulting in
blow outs which you don't need at critical times. HYY

Yeah, thanks, but I already figured that UV part out. Alas, the seals
seem to have gotten damaged due to rough handling, either when they were
tried on by some bozo who kept their shoes on or by someone handling the
suit roughly. Since there is no sun bleaching, nor the damage to the
latex that I would associate with UV (hairline cracks and stickyness), I
think that I got a pretty decent deal. :-)

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

Can't answer the supply questions about who and where to buy, but I can
answer the important questions. Yes, you want to add a relief zipper.
In kayak gear, you have to take off you PFD and skirt to use the
zipper, I had it added to my Kokotat Whirlpool Bibs and it's the best
money I've spent in a long time. The first thing that happens when you
get a drysuit on it that you will have to pee.

Booties are great and I'll never own a drysuit without them. They make
the suit much easier to get into and your feet stay dry and much
warmer. I have latex booties on the bibs and have not had a durablity
issue with them, but I am careful. If I had it done today, I think I
would opt for the goretex or goretex clones socks instead of the latex.


I had KoKotat install the relief zipper and booties while they were
doing some warrenty repair for me. There are a couple of companies that
advertize on BT that replace gaskets (a job you can do yourself if you
have the time) , they may do the zipper also. I assume that all of
these companies are US based.

Larry

Drysuit repair and alteration experience.
 

-I want to add a relief zipper.

Can this be done by someone handy enough to replace the latex gaskets,
or do you recommend having it done by a company who specializes in that?

It's possible to do it yourself if you have a commercial sewing machine
and you can find the zipper. As much as I like DIY solutions, this is
one job that may be better off being done by a professional.

-I want to add neoprene gaskets over the latex ones, in part to prevent
scratch and UV damage as well as to keep the water out even better.
Anyone know of a company in Europe who does that kind of alteration?
I can do it myself, cutting up an old thin wetsuit and sewing on the
gaskets myself. Still, I prefer it done by someone who knows what
they're doing... :-)

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

-I was thinking about having latex socks added to it instead of gaskets.
I remember reading on RBP (probably years ago) that it is better for the
circulation as well as making certain that you keep your feet dry. I was
thinking about wearing booties over them.

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

Anyone know where I can find those latex socks in Europe (or online?) ?

www.ossystems.com

Latex seals are easy to install yourself. Kokatat has instructions on
their site and I've got pic and instructions in a Webshots album at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg

It on the second page under "Drysuit Repair".