Drysuit owners:

Do you 303 the inside of your gaskets as well as outside?

Thanks.

I rarely 303 them at all, and they last as long or longer than my friend’s whose get 303’d a lot. But I’m not recommending that you follow my lead. That rarely ends well for people lol. :#

Yes. I don’t know if it’s the “right” thing to do, but I love how the slipperyness helps the gaskets to slip on and off better.

Yes rinse well and 303. Will protect them. Your friend may be doing it to much and making them soft with 303. Once a month only.

Yes. Also use a dive’s trick. Unscented talcum powder inside after paddling, takes up some body oils.

Thanks for the tips. I 303 both sides of my hatch covers but hadn’t done the same on the suit gaskets.

Interesting thoughts. I’ve never used 303 (and I think our local shop carries a different brand, and I don’t know if it’s equivalent). I hadn’t thought about the talc idea either. I’ve never been able to find unscented talc in regular stores, at least not when I’ve thought to look for it, but I do have “tire talc” which should be the same thing.

@Guideboatguy said:
Interesting thoughts. I’ve never used 303 (and I think our local shop carries a different brand, and I don’t know if it’s equivalent). I hadn’t thought about the talc idea either. I’ve never been able to find unscented talc in regular stores, at least not when I’ve thought to look for it, but I do have “tire talc” which should be the same thing.

Kokatat recomends 303 on the gaskets. In checking their video on drysuit care today, the rep applies it only to the outside of the neck gasket (at 1.20 in the video): https://kokatat.com/support/product-use-care

I wonder if using 303 on the inside would offer some protection against the sunscreen or bug spray we apply AFTER we put on the suit (to protect the latex), but is still present to a degree when we take it off.

I think him doing it the outside is due to time constraints of the video. I do the inside on mine after I rinse it well. Tiny squirt and roll wrist gaskets in my hand then wipe off.

@Rookie said:
I wonder if using 303 on the inside would offer some protection against the sunscreen or bug spray we apply AFTER we put on the suit (to protect the latex), but is still present to a degree when we take it off.

I doubt it. I think you just take as much care as you can and replace them when needed - usually a little while after. For anyone with some manual dexterity and attention to detail it isn’t a difficult job to do and a minimal set of tools are needed. This is for the method where you glue to the existing stub. I haven’t done them enough times to have to peel the latex and glue from the GoreTex yet. At that point it might be time to send back to Kokatat for testing and repair.

The reason divers use unscented talcum inside the gasket when you take off the suit is to absorb oils from sweat etc while you paddled. My husband also put a little on to start to help it slide over beard stubble.

Interesting about the talcum but I’m trying to visualize the process when taking the suit off. Pull the neck gasket away and rub some talc around your neck?

Is the talc contained in some type of fabric?

@Rookie No, I just put in the talc after I have taken off the suit. It has to be hung up inside out anyway to start for the layers and the booties to dry properly anyway. And in Maine I walk into the shower with it first to rinse the salt water off the zippers. But that is a salt water thing.

I use talc on the seals to make the suit easier to put on. Just rub a little on the inside and the seals will slide easily over your head and wrists. I’ve never used it when taking the suit off, as it’s usually wet and adding talc wouldn’t help, plus it would just make a mess. You have to stretch the seals to get them off anyway, so talc is of no benefit. For unscented talc, search online for “tire talc”. It’s used on truck inner tubes and is just pure talc, no scents, no oils or other additives. A can of it will probably last a decade or more.

Thanks, @bnystrom I see that it’s sold at some bike and auto part shops, so will check locally.

Throwing a little talc on after taking the suit can be done in moderate manner and will help take up skin oils. Since the suit is inside out anyway it is easy to be neat. I never bother with the wrists, those last forever for me. But no matter how much I pull back on skin creams, my neck gasket has a much shorter life.

Just thinking out loud here, but with repeated use over time could the very fine talc start to clog the GoreTex membrane in areas near where the talc is being used? Could it also contribute to drying out the latex gaskets by pulling “something” out of the latex? (Forgive my ignorance of latex chemistry)

Haven’t observed either happening, been doing this for at least three years. But note again that I seem to have skin oils that are more of a problem than some others.
And you may want to poke around scuba sites Talcum powder, and rolling the neck gasket, are both things that I have heard from colder water divers who use dry suits.

My think is scuba suits don’t breathe well and gortex can get clogged even from dirt. Personally I would not use it.

Gore-Tex won’t work underwater, as it require lower humidity (and preferably a lower temperature) on the outside than the inside in order to work. Consequently, nobody uses it for dive suits. For a paddling suit, it’s the best.

I’ve never seen any indication of talc affecting Gore-Tex in any way. It’s not sticky and it washes right off. The amount used on seals is - or at least should be - minuscule. You just need enough to coat the surface and you can blow off any excess. Latex has no oils or other liquids in it and talc will not hurt it.