Or neoprene shoes/boots.
Soā¦ on the topic of GoreTex and guaranteesā¦
I had a Kokatat Meridian drysuit. I purchased it in 2007 (apparently a 2006 manufacture), and have used it regularly ever since, primarily for winter sea kayaking. I took good care of it, needed to replace the latex neck & wrist seals one or twice, and it served me very well.
Last April (2023), I was going to instruct a basic strokes & basic rescues sea kayaking class. Since I expected to be in the water a lot, I decided to wear it even though the water wasnāt particularly cold. When I went into the water to burp it pre-class, my hip area soaked immediately. Since the zippers were fine, and there were no holes or leaks, I figured it had probably delaminated.
Last month, I finally sent it off to Kokatat for testing/repair/replacement. They tested it promptly, told me it was not repairable, but didnāt specifically tell me it had delaminated. They didnāt charge me anything, and provided me a 25% discount coupon for a new drysuit. I did not contact Gore directly and did not have Kokatat return the drysuit to me. If Iād asked them to send it back, they would have charged for the testing and the shipment. Since it was unusable, that didnāt seem sensible to me.
Iām of mixed mind about the experience. I got 16 good years with regular use out of that drysuit, so it does seem a bit churlish to complain. On the other hand, 25% discount is long way ($1000 +) short of covering an equivalent new drysuit; i.e., not exactly the advertised lifetime guarantee. Iām just going to accept the outcome.
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Kokatat warranty does not cover wear. So you wore it from 2007 to 2023 16 years you replaced the gaskets few times. Iām fairly sure it was just worn out. You can just wear through anything given time.
I had seam tape lift 2-3 inches that I noticed when I was installing new gaskets. I ask about a repair so they said send it in theyāll inspect it. I mailed it in the next thing I heard was when they called and told me to pick colors for a new one. I got it from Edith for Xmas so I was sad to was going to go bye-bye. So they sent me back the hood and the pocket from the suit.
So the numbers I used with you credit your suit cost you less than 60 bucks a years . No other suit will ever be that cheap.
So the numbers I used with you credit your suit cost you less than 60 bucks a years . No other suit will ever be that cheap.
We agree on this. Like I said, I got 16 good years with regular use out of that drysuit, so it does seem unreasonable to complain. I donāt have copies of either the Gore guarantee nor the Kokatat guarantee from 16 years ago. I donāt know if their exact language has changed, and I donāt know if they differed from each other then. I contacted Kokatat, not Gore, so I donāt know if a response from Gore would have differed. To be clear though, the fabric was not worn through; this was a membrane failure. My story simply reflects what the guarantee (from Kokatat) meant in practice in my specific case.
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Like car warranties they say warranty is rust through so I guess it means till thereās a hole.
Fabrics doesnāt have to wear through to fail.
Kokatat warranty is on their website. I believe it now says to original purchaser.
I was surprised that my feet didnāt get wet in my Scubapro neoprene booties.
I took a step into the water with the other foot already inside.