Those of you who have had it done:
What exactly did the repair place do? Sew on an exterior patch (Gore-tex or not?) and then seam-seal it? Exterior patch PLUS inside Gore-tex tape? Something else?
Yeah, my 3-year-old drysuit got its first gash today, when a wayward metal edge snagged the leg. The metal tore the outer fabric enough that I could see the white laminate itself.
When I got home, I filled the tub with cold water, put on the suit, and tested it. The only leak came from the new tear. 
I talked with two shops (one in Denver, one in Seattle) about the repair and would appreciate feedback from others who have had G-t drysuits patched.
It’s going to be a long time a-waiting while it gets repaired. Darn…a reservoir about 9 miles around just thawed out.
Kokotat?
If that, they took 3 and a half or four weeks to turn my suit around for a new neck seal. You can pay very high amounts of postage and ask for a rush if you want it sooner.
Haven’t had a fabrid tear repaired, so I don’t know what they do with that. I know for a small seam leak, they just laid new tape inside.
Step into my office.
Gortex sells a “repair kit” just for such a thing.
We ripped the seats of our pants up in Ak and my wife found it in a outfitter in Fairbanks.
The directions are on the back of the package.
They are stick on patches, and you cut them to size.
At that time (3 years ago the package cost 10.75).
Each package contains four pressure sensitive patches made from gore-tex fabric.
Make sure you round the corners when you use them
You are supposed to put the garment in a dryer for a half an hour after you apply the patch, but there was no way we could do that so we made due with out the dryer.
I have used those pants constantly since then and the patch has held just fine and never leaked.
cheers, and stay dry,
JackL
Stohlquist
I talked with Stohlquist and they recommended sending the suit to a Seattle shop that “knows our products,” Rainy Pass. Rainy Pass does Stohlquist’s warranty repairs (which this tear is not covered by).
While Rainy Pass probably does a great job, I’d rather drop off/pickup locally and have the chance to talk with somebody in person, suit in hand. This is because I have a couple of other minor things I’d like done with the suit. The zipper flap has some loose stitching and there is abrasion of fabric on one upper thigh where the hard edge of the Velcro has rubbed due to torso rotation.
I once sent a Kokatat top back to NRS for two problems (both of which existed when I got the garment new). I waited 6 weeks and got back a garment with only one of the problems fixed. So that’s another reason why I’m not wild about mailing stuff for repairs. It just takes too long.
Gore-tex field repair kit
I have heard of those but not bought one yet. Definitely will buy one soon for emergency repairs. It’s good to hear that you were satisfied with it.
For this job, though, I want a stitched-and-sealed repair.
I considered sticking a generic nylon tent repair patch over the tear but decided it was too risky. I don’t know what adhesive is on the patch, and it might not hold up to drysuit applications, which involve a lot of flexing and sometimes rubbing.
BTW, my husband and I are going to AK this summer! I finally persuaded him to take a vacation longer than 10 days, and we have chartered a kayak mothership (takes very small groups). Because we won’t have to deal with wet tents or searching for bear-free campsites, we will be free to paddle our butts off all the long day, if we so choose. Must remember to bring binocs and hydrophone.
Fantastic…
Where will you be paddling?
cheers,
jackL
Behm Canal/Misty Fjords
It’s the perfect application for a supported tour. It can rain every day and I won’t care! Well, maybe a little.
Many of our better paddles …
were in the rain.
We had the gear for it and loved every minute of it.
We would watch the sky for a “sucker hole” and then quickly pull up on to a remote beach and eat our P & J sandwiches before the rain came back again and made mush out of them.
Also it never ceased to amaze us as how quickly a bear would come to investigate the smell of the P & J, (or maybe it was the smell of Jack and Nanci).
There were a bunch of times where we would have to scramble to get off the beach and then watch as the bear sniffed around for our crumbs.
We did two short guided tours before we finally did our “trip of our life time” on our own, and there is nothing that can describe the wonderful feeling of being completely alone in the wilderness.
We had many laughs, and never any doubts or fears.
Cheers,
JackL
No guides
There will be no kayak guides; that’s why we chartered this ship in particular.
The crew will take care of the ship and be a source of local knowledge but we will paddle on our own–talking with the crew about our daily plans, of course.
This way allows more flexibility and incurs less likelihood of having an extreme range of paddler experience/skills stuck together.
Wow!
That IS the trip of a lifetime. I will do it some day.