“All Kokatat products are fully guaranteed to the original owner against defects in materials and workmanship for the reasonable life of the item.”
https://kokatat.com/support/warranty-repairs
Well as is usual the terms are confusing. Many folks have had an amazing experience with the warranty although I wonder how that has changed during covid.
Back in '99, I bought a new Kokatat drysuit from REI for about $140 (tax and shipping included). It wasn’t GoreTex, and was probably there entry level suit at the time, but it had latex neck, wrist and ankle seals as well as an overskirt for a sprayskirt tunnel. After several years of fair-weather-only kayaking, I pulled it out of the closet and found most of the latex dry rotted. This was Fall of 2020.
Eventually, I decided to replace the gaskets myself, ordered them from NRS, along with some aquaseal, and spent a couple days prepping, building forms, and gluing them in. Then I took it down to the river and discovered the seams were leaking.
After deciding I either couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with repairing all the seams, I sent it back to Kokatat. I paid the $42 testing and patching fee. Once they received and inspected it, they told me it was beyond the end of it’s reasonable life and they didn’t even stock the materials to make or repair that drysuit any more. (It was a type of urethane fabric.) BUT, they did refund me the $42 and offer me a substantial discount on a brand new drysuit, much more than I paid for that first one.
By this point, they were experiencing factory slowdowns due to the pandemic, and pretty much everything they advertised on their website in my size was out of stock. However, I was able to go to their “Custom” page, and spec out an Idol in stock colors and a large size with no customization (I measured and I fit a stock large), and the price was the same as a stock suit. I just had to wait for them to make and ship it to me, which took just over a month. Hopefully they aren’t still experiencing such delays.
All in all, I’ve been very happy with Kokatat service and with my new drysuit. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but they do stand by their product and take care of their customers, even infrequent ones like me.
You are correct, and I was aware that not being the first owner would not qualify me for Kokatat’s standard warranty. But the price was so good for a quality suit my size and the style I wanted that it was worth it, And I did not expect to heavily use the suit because of where and how I usually paddle and that has been the case (I have only worn it 6 times). The suit is now 13 years old yet all the seams are intact and the Goretex seems to be in fine shape. I did replace the neck gasket myself (it had a nick in it when I bought it which was one reason for the low price.) And bought latex booties to replace the ankle gaskets. Just noticed a tiny hole in one cuff and will patch that with a piece of the old neck gasket that I saved and some H66 glue at the same time I do the booties. I have long performed my own gear maintenance and repairs and, other than PFDs, most of my kit has always been pre-owned. So I don’t generally concern myself with warranties. If I was younger and had more paddling companions who were able and equipped to join me on trips where a drysuit was a must, I would probably have invested in a new Kokatat.
Yes, Kokatat does not enforce the Goretex warranty for other than the original purchaser. This is a bit of a change from some years ago, I knew people who succesfully sent in a used suit they had bought and got the GoreTex warranty.
That said, whether another casualty of the pandemic or just a to be expected sea change, my impression is that Kokatat is doing more patching over replacement of suits for delam right now.
Get in the habit of testing your equipment. Buy a thermometer. Check the water temperature under various conditions and see how your equipment performs. This can be in a river, a lake or a swimming pool.
I used to visit friends for the holidays in Houston. They had a swimming pool. I would bring new equipment and try it. They thought I was nuts.