I’ve come across a Kokatat Dry suit that has some damage (small holes and tears). Also the finish on the inside of the zipper appears to be cracked and peeling. I believe the gaskets were replaced once and they appear in good shape. of course I have yet to try a submerged test.
Is this dry suit potentially salvageable? Thank you.
Not an expert, don’t even own a dry suit. When I saw the first pic I thought rodent chew, easy patch. But the next shots with seam and delamination problems, no way.
It’s salvageable if the price for you is right.
Here are options:
1). Reach out to Kokatat, then send them the suit. Don’t volunteer you’re not the original owner('course if they see this post…) Tell them the suit was damaged in storage(which is not a lie from the looks of things.) They may fix it for a reasonable fee, or possibly even offer you another suit.
2). Get some Aquaseal or HH-66 and some patches from Walmart’s sewing department. The entirety of the suit doesn’t have to be perfect to still be effective in most situations. Just keep replacing the gaskets as needed.
I have done both the above with one of my suits that I ve owned since 2007–It looks to be the same suit as that one.
Send kokatat pictures and just ask them. I’m guess not repairable. I had a 7-8 year old suit I put new gaskets in it. Then noticed two inches of seam tape lifting. They wouldn’t repair it they sent me a new one . Your’s is much much worse in multiple areas. It could be your life at stake.
If you choose to try DIY patching instead of returning it, the adhesive-backed nylon patches and tape that you can get in sporting goods stores and outfitters is better than the stuff from Walmart’s sewing department (though Walmart may have the Coghlan’s packages of ripstop repair tape in their camping department).
I’ve managed some pretty handy field fixes with that stuff, including a large nasty gash on the keel of a vintage wooden canoe in the midst of a 4 day river camping trip. I happened to have a packet of the ripstop tape (always carry a repair kit and mostly used that stuff for holes burned in tents by bonfire sparks.) One of our party had a pack of gum and we chewed up wads of that to stuff the hole, then laid the largest patch over that on the outside of the hull. As anyone who has taken a swig of iced drink while chewing gum knows, the stuff turns to a rock when cold water hits it. the patch held up for the rest of the trip, immersed the whole time and even scraping obstacles. Three years later I paddled with the canoe’s owner again and that day-glo orange patch was still intact on the green hull after many trips. I’ve patched torn down-filled jackets and sleeping bags with ripstop tape, also, as well as rain gear and tent flies.
There is also “Official” Goretex repair patch, available from Seattle Fabrics:
https://www.seattlefabrics.com/GORE-TEX®-Fabric-Repair-Patches_p_516.html
Seattle Fabrics also sells “Tenacious Tape” which I’ve used for a lot of fabric repairs including the skins on my folding kayaks. It comes in black and clear and in a range of sizes.
Cut the patches with rounded edges, of course. for cuts like that I would put a patch inside and outside of the tear.
By the way, I have been unimpressed with the peel and stick seam tapes I have tried – they just don’t hold well. Painting seam sealer or thinned Aquseal on is a better option, might work to paint that on the seam tape just to use it as an abrasion protection layer to the sealant film.
For that peeling zipper, I would use a small paint brush to slather a couple of layers of Aquaseal on it – you can thin the stuff with acetone (nail polish remover) but apply it quickly before the solvent evaporates.
(I’ve got that same “Swedish Flag” color combo Goretex Kokatat as you and Spiritboat – tag dates it to 2007 and I got it used with no flaws but a torn neck gasket in 2011. Has held up very well though I hardly used it all until 2017.)
I agree with @Paddledog. Before tying to repair it yourself and possibly invalidate any possibility of a warranty claim, I would call Kokatat. They are known for great customer service.
That’s assuming the suit is Gore-Tex. I believe that they no longer have a lifetime warranty on non-Gore-Tex products. I’ve gotten a new dry top and dry suit from them The dry top was 15 years old.
