I just replaced the gaskets on a client’s older Kokatat drysuit and noticed the old style brass toothed optiseal zipper has a tear in the (Hypalon?) material that the teeth are anchored to. Has anyone patched this material and if so what did you use for the material and the adhesive?
TIA!
Is his drysuit covered by Kokatat’s warranty. I believe that some of the older non-Gore-Tex suits were given a lifetime warranty, unlike today.
If not, I’d call Kokatat. Their customer service reps are pretty helpful.
Going through Kokatat is the proper method, but I was angling for some knowledge nugget that would allow for a fix that wouldn’t tie up his suit for an extended time.
I have patched the Hypalon hulls of my Feathercraft folding kayaks (which use about the same weight material as those heft zipper strips) using the patch kits that came with the boats (Hypalon scraps and vinyl glue) or the patch kits you can get for rubber rafts and other sports gear at big box outdoor stores. GearAid Tenacious tape is an excellent sealant too – I just used it to patch the skin on my skin-on-frame kayak and used it last weekend with no detectable leakage. It really sticks and comes in black or clear. Wilderness sports outfitters (like REI) tend to carry it. I’d put a patch on both the inside and outside of the zipper flange for the best sealing.
Thanks. The tear was so close to the brass teeth I decided to let Kokatat have at it. Sent it in to them to determine the best route. With luck the GTX is failing and they’ll honor the warranty.