I bought an NRS latex drysuit neck gasket kit a couple years ago for my Kokatat Drysuit because it was cheaper than Kokatat. It just sat on a desk and I never even opened the package until now, only to find that the gasket was folded up when they packaged it and now the base of the gasket is stuck together. This isn’t the latex itself going bad, it has some sort of shiny coating applied to the base that is sticking to itself quite severely. You can see what I mean in this picture https://dx0dyd9jru7i3.cloudfront.net/33606_01_na_Large_Kit_091818_2000x2000.jpg
I don’t think Kokatat’s even have that coating but at any rate I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this with a new NRS or if there’s a cure. They are not returnable so I may have bought my first…and last… NRS gasket.
Just bought one and had it successfully installed on my NRS drysuit - I figured I’d have someone do it who knew how. It didn’t sit around for a couple of years - went on right away.
I will say that the latex booties on this drysuit sometimes stick together like that. It has never caused a problem - it comes right apart with no apparent issue to the latex.
Not sure if it is the same issue or not.
I’ve replaced neck, wrist and boot gaskets many times (I now have the gore tex boots so I’ll never have to do those again) and have never seen anything like this. But its the first time I’ve bought NRS. I don’t recall being warned that they had a 2 year expiration date 
Stored where? Temp on desk? In sun by heater?
Probably Chinese made gasket.
On desk I don’t use, shades closed year round, folded up inside paper wrapping they sent it in.
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Try to return it - they are pretty good about returns on defective products.
I broke the zipper on my NRS drysuit a few years ago and sent it back to them for repair - they sent me a new drysuit. I don’t know how long they would normally store that gasket in its shipping packaging, but you never know.
I don’t think the shiny area is a coating, but instead a different finishing of the latex to make it easier to attach. Presumably also makes it easier to attach to itself.
Latex gaskets sticking on themselves after sitting a while happens to them all. If I have dry wear that I haven’t worn for a while (months or longer), it is not uncommon to find one or more gaskets sticking to itself and only possibly separable. That, plus that in general gaskets on the gear needs to be replaced every year or two, is why I have started reducing the number of dry gear pieces I have. High was 3 dry suits and 2 dry tops. 2 dry suits and 1 top is my target.
I generally use gaskets purchased from a company in the UK, not NRS, so it isn’t an NRS brand specific thing. I don’t think any dry suit manufacturer makes their own gaskets, but instead that there are just a couple of makers in the world who supply everyone. o switching from NRS to another brand may not actually be getting you a different gasket.
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As I said, they do not accept returns on these
You’re right. Kokatat and NRS gaskets are probably made by the same manufacturers, but they are different designs. I bought a Kokatat drysuit while I was waiting for the NRS drysuit to be repaired (now I have a spare). The Kotatat neck gasket was taller and narrower than the same size NRS gasket. I had to trim a couple of rings off the Kokatat gasket to make it fit comfortably, which is what they recommend. The NRS gasket fits fine without trimming, and NRS does not recommend that you trim their gaskets.
These are definitely different from kokatat gaskets. Those do not have the coating, (and it is a coating).
Whatever you are seeing with latex sticking to itself is different. The rest of the gasket is not at all sticky. It is only the base where they applied something, presumably to help with adhesion of the aquaseal. Your problem sounds like latex deterioration and this is not that. You must have inferior gaskets over there or toxic skin because mine only need replacing every 7 or 8 years.
Anyway I finally got it all apart without apparent damage to the gasket itself, but the the problematic coating is all patchy now and might interfere with adhesion. Wish I could just remove it down to bare latex. Wish it came that way in the first place.
Latex naturally degrades over time. Degradation is hastened by sunlight (UV), heat, oxygen, and exposure to some air pollutants. Some bacteria can also attack latex. Some sunscreens and other products that contain petroleum components can degrade latex.
Latex products are best stored in a cool, dry, dark place. Many manufacturers recommend periodic treatment with 303® or a similar product.
Kokatat gasket is 49.00.
No clue what you saved by buying the other one. Last I bought them they were 40.00.
I guess I have to say it again: This is NOT latex degradation.
Oh good, its that time where we turn on the OP for being such an idiot. Glad I posted.
So it’s failure is from?
Kokatat is not coated .
No returns throw it away and buy a new one. Doubt you can save it.
Picture is worth a thousand words.
When I was talking to someone at NRS about doing some repairs/seam sealing on an older dry top one of the things that came up was how to extend the life of my latex gaskets in the desert environment. I asked about 303 and he said that they have discovered that silicone grease does much better at preserving the gaskets over time than 303.
Great to use on automotive weatherstripping.
It is hard to understand what you are talking about from the pictures, so I took a look at my drysuit that was recently repaired with an NRS neck gasket.
The top picture is the outside of the gasket/drysuit with the neoprene cuff folded back, the bottom is the inside of the gasket/drysuit. You can see that shiny coating/finish on the inside of the gasket in the bottom picture. The way my suit was repaired, the outside of the gasket was glued to the inside of the neck opening. If you do it that way, whatever happened to that inside coating/finish shouldn’t effect the glueing of the gasket.
I didn’t do this repair myself, it was done by a local guy who has the jigs and has done many repairs over the years. I’m assuming it is done right. I can confirm that it is water tight.
End of the day I think I would just buy a new gasket to be safe. Good luck.
p.s. for kicks I took a look at my new Kokata drysuit. You are right that it doesn’t have that shiny surface on the inside of the gasket, but otherwise it is installed the same.
You can see how much narrower the neck is - even after trimming two rings.
My first hand experience with Immersion Research and Kokatat latex gaskets is that they turn to goo - can’t seem to get 2 full years out of anything. Just part of the drysuit gig if I’m not going to put a lot of fuss into working out better preservation. It seems different folks have somewhat differing results.
To much 303 protectorant can make gaskets soft and ruin them.
