It’s in my rightside “bootie”(foot, not the butt).
And it’s slowly gonna make me nuts, especially when the water goes down below 55. There is no perceivable tear or hole. Seams and stitching seem intact. Everything above the ankle gasket is bone dry. The Gore-Tex, in good shape. When I leave the water, my right foot sock is completely soaked. My left, not even damp.
Is this weepage, seepage or what?
I’m hesitant to send off the suit (Kokotat GFER)for weeks of repair. (I really don’t want to be without it, now that the Fall-Winter paddling season is upon us in cooler climes, when I use it 2 to 3 times a week.) I sold off all my previous piecemeal drywear when I bought the suit two years ago.
Somebody help me, help me please…Is the answer
“up above”?
Call to get time
Unless they are really badly backed up, Kokatat can usually cover their end within 7 to 10 days for a simple one (no gaskets to replace) like this. That's w/o paying for expedited work. The major cost is using expedited shipping back and forth on your end to make sure it gets back and forth quickly.
You can purchase GoreTex tape if you dig around and retape the seam, see if that helps. It's likely the problem. But going into winter and all where you'll be needing it more - may be best to pay the bucks for a quick turnaround now and have Kokatat do a proper job with wet test and all.
Aquaseal along the exterior seams nm
If you’re not
fixed up by the 25th, I'll bring a bottle of some fabric treatment I have. It waterproofs fabric pretty well (sunshade on my sailboat is what I've used it for and my piece of crap sealskinz socks and gloves) and may work. no guarantees but worth a shot.
minor leak
Fill up that leg with water, cup by cup (or maybe pint by pint) until you see liquid on the outside. That should really lock down the area that needs repair.
My Sealsocks developed leaks
and they were pretty easy to fix by filling the sock with water and placing a chalk mark around the area that the water was leaking out from. Dry out the sock and apply some Aquaseal to the leaking area.
Send it in for repair
I just got two suits back that were gone about 3 weeks - door to return door. I sent via USPS parcel post to keep costs reasonable. Took ~ 7 days to get to the left coast. One is leaking again - much as you describe, so it just went back again this week.
Two years without a leak or patchs is really good for Goretex socks.
Have the suit checked out with a water test. It will give you piece of mind.
~wetzool
Thanks for the replies all.
Will put a few to the test.
Like I said, I hate like hell to be without the blamed thing this time of year. And shipping it off for even 3 days is too much!!! There are autumn leaves to paddle by, whitewater releases to make, and assorted rendezvous' with highly skilled aqua-lunatics I haven't even met yet!
And you never can tell when we'll get that freak before-Halloween- snowstorm up here on the mountaintop, to bring creek levels up nice and high! (I could possibly ship it when I go to Florida for a week mid-winter...But then I thought I might wanna take it with me so the gators and sharks have a little something extra to bite through. Then I won't even care if I'm overly warm...But damn, this right foot is wet & cold right now!
Thanks again, everyone.
If you keep the leak…
Something I expect you’ll find unless you send it in or score some Goretex seam tape and fully redo the seams yourself - you may want to invest in some old fashioned all-wool socks with a good loft built in. I have a couple of pair of old Thorlo socks like this that are my go-to socks for any paddling where the water is cold and my feet could even possibly get wet. I have never been cold in these things, wet and squishy but not cold.
Also, you should check to see if the lining of the bootie that is leaking badly is still OK. I had a garment with Tropos booties where the booties just delaminated and the membrane melted away, but only in the booties. Since them I am really diligent about turning my stuff inside out immediately after a paddle to dry, and some sloppiness there may have contributed. But per my conversation with the manufacturer the booties shouldn’t have worn so much more aggressively than the rest of the suit, which is still fine except for a slight seam leak at an elbow.
The booties are a separate piece and may not be made at the same time as the rest of the garment, so can have different material issues if they got a not-great batch in.
hey daggermat
…can you recommend a fabric waterproofer? I have some similar problems with my drysuit and can’t seem to find the leak.
Good tips Celia, thanks.
Gonna hunt around for a pair of
soft Merlino.
Do the bubble test
Make some soapy water with a little dishwashing liquid. Use a vacumm or inflator to presurize the suit. I use baloons to stop up the sleeves and neck
Apply soapy water where you suspect leakage and look for bubbles.
~Tommy
I had the same problem
on my Stolquist. Checked the tapes inside the booties and found severaal places where the bootie color showed through, looked porus too. Applied Aquaseal and am anxious to see if I prevailed.
About socks, does anyone wear socks inside AND outside the bootie? Someone told me they rented one someplace and the outfitter insisted on two pairs.
socks inside for us
mukluks outside for me, Aaron uses his NRS WW shoes outside, forgot the name…
Seep test
Turn bootie inside out when dry, fill with water, look carefully for seepage. Mark it and then when dry, dab that spot with some Aquaseal. Quicker than sending it out.
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
If a rental
They probably don’t trust relative newbies to drysuits to not walk around in the socks. The outer socks are probably a precaution to prevent undue wear from that.
guess I wasn’ clear
You wear some kind of water shoes, boots, etc. over the two pairs of socks. I am guessing Celia is right about the newbies but they could also protect against any hard or sharp object in the boots/shoes.