There is a Kokatat gor tex dry suit on CL for 100bucks says it needs gaskets. Its blue and looks a bit older than the ones currently out. Is it worth snagging and replacing the gaskets? How much would this costs and is it something I could probably do myself.
Depends
It depends on the condition of the suit not the gaskets. I just replaced the wrist and neck gaskets on my 5 year old suit for about $100. Do a Google search for replacing gaskets on a Kokatat dry suit and decide for yourself after viewing the procedures. It takes some time, but isn’t all that hard. However if you have reservations about doing it yourself you can send it to Kayak Academy and they will replace them for a fee and shipping.
The issue to be concerned about is if the suit has delaminated. Small punctures can be repaired with Aquaseal.
judgement call
if it were me I’d plan on sending it in for repairs. You can check it yourself once you get it (but difficult to check BEFORE you get it). At a minimum I’d think the booties might need replacing.
GoreTex warranty
Assuming you don’t see rips in the clothing, replacing gaskets isn’t that big a job. I have done some myself, but generally send it in to Kokatat when I need mine done. I pay an extra $20 for them to leak test and patch it - something I would suggest you do also on this.
GoreTek does come with a lifetime guarantee, but it may be for original owner only. Not sure they have any way to know who original owner is, so unless you say, they may not know.
If it is a dry suit with gaskets at ankles, that is another set that needs replacing. I used one as a a demo suit way back when and much prefer the dry suits with built in booties.
ankle seals
If it has ankle seals you can get kokatat to install booties. I bought my suit used and it had one torn ankle seal so I had booties installed. Wrist gaskest are easy to install neck is harder but doable.
Thanks
Im gonna go and probably pick it up later today. By what he describes its mostly been sitting and all 5 gaskets are cracked. I don’t think the suit itself is very beat up. Figured I can’t lose for 100 bucks plus what it takes to fix for something I need anyways.
Make sure it really is GoreTex
Kokatat used to make (and maybe they still make) nylon drysuits - the ones I’ve seen have been blue with a different color trim.
well
I picked it up already. Hopefully this is not the case. Ill post a picture tomorrow. It’s def an older suit.
Update…
– Last Updated: May-17-16 4:00 PM EST –
Well I grabbed it. It's got Gore-Tex tags on it. However I think it's even older than I originally thought. Can anyone ID the model of this?
http://imgur.com/ONt0lze
http://imgur.com/dHn5etV
If …
is has a plastic zipper it is the first Kokatat GoreTex model, probably ca. 1991.
The plastic zippers were problematic.
I had one that looked just like that. I sent it to Kokatat for testing and they suggested I replace the plastic zipper, which I had them do. If you don’t want have GoreTex socks added you can replace the ankle gaskets with latex booties. They require a little more maintenance, but work well.
not far off.
I think you are def on the right track. Most likely from the 90s. The zipper on this one is metal tho.
Good deal
– Last Updated: May-18-16 11:09 AM EST –
Then you got a good deal. I would still send it back to Kokatat for a pressure test, even if you do your own gasket replacement. I have found that suits of this vintage often have seam tape coming unglued and they can easily fix that.
P.S. Look around the inside of the collar just below the gasket for marking written with a Sharpie. Often you will find the model 'GME' or similar and the year of manufacture. My guess is it is a 92 or 93. I have a 94 GFE which is a different color. Plastic zippers were only used in 91.
Found it.
Yup right where you said. G.M.E. and 1994.
btw
He also game me stohlquist and Kokatat splash tops. Both look equally as old and would need gaskets as well. Only the stohlquist fits tho.