C-Forum

A drysuit rep recently informed me that the life of a drysuit is anticipated to be 2-5 years, depending on use. I took from that a "lifetime warranty" means about 5 years if you expect a warranty replacement.

In my experience, many recreational canoeists get much more than 5 years out of their drysuits. I'm not talking folks who paddle class IV+ three times a week all year, but class III paddlers who are weekend warriors and use drysuits seasonally.

With how little I've been paddling lately, if I buy an $800 or $1,000 drysuit and only get 2 years out if, well, those are pretty expensive trips!

So, what's been your experience with how long a drysuit should last for occasional class III canoeing?

Thanks, Pat.

the last drysuit i used was made in 1992 ....it had 1 owner before i started using it ... the drysuit im using now is used and i expect to get at least 4-5 years out

I expect to get 10 years out of my current suit. I've had it since 2006 and have yet to put a patch on it. It sees about 2 weeks of tripping each year plus about 8 weekends of day trips each year.

The life expectancy of an NRS drysuit is about two years with moderate use.

Depending on use and care, a Gore-tex Kokotat suit will go a decade (mine has). Anything wears out, but it shosuld take a few hundred river days.

Others tend to fall somewhere between those two.

I expect 10 years out of my Kokotat gortex suit and it's used for both open boating and kayak fishing so sees a lot of use. Treating the gaskets with 303 after 3 or 4 trips is probably good to extent their life but I just made it part of my routine to do the gaskets after every trip so I don't have to remember when it's time. I believe most of the wear and tear that shortens the life of a dry suit happens when putting it on and taking it off especially if the suit is a little tight. Being careful during those couple of minutes when it's going on of off is worthwhile to extend it's life.

I'm on year 6 of an NRS drysuit, averaging probably 20 drysuit days in class 2/3/4 with few swims (IE fairly gentle use). I got maybe a year or two of complete dryness, then another year or two of mostly dry. At year 5, it started to be more of a damp suit than a dry suit, and the last time I used it, I could feel water intruding any time I'd run a wet line. I sent it in to Rainy Pass for a repair quote this fall, and they told me all of the seam tape was shot. Since they wanted more than I paid for the suit to fix it, I just smeared Aqua Seal all over the seams and will see what happens. I'm hoping the Aqua Seal will buy me another season or two of use, since I can't afford to buy a new suit yet.

I chose the 10 year entry in the poll, which was (and still is) my expectation, but then I'm easy on gear. My 14 year old hardtail MTB still has its original rims, for example. In hindsight, I can't fault the NRS suit for not making it 10 years, considering that it cost considerably less than a Kokatat, and it was either the first or second model year.

Length of drysuit season as well as the number of drysuit seasons per year (spring and fall or just winter) also plays into the equation.

My Kokotat gortex suit is doing fine. Usual repairs of holes and new gaskets.

It's my second drysuit.

I have a palm Stikine that is going on 4 years, but the feet have been compromised for the last two. it's still keeps me really dry everywhere else as long as I don't walk in the water. I get 60+ days a year out of it, and one full season of raft guiding in it, so add another 40 days to that.

If you want a suit that last get a kokatat, but all suite wear out eventually.

I'd be curious to hear more from those folks who are accepting that they'll spend $1,000 on a drysuit every 2 or 4 years! Drysuits are great, but $500/yr is a big price to pay! What kind of suits are you using and how frequently & hard are you using them? I'm guessing that rate of replacement/investment is from more than 20-30 days/yr of class II-III?

I'm happy to see that 5-10 years seems like a reasonable expectation.

Pat.

p.s. I'm happy to report that Stohlquist is giving me a full warranty replacement on my 5-yr old suit (it's 5-years old now, with very light use, but has had ongoing leakage problems and extensive factory patching since year 2).

I send mine in for leak testing and minor repairs every couple years. It's 10+ years old. I have a brand new Kokatat that I'll be using this year and the old suit will become my back-up suit.

I'd rather pay retail for a Kokatat drysuit than get anything else out there on the market for free.

I wore out one Goretex Kokatat suit in five years of 60+ days on the river/year. The boots were of course leaky, but the part that wore out was a small area in the shoulder where I carry my boat. The suit also developed leaks in several other places and when I sent it to Kokatat for patching they declared it bad Goretex and replaced the suit.

My strategy for buying the drysuits is to buy them at places that give our club members discounts or use the 20% off coupon in the spring that REI sends out to members. This brings the price down to the $750 range. I've done that now with three Goretex Kokatat suits (one was for my wife).Makes the price much more reasonable.

I have gotten 6 years out of a Kokatat Gore-tex suit paddling OC-1. Other than wrist and neck gasket replacement and a few small leaks that were easily fixed the suit hasn't had any problems. I put 303 on the gaskets every other trip. The socks are starting to get small leaks, but since they're the original ones I don't have a problem with that. I've used my suit on class 3 to 4 stuff an average of ten to fifteen days each winter. Since it sees such light use I hope to get another couple of years or more out of the suit, but if it start to delaminate I'll make a warranty claim. Kokatat replaced my friends suit after a couple of years when it delaminated. Can't beat that!

I agree that while taking the suit on and off you can damage it if you're not careful. Don't buy one that's too snug or you'll stress seams or the zipper.

I think I have everyone beat here. My first drysuit was a heavy nylon non-breathable Stohlquist. I used it for over 20 years! I had the gaskets replaced and had it leak tested by Amigos a couple of times. I also had Amigos put on some latex socks. It was $300 new, and I have been on more bushwacking trips through rhododendren than I can count, including one 5 mile hike out in the dark, all off trail. All that being said, the suit was not all that dry for the last 5 or 7 years. Even when the suit was new, you still got wet because it didn't breath at all. The last time I sent it into Amigos they told me it was beyond repair - the fabric was just getting too thin and permeable.

I now bought a top of the line Kokatat gore tex. It is really nice being able to take it off and be really dry because it lets the moisture escape. My main issue with it is the price. I now worry about briars, and sharp sticks, something I never worried about with the old beater suit.

My first Kokate Gore-Tex dry suit lasted approximately 7 to 8 years , I don't remember, user days but lots. It was first generation, bought in 1993?, as it had a nylon zipper instead of the metal zipper, and that failed first. Sent it to Kokate to be repaired, but it failed their pressure test and wouldn't give it back to me. At that time, they gave me an incredible discount on the purchase of a new one around 2001. My big complaint with my new one is the fit. I'm tall and slim, probably a 40 inch in the hips with layers, but no matter what size I tried on, they were all borderline snug. Really made me wonder how somebody who was "plus size" would fit in them. The only difference I could detect between a medium to large, was the inseam. So, a great incentive to keep the weight under control-LOL! I'm not doing winter boating like I used to, so I expect this one will last a very very long time.

Does anyone recommend the Meridian over the Front Entry from Kokatat. I guess the Meridian can work for buttboating also?? Or is there other advantages?