Commercial Forum

Yes to both questions, the heavier material helps with longevity I believe. And yes I am using my skinny SOF.

Thanks again. I'll let you all know what develops in this search.

Tony, those look interesting, but large.

Christopher, do you think that the heavier material in the legs of your expedition suit make the difference? Are you using a tight SOF? My biggest concern is wearing out the suit in the thighs where they rub against the seeqqortarfik, just forward of the masik. I like my kayak tight, and there's significant rubbing there.

-- Dan

They show up every now and then, but it's something of a scavenger hunt. I took a quick look and found this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dry-Suit-Military-Lg/164346107085?hash=item2643ca94cd:g:xBUAAOSwZzNfPnOh
and this:
https://www.ebay.com/i/124175109476?chn=ps

Needless to say, it's ebay, so you're rolling the dice. It worked out for me, and I ended up with a heavy duty Kokatat drysuit at a ridiculously low price. Your mileage could vary considerably.

i have had great success with the expedition version of Kokatat's suits. the extra layer of material seems to withstand a lot of abuse

- CC

Thanks, all. Tony, those don't seem to be around anymore. Too bad.

Any suit I end up with will likely get some pretty heavy use. Any other opinions?

-- Dan

You might not care for the bottom-feeding aspect of this, but I've had good luck with a militarized version of the Kokatat drysuit that I found on ebay. It's made by Kokatat, is a heavy duty Goretex, was under $200, has reinforced knees and elbows, plus velcro pockets at the shoulders and hips. As far as I can tell it was unused, with the repair kit and instructions still in one of the pockets. You won't waste any time picking a color, since they only seem to come in olive drab. I hate to imagine how much the military pays for these.

I've always gone for the lower end products, because of cost. However, I feel a dry-suit is an important piece of safety equipment: you don't want to go "cheap" on something that might safe your life. I bit the bullet and got Kokotat. No regrets.

I have been using a Stohlquist EZ for about 5 years, it's held up well, only issue is I need the neck adjusted because of spinal and cancer surgery on my neck, not a fault of the suit.

Folks --

Time for me to replace my old Kokotat. It's had something like 18 years of heavy use, and was the less expensive non-Gore Tex version that I bought cheap 'cause it had a hole in the neck gasket. It's been to Kokotat a few times over the years for patches and gaskets. But it's time to say goodbye.

(What do you do with an old leaky drysuit?)

So what are people's experience with the current crop of drysuits out there?

The Gore Tex Kokotat runs $1080. It's made of great materials and has a great guarantee. Kokotat has great service as well. But by the time you've paid for shipping both ways for a free repair, you've added $70 to the price.

That noted, competing drysuits, perhaps of lower quality, come out at almost half to two-thirds the cost.

What are people's experiences with other drysuits? Are these other drysuits dry? If so, for how long? Do the plastic sippers hold up? Does the cloth wet out/wear out from contact with the kayak frame? Are they worth the lower price?

Opinions sought and helpful!

Thanks in advance.

-- Dan Segal.