Repair of the Stinky Death Suits

After reading a thread on Kite Forum about drysuits where someone referred to them as “stinky death suits,” I couldn’t help but adopt that name for mine.

Of course, I use that term lovingly now that we’ve been through one of the harshest winter seasons in years.

At the beginning of winter when the water was still warm, I was considering the purchase of a wetsuit because I was so sick of how I looked in my Kokatat yellow and cobalt blue drysuit. I went totally practical when I initially ordered it almost three years ago, complete with built-in socks and drop zipper. That first winter spent body-dragging was bliss as I was warm as toast underneath my goretex shield. However, after seeing photo after photo of my “Can’t Touch This” style and feeling not unlike a large fishing lure, I started regretting my decision. True, my original choice of colors (maroon and black) would have been much more tolerable and infinitely more practical. But when I received the right size in the wrong colors, I was just too impatient to return it and wait on the return shipment. I’ll have to admit that although I’m not getting any style points, I’m certainly staying warm and retaining control of all my limbs and digits. When my fellow wetsuit-wearing kiteboarders are shivering so hard they can barely speak, I am practically sweating in my thermals and wool socks.

Travis also has a drysuit (Ocean Rodeo Pyro Pro) and at the beginning of the last winter season, he pulled it out of storage to find that the latex seals had turned to goo around the outer edges. You can see a photo of that HERE. According to Ocean Rodeo, our petroleum-based sunscreen was the cause of this unfortunate incident. Although he was able to salvage the seals last year, we knew they had to be replaced this year. He just couldn’t cut them down any farther. I also had a ripped neck seal to replace. Back in early fall, we ordered new seals/gaskets from Ocean Rodeo and Kokatat. Kokatat sent a nice little package along with my new neck gasket complete with Aquaseal, sandpaper, and a sample of 303 protectant. I only had to make my repair once. On the other hand, Ocean Rodeo sent some adhesive strips that were to be attached to the new gaskets and sealed with a heat gun. Unfortunately, they didn’t hold very long and Travis has spent the entire winter re-sealing his gaskets with Aquaseal. If you own a drysuit, you should own a tube of Aquaseal…..period. After the last round of aquasealing, he thinks that he finally has it watertight again!

Now that this winter is coming to an end, we are MORE than ready to put our drysuits back in storage. But, I just have to say that overall, we both love having them. Even though we do invest time rinsing, waxing zippers, protecting latex seals, and repairing them that wouldn’t be spent on wetsuits, we receive sincerely enjoyable time on the water in the dead of winter that wouldn’t be so otherwise.

Before signing off, I do believe there is one thing I need to state for the record and that is: our death suits aren’t literally stinky.

-Meagan-