Buying a used Drysuit
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Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12705
Printed Date: 02 May 2025 at 11:29pm
Topic: Buying a used Drysuit
Posted By: The NZA
Subject: Buying a used Drysuit
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 12:55pm
Any tips on what to look for? Obviously the seals and tears ... any other ways I might quickly assess it?
Is it even worth buying one with a significant amount of use? I know Gortex has limited amount of life in it, and tends to go to water resistant in 3-4 years depending on how much it's used , so there seems to be a good argument for just throwing down on a new one.
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Replies:
Posted By: megspk
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 6:18pm
It's alot cheaper! I swam in mine and that's how I found a hole. A little aquaseal did the trick. I also replaced the gaskets. Make sure the zipper works.
Look for worn areas in the seams. They will be lighter in color or you can even see the fibers.
I bought my dry suit used from a friend and it was a rental before that. It's still doing well!
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Posted By: PaddleGirl
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 6:49pm
look for 30% off clearance sales at REI or new ones on ebay.
i bought a used one once and it was fine but i had to replace some gaskets - which is easy to do yourself. it also didn't have the goretex booties, which sucked.. look for one with feet.
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Posted By: WhiteWater
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 7:57pm
I bought one of craigslist. Askd to meet at a lake or river. Put it on n hop in the water. Thats the best way to know. Gaskets are not that big of a deal its easy to replace em. There may be a hole n leak n u will never c it so id ask to meet by water. Theyre usually koo bout it n if not then dnt buy that one cuz it prob leaks.
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All rivers lead to Mr. Extreme!
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Posted By: mokelumnekid
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 10:01pm
I bought a used Kokatat but it was like new (only used a couple of times), otherwise I would have bought a new one. I guess it depends on how much boating you will do and the time of year. My take is that the dry suit is my most important piece of survival gear (outside helmet pfd, etc.), esp living here in the PNW. My take on buying new is that one could count on it being completely reliable, and that if you left the sport it would hold its resale value. Plus the peace of mind it gives me.
But I understand like everything it comes down to the coin involved. I'm a sissy and so would probably go new unless the used suit was completely bomber and had all the features.
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Posted By: The NZA
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 8:28am
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All good advice ... the possibility of resale value is a good point. If taken care of, you can get half your money back a few years later. I hope to paddle a lot this time of year, so it seem like a good investment. And as far as safety gear goes, it's good to have something that will more than get you through the day, i.e. you need something that could get you through a really long day or the night if something goes wrong. Bu damn, so much $$!
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Posted By: Ellingferd
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 12:54pm
You cannot go wrong buying new from Kokatat or Immersion Research. I have had an IR suit since they came out. They have a lifetime warranty and all repair work to the suit was free (including a replacement of the booties on my first one). Once my first one wore out, I was offered a new one at a discount, which I will not give the exact price, but it was substantially cheaper than a new or used one. I am about to send that one in for some testing and patching, but it is still going strong after over 250 days on the river, a majority of those days in pretty harsh conditions found in the nw/bc class v scene.
As for gore-tex and other fabrics not being "dry", it is often because the fabrics just aren't breathing anymore because they are dirty. Once the fabric is dirty, the pores that let your bodies vapor escape are clogged and as a result it condenses on the inside of the suit since the outer temperature is likely cool to cold. This makes it seem like the fabric is leaking, but washing it with a product like Nikwax Techwash will remedy this. It is more likely you are getting leakage through seams that need to be re-taped or through gaskets that are not pulled up far enough on your forearms, or are also worn out.
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Posted By: The NZA
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 1:54pm
I also wonder about this crazy think, which would be awesome for pack rafting trips in the Olympics. Not sure how long it would last though.
https://www.alpackaraft.com/index.cfm/store.catalog?CategoryID=64&ProductID=183
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Posted By: brownft
Date Posted: 30 Nov 2012 at 1:44pm
Major things to look for with used suits: Make sure to turn it inside out and look it over.
see if the gore-tex layers are detaching from eachother anywhere- this can actually be kinda hard to spot. the best way is to actually rub your hands on the fabric to see if the layers move or if you see any "bubbles". the most likely damage spots are the socks. I see a lot of delamination around the neck too. Most anything else can be repaired or replaced. if you buy a used suit that is delaminating there is very little you can do about it, and you don have the benefit of a warranty to fix or replace the thing
if you're buying it off a person, ask where it's been stored- if its been hanging out in the garage with gasoline or other chemicals that off-gas, this could have damaged the material.
But i'd go for a discounted new suit if you can find one- that way you've got the warranty, which is a big deal.
since someone already brought up Kayak Academy...
Here are the used and closeout suits we've got right now:
http://www.kayakacademy.com/pages/store/used.html#drysuits
http://www.kayakacademy.com/pages/store/kokatat_tropos_drysuit_sale.html
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