Oops! You may notice that these questions are the same as two parts of one of the questions from our January ’08 SK Newsletter. While the questions were listed last time, their answers were not included. Here they are, and sorry about the confusion!

How long is the useful life of your immersion wear? How would a consumer know when it is time to replace a garment?

You can expect latex gaskets to last a season or two before they need to be replaced, and the DWR (durable water repellent) should be renewed every season. Beyond that, the shell fabric of our dry-tops should last for many years. Some people have really acidic sweat that destroys breathable laminates, and really active paddlers can strain fabric, particularly in the armpit areas, just by the fabric mashing back and forth for hundreds of hours. In these cases, the fabric may actually start to fail. A test for problems with the fabric that can be done at home is to turn the jacket inside out and tie the wrist gasket closed. Then very carefully fill the arm with water. The jacket should not leak at all. If it does, you have a problem that we need to look at. Our products are guaranteed for life, so if the fabric fails, we will replace it.

--Immersion Research
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As long as the manufacturing techniques are sound, laminated fabrics typically last longer than coated fabrics. One can expect to replace latex gaskets and drysuit socks before other parts of the garment. Other equipment used while paddling (like a PFD or tight boat outfitting) can affect the usable life of a piece of paddle clothing. And, of course, the garment will last longer if cared for properly; our repair department has replaced gaskets on suits that were manufactured 12 or 15 years ago!
In general, all of our garments can be repaired before they need to be replaced. The most effective way to know when it is time to replace a garment is to send it to the manufacturer for an evaluation.

--Adam Knoeller/Kokatat
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Useful life depends on how much the garments are used. NRS strives to build garments to stand up to outfitter-level use and abuse. Our gear should last the average recreational paddler several seasons down the road with normal use and care. The hardcore paddler that’s out 200+ days a year may find that they have to replace gear much more often. UV damage to the fabric is a good indicator that the useful life may be coming to an end. Obvious wear and tear like punctures and rips will likely not be an easy fix and may warrant a new replacement. A person may want to consider replacing their dry wear if water starts coming through the fabric and if the dry piece just doesn’t perform like it did when it was newer.

--NRS
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The life of a waterproof/breathable drysuit is substantially determined by the commitment of the user to respect the limitations of the drysuit, and to regularly inspect and maintain the drysuit. We have replaced the seals on 10-15 year old drysuits, and have recommended a replacement for a 1-year-old drysuit. Much of the difference is in the hands of the user.
Latex rubber seals are the most sensitive part of a drysuit. With proper care, they should last from 2-5 years. We have seen seals that are being replaced after 15 years of usage, but this is quite extreme. OS SYSTEMS does maintain a complete repair facility at its factory to replace all seals, and repair and maintain all of the drysuits that we make. Replacing seals is very easy if you use our adhesives and seals.
The decision to replace a drysuit is a simple analysis of whether the cost of necessary and anticipated repairs approaches or exceeds the cost of buying a new drysuit. We will gladly inspect any OS SYSTEMS made drysuit and give the user an estimate of repair costs.

--OS Systems
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That’s not a question anyone would give a categorical answer to. We see Palm gear coming back in for standard repairs, like seals that might be 10-12 years old. But we also see gear arrive from expedition team members that requires replacement within a year. It depends on the usage, care and also factors such as the type of water or exposure to sunlight.
The best answer is advice on how to pro-long the life of the garment. Show it some love. Keep it clean, occasionally wash with a technical wash and try to dry naturally. Show it some more love! Important checks are around seams in stress areas like the zippers, feet, and major areas of movement like the under arms. We’re also conscious that performance fabrics can suffer from individual’s body chemicals and that deodorant and other body sprays or creams can affect fabric coatings. As you sweat and the layers wick vapor to and through the fabric, with it goes what you have sprayed on, so stay organic for longevity!

--Andy Knight/Palm
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There’s no set answer to the lifetime of an immersion suit since so many factors affect their longevity: UV exposure, abrasive wear from different surfaces, poor or stellar maintenance and storage, exposure to solvents or even the heavy use of some personal care products (deodorants, body lotions, etc.). If you take good care of your suit it will last for years. You may need to replace a latex gasket a time or two over the years depending on how forgetful you are about removing watches and jewelry before donning, or whether you’re unlucky enough to have insect repellent spill inside your duffel, (I’ve had all of these mishaps and more) but the suits are tough and durable.
You should always keep a sharp eye out for areas that receive an inordinate amount of wear or stress. These could be areas where you rub against a seat cradle for hours at a time, sock bottoms if you are careless about running around on rough surfaces, and seams in high stress areas like around the zipper. Many problems can be repaired and technical washes can be used to renew the DWR (durable water repellent) coating on the suit. All of this said, the day may come when you have to retire your beloved immersion suit because it is just plain worn out---you’ll know it, the suit will know it, and you’ll have to simply let it go.

--Shelley Johnson/MTI Adventurewear
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Depending on care or abuse, we expect a drysuit to last somewhere between two to ten+ years. 150+ days of use is likely for a suit that is well cared for. Less for one that is never dried out nor treated with care and abused, muddied, wadded up and tossed into a heap after each use. Industrial-strength power users without the abuse expect the 150 days. Treat it like you do your car and it will likely be in the same kind of relative condition as your car as it gets older. Replace when you like a new model or when you wear it out or wreck it.

--Jim Stohlquist/Stohlquist WaterWare
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