OT: Gasket relief

[Mtngal]

I bought an NRS women's Motion soft shell semi-dry top. One of the wrist gaskets is so tight I cannot get in or out of it without help (even with help it is an ordeal!) as is the neck. The wrist gasket is latex and the neck is neoprene. Is there a way to loosen these w/o destroying them?

[rickyrod]

They say to stretch it by putting in somthing oversized but not too big. for the neck use a sause pan or a jar bigger than your neck. and for the wrist it should have cut-way rings . but if not stretch with a large class. the longer you leave them in the better the results. don't use somthing to big or you'll have leakge .

[waterhog]

make sure you 303 themevery once ina while and that will help make it easy to slide on or off

[ckuntz]

My neck gasket was driving me nuts for a couple of months.. I trimmed the neck gasket a bit and really helped. Probably better to stretch the gaskets to keep them in proper shape and prevent cracking or splitting but it really helped when I trimmed mine.

[Mtngal]

Thanks for the help. Think I'll try rickyrod's suggestion first for stretching them out. ckuntz, I'm assuming you mean trimming the neck horizontally....around the neck line? Not cutting down into it.

[turboturtle]

You can only stretch a neoprene gasket. You cannot trim them. Your wrists can be, but don't trim to much at once.

[okieboater]

Well, I have been dealing with tight latex neck, wrist and ankle gaskets since the things came out.

I have never had a latex gasket that fit right out of the box, no matter how much they were stretched. This is Stolhquist, Kokatat and several other brands. I remember talking to the Stolhquist factory and was assured their gaskets would stretch. After several weeks on various sized cans from the kitchen cupboard, I gave up and cut. To this day I still have not found a factory latex gasket that stretched as much as I need it to stretch for a comfortable fit. I did swap emails with a outfit in the NW called Kayak Academy and they told me they had some aftermarket gaskets that might fit. These folks sell a lot of Kokotat dry suits and modify them quite a bit.

What I do now is put the latex gaskets over a can much larger than my wrist or neck and just leave them in for a few days or up to a week. I used to just cut the gaskets out of the box. Here lately tho, I have been stretching them, thinking the initial stretch needs to be taken out before I cut. Honestly tho, I think it works about the same stretch or no stretch.

Then I carefully cut several rings off the neck. Taking off maybe an eighth of a inch or less on each circle until I can slide the top over my head and my neck feels like I can take a breath and not cutting off circulation. I would rather have the thing a bit loose and leak a few drops than too tight and cut off blood circulation.

Same deal for the wrist gaskets except I am very careful on how much to trim as the wrist gaskets are usually cone shaped and a little off makes a big difference. Same deal as neck gasket on fit. I want to be sure there is plenty of room for blood to circulate into and out of my hands.

On my kokatat gore tex dry suit, I got the gore tex sewn in sox, which so far have been the best solution to warm feet I have found. The big thick duck hunter or smartwool sox and a size or so larger winter neoprene kayaking shoe has given me warm feet for the first time ever.

If you decide to trim latex gaskets, you need to be very careful as you cut and keep the cut "clean" any nicks can cause problems later on. Think about it and make your own decision, but this is what has worked for me for many years.

[Mtngal]

Sure appreciate all the input. Now if I've read all the advice correctly, I can trim the wrist gaskets because they are latex and attempt to stretch the neck because it is neoprene. Sure hope I haven't gotten "dsyslexic" while reading! Idle curiousity question...what happens when neoprene is cut? Unravels? Nuclear explosion? Inquiring mind be curious.

[okieboater]

Yup, Mtngal, my comments apply only to the latex gaskets.

No matter what the material, my suggestion is to go slow on the stretching and cutting. Especially the cutting part.

[turboturtle]

It hard to get enough information from a pic on the website, but some neo necks have a finished material around the top edge, and some are open or bare on the end. I think you could trim the non finished edge easy enough. As with the latex, find the sharpest thing you to cut with to avoid mishaps. The only Neo neck I ever tried on had a material wrapping the whole neck gasket and thus might not trim well at all. The neck cutout on the one I tried was almost to small to get my head through. the Neo neck couldn't compensate for the small hole in the top. I had to come right back out of it.
I hope you find a comfortable medium on the fit.

[waterhog]

Bob is that apicture of a comunist on your avatar

[jermdog]

That's Sgt. Shultz. He's a social democrat, the Nazis banned them in the 30's.

[David Lewis]

I'm working through this issue with the latex around the neck in my new Kokatat drysuit. I take it one step at a time, but over a few weeks have trimmed three rungs off the neck and currently have it stretched around a coffee can plus three cans of vegetables. It's just about to where I can wear it now, but, last time i checked, not quite.

[Cowper]

As you read this thread, be aware that everyone is sharing their personal experiences about fit; but what they say about fit may not apply for you personally.

MY answer would be, I NEVER have to trim gaskets; it's all about getting used to the snug fit which is necessary to keep water out. If I trim, as the gasket ages and stretches, it quickly becomes leaky.

This is a good answer for me; I'm a light build, with relatively small diameter neck and wrists, especially for a guy of "average" height. It is a terrible answer for Okieboater and David; I'm sure the same gasket that is a little "snug" on me must be choking them. Unless things have changed in recent years, men's suits pretty much all come with the exact same size latex gasket, the "medium", "large" and "extra large" suits all used to be fitted with the same "one size fits all" gasket. Women's suits are probably similar.

Before you trim, look in a mirror, look at your wrists; then look around at your friends. Do an honest assessment about your own body type; if you have "average" or "skinny" neck/wrists, then DON'T TRIM AT ALL! - Just stretch it and try to get used to the snug feeling. If you are thicker than average, then by all means, trim, heeding the advice above about stretching it first, trim only a little each time and try for a day before trimming again, and ESPECIALLY the advice about a smooth, even trim with no nicks that will initiate tearing later.

Another consideration - the amount you trim the neck could be adjusted some based on the type of boating you do. If you kayak on WW in extreme weather, you need a really tight neck gasket. If you back off a little in extreme weather, and rarely roll or swim, a looser fit and a few drips of leakage in a swim may bother you less than an "always too tight" gasket.