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.

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.

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.

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.

Edited by Ellingferd - 26 Nov 2012 at 12:55pm

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



Edited by brownft - 30 Nov 2012 at 1:45pm