C-Forum

Does anyone else stretch their neck gasket on your drysuit before using it? If so what do you stretch it around and how long do you leave it there before using it?

Yeah, I stretch it around my head! (Sorry, I had to state the obvious.) Isn't it neat that we get to experience the act of birth every time we put one on? I have someone whack me on the back afterward and then I start crying.

when I first get them, I stretch mine for a few days with a bowl that's a little bigger than my neck Then I trim the gasket so I can wear the top without my face feeling like it's going to burst.

I'm thinking about trimming mine as well. I've strected mine for up to a week on an 8 inch pot but it is still very uncomfortable. My neck size isn't that large and I made sure I got the right size gasket for my neck size so I guess trimming is the only thing left to do.

I have a 17 1/2 inch neck. I put the neck gasket around a basketball for a week and doused in 303 aerospace protectorant. Talcum powder on my own unshaven neck before putting it on. It's great.



Big Al

I stretched around an old crock pot. Then just got a larger neck gaasket first time I had it replaced

cut it! my understanding is that they are designed to be trimmed to fit, not stretched to fit. But experience has taught me they do stretch, so I stretch it a little first.
Seems like stretching it a bunch would not be a good thing. But what do i know, i usually only get a year and a half out of a neck gasket.

I just put a new large neck gasket on my suit. I thought I was going to pass out with it. I stretched it around a wax can just long enough to cut three rings off of it. Still snug, but now I can breath.

I never had much luck stretching them. I just cut 'em.

When I bought my last drytop, a Stohlquist Goretex, the neck gasket was much thicker than previous gaskets I'd dealt with on Kokatat tops. The older gaskets had stretched adequately over several weeks when put over a 3 liter plastic soda bottle. The Stohlquist took much longer, and if it hadn't been the off season, I would have given up and trimmed it. Trimming is the fastest solution, but then why did the Stohlquist come with no trim rings on the wrist gaskets? They even said not to trim.

I've heard it argued that such controlled stretching permanently damages a gasket, but probably the real damage comes when donning and doffing the drytop over our fat, lumpy heads.

For stretching, if you can steal a plastic traffic cone, it provides a wide range of stretch.

My drysuit is a Kokatat and the neck gasket has rings marked all the way around. Those of you that cut the gasket, how do you cut it? I would think you could stretch it slightly around a bottle or can and use a razor knife or is it better to use scissors and cut one ring at a time?

Cutting is the way to go. Slightly stretch it and cut along the ring with a NEW razorblade. You dont want any nicks or uneven parts. Scissors work, say some people, but I'm too chicken to risk getting halfway through the cut and having the blades bind and mess up how clean the cut is.

Elgotto, I stretch the neck gasket around a can of mold wax. I guess a can of car wax is probably the same size. Make sure the rings are on the outside. Spin the gasket & can as far as you are able in the opposite direction that you'll spin it for the cut. Think of it as winding it up. That makes spinning it as you cut easier & you're less likely to have to lift the blade during the cut. Then cut as Smurfwarrior posted.

If you are replacing the gasket it's easier to cut before you glue it to the suit.

I had a gasket slowly split on me a couple of years ago, and it taught me that the neck didn't have to be nearly as tight as I though to seal. I now cut gaskets with high quality scissors, one ring at a time, and make sure they are comfortable without having to stretch them very much.

Thanks for all the tips. I cut one ring off last night using a razor blade while the gasket was slightly stretched over a plastic bottle. If I have to cut more the only thing I will do different is use a little larger diameter bottle so the gasket is stretched a little more. Thanks again.

I once hear that the best way to trim the neck gaskets on your drysuit is to use a sharp razor blade and to get your buddy to do it for you while you have it on.