Kokatat - Arcata, California

allison B.

Have worn these drysuits for years. They make a good product. Have had great experiences in the past with sending my suits in to be pressure tested and repaired. This time was a total disaster a couple
Times over. This time they just couldn’t get it right. Missed the deadline they assured me they could make so that I could get my suits sent to Az for a GC trip in January. Didn’t make the deadline. Didn’t tell me. Then I asked for the suits to be sent to BC….sent them to Az. Totally useless customer service.

Eric H.

I’ve had one of their lifejackets for several years now, and it’s held up pretty well. My only question, what the heck is this pocket for?

Hannah S.

If I could give 0 stars I would. I agree with the many other reviewers on this forum, along with countless other reviews on whitewater Facebook pages, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT buy any of their gear. Their quality is terrible and their customer service is so bad. I had a suit that failed me 7 days into a 21 day winter Grand Canyon trip. This was not normal wear and tear. There were 1 inch tears on the seam lines of my suit. They tried to charge me for repair and ended up not fixing it and just sending it back. Customer service was absolutely useless and had no idea what they were talking about. It turns out their “lightweight” material just means terrible and thin material that will fail in the matter of days.

Three D. A. A. C.

Women's size M comes with size S wrist gaskets. You can see it on the Kokatat website, but not many of their retailer websites. If you are a proper M, the wrist gaskets will give you edema (happened to me within 2.5 hours of use). Kokotat's recommendation is to replace the gaskets (stretching them will not help they say), and they will NOT cover the cost, as it is clearly indicated on their website that the gaskets are small. Not any other retailer's website though! Terrible customer service, and if I had my time again, I would not have spent the money. Think before you buy - chances are you will be doing a repair on your new suit after just one use.

john C.

The drysuits are great, with just one problem: the gaskets on the neck, wrists, and ankles. They have devised a type of rubber that decomposes so fast you can almost watch it fall to pieces. The gaskets hold up for about a year before you have to replace them, for which they charge plenty, like $80 for a neck gasket. They should give you the option of using some slightly less ideal but longer-lasting rubber, like bicycle inner tubes are made of. As things are, half the time you end up using a drysuit is no longer watertight.

janell S. C.

My brand new, right out of the bag dry suit that I bought for a 30 GC trip leaked the moment I stepped into the water on launch day and every day after. Every day I would have to drain the feet and dry it out. The only customer service I got was, "it was due to wear and tear" and would cost me to repair. It's the last Kokatat I will buy.

Morgan L.

I have the Women's Icon Gore-Tex drysuit, and I LOVE that thing so much. I've had it for 2 years, and it's held up super well with 50+ days on the river. I do make sure to regularly clean and condition it.

The story I want to share is a gnarly one: I had the worst injury of my life while swimming a rapid earlier this year. I hit my hip (illiac crest) on a rock so hard while swimming that I was unable to engage my core and swim. Pretty severe muscular and nerve damage. Even though I was bleeding a lot under the dry suit, the dry suit DIDN'T RIP and didn't even have a scratch! It kept me warm and dry while my friends helped me out of the river. I highly recommend Kokatat's Gore-Tex dry suits; their durability is unmatched and I kinda owe my life to this one. It's still going strong, and I LOVE it so much!

Gordon D.

Absolutely the gold standard of customer.er service. Their gear is awesome and tough as nails but after putting a Kokatat gor-tex drysuit through absolute hell for three seasons kayak fishing the Washington Coast. It was badly stained and had a torn wrist gasket and several small pin holes... probably from fish hooks and fish spines...I can't tell you how many fish died in the lap of that old suit.
With a big trip looming on the horizon I sent that old suit back to Kokatat to have it patched and repaired...they sent me a brand new suit...no charge, no questions asked.
That's customer service and they earned a customer for life.