Gortex Drysuit Socks Preventatives

[Kitesurfer]

Hello
Former diver, now a kitesurfer (on top instead of down below).
First post in many years. Diving seems to attract a different crowd with more mechanical abilities IMHO so I am posting here. I am on my second gortex drysuit and could use advice on the socks. The interior feet seem to deteriorate quickly in our sport due to severe friction. Do any divers coat their interior socks as a preventative with aquaseal or liquid latex? Any advice to prolong the socks?

 

[RJP]

Mostly just wear wool socks here.

 

[tbone1004]

textile engineer here, work quite a bit with WL Gore. First off, very few drysuits are made with Goretex for scuba diving, actually don't know of any right now, it is mostly used for topside drysuits.

Most diving drysuits have neoprene socks, some will have trilaminate socks similar to the rest of the suit construction but these are relatively rare, and many have dedicated boots built into the suit.

Unfortunately for you, goretex does not wear very well as the semi-permeable membrane, while teflon based, is very thin and not particularly abrasion resistant. If you coat the membrane with anything, it will no longer be breathable. You do have the option of having the socks replaced with another material, and depending on your location there are a few drysuit repair shops, the most established being Steve Gamble out of Florida.