Immersion Research 2010

55 responses so far ↓

• 1 Tanner Sjo // May 15, 2008 at 10:49 pm

  Is there any warranty for this item, I have a hole in my skirt and I don’t think it is a punctured hole. If holes are considered normal wear and tear, how can I fix my skirt and what do you guys reccommend ?

• 2 John Weld // May 16, 2008 at 8:41 am

  Hi Tanner,

  Most holes in skirts are so easy to fix that we do it for free regardless of whether or not it’s a warranty issue. Give us a call, and we can issue you a return authorization number, and we will take care of it for you.
  If you would like to patch it yourself, McNett (www.mcnett.com) has a couple of products that would work- aquaseal or seal cement. If its a large hole, you might want to use IronMend in conjunction with the seal cement.

  -John

• 3 Curve Burglar // Jan 28, 2009 at 11:06 pm

  Hi IR,
  What is the purpose of the adjustable strap running across the deck? As I was wondering why all you decks do not have this feature?

  Curve

• 4 John Weld // Jan 29, 2009 at 8:59 am

  Hi CB,
  The adjustable strap serves two purposes- first, it allows the user to kick the skirt off with their knee as well as pulling the grab handle. Secondly, the straps are color coded by waist size, making the skirt easier to sort for kayak schools. We don’t put it on every skirt we make, because not everyone wants it- it’s convenient for beginner kayakers, but not really necessary. in fact, we have some stores ask if we can cut it off before we ship. One last thing to note is that while it’s easy to sew straps on to a bungee, it is almost impossible to attach straps to a glued “rand-style” skirt like the Toughskin Rand.
  Hope this sheds some light on the issue,

  -John

• 5 Mike Wallace // Apr 11, 2009 at 4:36 pm

  A while back I had an IR skirt with an additional piece of neoprene that acted like a double tunnel on the skirt itself. It was attached where the tunnel met the deck of the skirt. Can I order a skirt with this same feature or do you offer any that have this?
  Thanks

• 6 John Weld // Apr 13, 2009 at 9:39 am

  Hey Mike,
  Although many of us feel that the “double tunnel” is a great set up, it has been an idea that is slow to catch on. As a result, we don’t currently offer a double tunnel skirt. However, we can add a double tunnel to any skirt you like. If you are interested, let me know and we can discuss details.
  -John

• 7 Ben Bolling // Apr 30, 2009 at 12:52 pm

  I have been looking for a neoprene skirt to fit my Perception Swifty 9.5 kayak. I believe the cockpit size is 42.25 x 22 or a 4.2 on the Seals cockpit sizing chart.
  Will this product or any other products you offer fit my cockpit???

• 8 John Weld // Apr 30, 2009 at 1:26 pm

  Hey Ben,

  I believe that out XXL Shockwave skirt will fit that boat. It’s made to fit a 40″ X 20″ rim, so it should stretch. As of right now, these are custom made (they will be in production this fall) and they are $130. Let me know if you are interested, and we can get it made for you. Turn around time for that skirt would be about a week.

  Thanks,

  -John

• 9 Dave // Jun 27, 2009 at 2:44 pm

  Roger-

  Thanks again for the help with the shockwave for my Remix XP10. This is one bad ass skirt. Tunnel size is perfect too. Take care!

• 10 Zac // Jul 3, 2009 at 10:44 pm

  Hey, I have the one with the blue strap. Are you supposed to use a whitewater skirt in saltwater? I live about 60 miles from the beach, and I wanted to go out and srf the waves with my whitewater kayak.

• 11 John Weld // Jul 6, 2009 at 9:45 am

  Hey Zac,

  You can certainly use that skirt in saltwater. I would recommend rinsing it off in freshwater when you get out, but other than that, you’re good to go.

  -J

• 12 Jeb // Jul 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

  Just bought a Dagger Approach 9.0 for my son. The new shorter boat, not the 10.0. Cockpit size says 36.25 X 20. My skirts for our 10.0s don’t fit, little loose. What size do you recommend?

• 13 John Weld // Jul 27, 2009 at 5:16 pm

  Hey Jeb,

  You could go with an XL if you wanted a tight fit, but the XXL would be the more typical skirt for that boat. Do you have an IR XXL shockwave for your 10’s?

  -J

• 14 Jeb // Jul 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm

  Our skirts are another make, supposedly custom fit to the Approach 10s. My son is only 12 and a bit of a wimp. so I don’t want a skirt that will be difficult for him to get off. Are you sure the XXL won’t be too loose?

• 15 John Weld // Jul 28, 2009 at 9:51 am

  Hi,

  Well, that’s a tough question to answer. What one person considers too loose, another person considers “impossible’ to get on. That’s one of the fun parts about making skirts. My estimation is that most people would consider our XXL skirt to be a proper fit for that boat- tight enough to keep water out, but easy enough to get on without struggling. One thing to consider is that when people are commiting $100+ to purchase a full neoprene skirt (as opposed to nylon skirts that adjust with a draw cord) they are usually getting into rolling, running whitewater, etc. And these types of activities require that the skirt have a fair amount of tension to be useful.

  At any rate, if you end up getting one of those skirts from us, you can always send it back if the fit isn’t to your liking.

  Let me know if I can help,

  -John

• 16 Nick // Aug 10, 2009 at 12:56 pm

  Hi,
  I currently use a medium waste/large cockpit shockwave on my pryhana attak, and it is just a tiny bit loose on my boat. would a medium/medium fit or would it be too small?
  Thanks,

  Nick

• 17 John Weld // Aug 10, 2009 at 1:01 pm

  what is the length and width of that cockpit, including the rim?
  -J

• 18 Nick // Aug 10, 2009 at 1:07 pm

  35×18.5 inches

• 19 John Weld // Aug 10, 2009 at 1:13 pm

  35 X 18. man thats tough. Its a really narrow, long rim. A medium would fit nicely width-wise, but it would be a stretch over the front. I think it would be so tight length-wise, it would implode really easily. We can make a custom skirt for that boat if you like- it would be $130. if this is of any interest to you, let me know.
  -J

• 20 Nick // Aug 10, 2009 at 1:21 pm

  Great, thank you very much! I would be interested in the custom skirt, I will call in a week or so to order!
  Thanks,

  Nick

• 21 Ben Schwegman // Sep 28, 2009 at 4:39 pm

  Was there ever a confirmation on the fitment of this skirt to a Swifty 9.5. My freind and I just baught a pair as beginers, and would like to try to practice rolling as well.
  Thanks a lot,
  Ben Schwegman

• 22 John Weld // Sep 28, 2009 at 4:53 pm

  Hey Ben,
  I hate to be the bearer of bad news ,but no way, no day. That rim is enormous- it really isn’t even designed to hold a skirt- it’s there mostly for deck rigidity. That would also be a very, very difficult boat to roll, even if you could find a skirt to fit it.
  -John

• 23 Mike // Sep 28, 2009 at 7:37 pm

  Would cutting the deck strap hurt the overall quality of the skirt?

• 24 John Weld // Sep 29, 2009 at 8:48 am

  not at all. Cut it as close as you can to the bungee and melt the freshly cut ends of the webbing with a lighter or hot piece of metal.
  -J

• 25 Brian // Oct 4, 2009 at 2:08 pm

  Hey guys, I just recently purchased a shockwave skirt in a large cockpit, medium tunnel for use on both a 5.9 g-force and my jefe. When playboating in the g-force it constantly implodes. Where have i gone wrong and what is the cure? Also, I have not had it implode on the jefe yet but is this something that will be an issue? please help.

• 26 John Weld // Oct 5, 2009 at 11:01 am

  Hey Brian,

  Well, You have two issues. First and foremost, the Dagger g-force rim is very poorly designed (Sorry Snowy). There’s really no way around that, and we get a lot of “my skirt leaks” or “my skirt implodes” customer service issues because of it. The Dagger rim flares up a lot on the sides, and it’s hard to keep a skirt on that shape, period. The second issue is that the shockwave is really our most basic entry-level skirt. It works well for your typical class II-III paddler, with the key component is that it’s easy to get on. Thats the way that entry-level skirts have to be made. The downside of that is that if you mix an easy-to-get-on (loose) skirt with a difficult rim, you get implosions and leakage. Now, we do make a bunch of other skirts that would work much better than the shockwave on the G-force, but they are more expensive and harder to get on. The SBD skirt would be one option, and either of our rand skirts would be an improvement. I know thats not what you want to hear, but that’s the really the truth of the matter. Its a shame, because the only tool that we have as skirt makers to fix all of the lousy rim shapes that are out there is to make the skirts tighter and tighter, and harder and harder to get on. And now that there are literally 100’s of rim sizes out there, it’s really impossible to make all of our customers happy. Anyway. I’ll get off my soap box.

  The Jefe, while still not a great rim design, is better than the G-force, and the shockwave should grip that rim better.

  At the end of the day, I want you to be happy with our products, and i want to help you as much as I possibly can, but this is kind of a difficult problem to fix. At any rate, let me know your thoughts and we’ll go from there.

  -John

• 27 LEE SHERRILL // Nov 22, 2009 at 7:11 am

  I recently bought a shockwave for my Remix Xp10. It has a good tight fit the only problem is everytime I use I am getting wet. I was under the impression that the material it was made of was waterproof. When paddling the water actually seeps through starting at the back soaking the seat back and then seeping through on to my legs. Is this supposed to be waterproof or just water resistant? Thanks for your attention into this matter.

• 28 John Weld // Nov 23, 2009 at 9:16 am

  Hey Lee,

  Those skirts are indeed designed to be waterproof. In addition, the materials we use are made by an ISO certified factory that ensures that they are waterproof, and the construction method we use for those is a relatively simple and very effective way of keeping the skirts waterproof. On very, very rare occasions we see skirts that may leak at the seams, but this is exceptional, and almost always see that on well-worn skirts. The point is that while I do not want to rule out the possibility of a leaky skirt, I will say that is unlikely. What is almost certainly the problem is that the rim design is not very good- or at least not a great rim design for spray skirts. Rim design- even on serious whitewater boats, where dry skirts are essential- runs the gamut from very good, to shamefully poor. And when you get to a rim the size of the XP 10, it’s hard to keep it dry under the best of circumstances. Imagine that the best rim shape is a perfect circle (where you have equal force from the bungee pulling from all sides inwards), and now stretch that out where it’s big enough where you get long, straight sections on the sides and back of the skirt. These are very hard to seal well- the bungee rests against them, but does not really forcefully pull tight. I’m not exactly sure why Shane Benedict- who designed that boat, and who is a very, very good boat designer- made the rim that big, but part of the reason is that he must feel that most users of that boat would rather have a spacious cockpit entry rather than a dry skirt. The rim will hold a skirt OK, and add a lot of rigidity to the deck of the boat, but thats about it.

  At any rate- I am saying all of this without actually seeing the skirt, and there is always a chance the skirt is leaking. We have a definitive testing device here for that and I would be happy to test it for you if you like. If there is any problem, we will take care of it right away. Let me know what you think- at the end of the day I want you to be 100% happy with what offer,

  -John

• 29 LEE SHERRILL // Nov 23, 2009 at 6:02 pm

  John, I tested the skirt the best I could by cupping the material and pouring water on it. I let it sit for ten minutes. It is water proof, even at the seams, including the tunnel. I think your product is very well made. If it fit any tighter around the rim, I could not get it on by myself. Your explanation made alot of sense . Since I first notice water at the top of the seat back, I think I think it’s coming in at the tunnel somewhat. I was borderline with size. (33” waist). I went with a large. Would pairing it with a proper paddling jacket help with at least this part of the problem? I am also under the impression that one of your better skirts would not seal any better around the rim. Thank you very much for your prompt response. Lee

• 30 Ladd Campbell // Nov 25, 2009 at 1:21 pm

  Great customer service!

  I custom ordered a c1 shockwave skirt with several modifications on Thursday and received it on Monday! I was very impressed in my interactions with John Weld. He was informative, said he would call me back in 5 minutes (and did), and nailed the skirt fit.

  Thanks John and IR!

• 31 Taichiro // Dec 19, 2009 at 5:55 am

  Hi, John.

  I’m looking for good skirt for Riot Mugnum 72.
  I’ve tried several model, but I haven’t found one can fit well.
  According to your fit chart, the Large Rim fits to Magnum, but according to my experience, large rim is to wide and med rim is too short and too wide.
  I’ve tried IR super bungee medium rim (blue Superman design), Palm shock cord with kevler large rim, MTI medium rim.
  Now I’m using cagdeck from Rage-in-Wear, and it fits better than the others, but still a little bit loose, and it’s not very reliable to creeking.
  Thank for your attention about my problem.

• 32 John Weld // Dec 21, 2009 at 10:04 am

  Hey,

  Well- that’s a tough one. I know that the riot rims are unusual- they tend to be very narrow. But I’m not sure what would be the perfect skirt would be for that boat. I made a call to an old Riot rep this morning to see what he thinks. I see that you ordered a dry top over the weekend as well- do you want me to hold shipping on that to see if we have a skirt that might work for you?
  -J

• 33 David Kruger // Mar 24, 2010 at 2:08 pm

  I have a skirt that I bought used and I need the tunnel taken in a few inches. How much would this cost?

• 34 John Weld // Mar 24, 2010 at 2:22 pm

  Hey David,

  We can replace that tunnel with whatever size you like for $25. If you would like to do that, give us a call and we will get the process started.

  -John

• 35 dave highsmith // Apr 9, 2010 at 11:58 pm

  I have two Remix XP 9’s. What size skirt do I need for these? Thanks.

• 36 jbecker // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:07 pm

  Hi Dave- You will need a XL skirt for the XP 9- Thanks- Jesse

• 37 Sam // Apr 13, 2010 at 2:34 pm

  Hi John,

  I’ve been reading all of this advice you’ve been giving people & I’ve developed a concern about my cockpit rim being poorly designed. I’m new to kayaking & I just got a Riot Thunder 76. Do you know if this boat has a well enough designed cockpit rim to make this skirt water tight? I could always find out for myself, but I figured maybe you know & if so, it could save me a lot of time swapping out one skirt for another until I find one that works. Also I really like this skirt because I’m a newbie to the sport & can’t get a regular rubber rand skirt on in under 10 minutes, in most cases.

  Thanks,
  Sam

• 38 jbecker // Apr 13, 2010 at 2:43 pm

  Hi Sam,
  A large Shockwave skirt will be the easiest for you to get on, but it will not be the driest skirt for that boat. The SBD is also another option for a bungee skirt, and that is often a lot drier than a standard bungee, mainly because the bungee is stitched on the outside of the neoprene- so the neoprene is sealing the cockpit cover, and not the bungee itself, which is where they will usually leak. The Shockwave will be the best choice for a beginner however. It is easy to get on, easy to get off, and it less expensive then other skirts in our line-up. Another thing to check on your boat are the bolts. Make sure they are all tight and they will likely need to be adjusted from time to time. Give us a call if you would like to discuss this issue a little more before you buy. Thanks- Jesse

• 39 Sam // Apr 17, 2010 at 9:28 am

  Well I toted my kayak to the nearest shop to try some skirts out before buying one. I tried the IR Shockwave on the kayak amongst a few others. The only real difference I noticed between the bungee rand & the rubber rand was that the rubber rand took me about 5 minutes to put on, whereas the bungee took only a few seconds. I’m going to take it on a creek run in a week or so to try it out in action, but as far as I can tell it’s as secure as a rubber rand but a lot easier to get on.

• 40 Lee // Apr 21, 2010 at 9:36 pm

  And for the Remix 79? What size there? Is the rim design any better than the Jefe?

• 41 John Weld // Apr 22, 2010 at 8:22 am

  Hey Lee,

  The remix 79 is a XL cockpit. The rim design is very similar to the Jefe- it’s not bad, but the big gap around the seat bolts is a tough area to keep dry.

  -John

• 42 Evan // Jul 4, 2010 at 10:11 am

  Hey John,
  I just got a LL remix XP 10, and I was just wondering if I could go large, or if I’d need an extra large.
  thanks, Evan

• 43 John Weld // Jul 5, 2010 at 9:05 am

  Hey Evan,

  For the XP 10, you’ll actually need our XXlarge. Also note that there is a bit of a trick getting a skirt on that boat. We actually made a video about it here

  Let me know if you have any other questions,

  John

• 44 chris // Jul 8, 2010 at 7:02 am

  I see lot’s of comments about a poor rim design. Can you give some examples(if they exist) of a good cockpit rim design? Are the issues the shape of the rim when viewed from above or does the profile of the rim itself matter?

• 45 John Weld // Jul 8, 2010 at 8:37 am

  Hey Chris,

  Good question. OK- basically, the perfect rim shape would be a circle, perfectly flat, and have a uniform recess all the way around where a skirt would tuck in there like a tupperware lid. So, having said that, the typical rim design mistakes are:

  1) Long, narrow rims that have a long straight section on the sides. On these long straight sections, the skirt bungee just flaps around loose, not really “pulling” against the rim like it would on a curve.
  2) Big convex knee bumps like you see on many play boats. Obviously skirts will bridge across these and allow water in
  3) Big gaps in the rim, where the underside of the rim is more than an inch off the deck of the boat. This usually occurs around where the seat bolts are. In areas like this, the skirt only makes contact with the rim in a very small area.

  Along with these mistakes, sometimes you wil see rims flared up along the sides- I think this is done so that it’s easier to pull the boat out of the mold during manufacturing. In any event, it’s very hard to keep a skirt on a rim with that is sloped upwards.

  Does that help?

  -John

• 46 Karl // Jul 18, 2010 at 8:50 am

  Your products have been highly recommended by other paddlers. I would like to get a sprayskirt for my Eddyline Nighthawk 17.5 that is suited for touring and rolling. The skirtfit site says that it is 38 x 21.5 with a circumference of 100 which, according to your Shockwave chart makes it an XXL cockpit. However, if I go to your recommendation list, you show the Nighthawk 17.5 as an XL Could you please resolve this conflict and recommend the best skirt and size for me. Thank you for your help!

• 47 John Weld // Jul 19, 2010 at 9:12 am

  Hey Karl,

  Sorry for the confusion- we’re in the middle of updating our skirt fit chart and you caught us mid-change. So- to answer your question, a cockpit with a 100 in circumference would require a xxl skirt. Let me know if you have any other questions- I’d be glad to help.

  -John

• 48 Bernd // Jul 23, 2010 at 2:31 pm

  hi there. I bought a Shockwave skirt for a sea kayak. I used an excursion skirt before which was great – but I did not like the straps so I got the shockwave with the tunnel…. great workmanship, too. However, the tunnel is now at the wrong place. My seat is much closer to the rear rim and the tunnel pulls me always forward. Tunnel should be around 2″ further back. Any chance to customize the design?

• 49 John Weld // Jul 23, 2010 at 3:16 pm

  Hey Bernd,

  There sure is- we can do that for 20 bucks. Give me a call if you are interested in doing this, and I can get some details from you.

  -John

• 50 tom w // Aug 13, 2010 at 3:11 pm

  just got remix xp10 what size skirt do i need also waist size mine is 43 thanks tw

• 51 jbecker // Aug 13, 2010 at 3:59 pm

  Hi Tom,
  You will need a XXL cockpit Shockwave skirt, as well as a XXL tunnel. Thanks for writing! -Jesse

• 52 lorelle // Aug 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm

  What size skirt would be the best fit for a LL Remix 59?

• 53 jbecker // Aug 25, 2010 at 8:28 am

  Hi Lorelle,
  That rim size is right on the cusp between a L and a XL. If you are paddling in class 4-5 whitewater with that boat, I would go with the Large, that rim measures 88″ around, which is a slightly larger than the Jefe rims, so a large will be a really snug fit, especially for our rand skirts. If you are looking for something easy, and primarily stick with class 1-3, you can go with a XL, but it will not be as dry. Hope that helps! I would recommend a Lucky Charm skirt for that boat- it will fit quite nicely~
  Jesse

• 54 David Mc // Sep 1, 2010 at 2:28 pm

  I thought I saw an IR skirt a short time ago (it may have been on someone’s blog) that had a piece of foam in the center of the back that was made to reduce water leakage while kayaking bareback. I thought this was a great idea but now I am not finding it anywhere. Any ideas?

• 55 John Weld // Sep 2, 2010 at 7:07 am

  Hey David,
  We made a prototype of what you’re talking about about around 2001 or 2002- what you saw must have been someone else’s skirt. The problem we found was that the neoprene tunnel didn’t have enough pressure to keep the foam block against the spine. You needed to use a non-stretchy belt that was really quite tight- and also very uncomfortable.

  -John

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