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Dry Suit Advice

P

pjmsj21

Paddler
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
17
My wife and I pick up our new kayaks this weekend (Aquanaut and Scorpio) and we are excited to get on Puget Sound. Being that our home waters are far from tropical we are considering biting the bullet early on in our sea kayaking life and purchasing dry suits.

A quick review seems to indicate that Kokatat is the gold standard and priced that way. Stohlquist is more moderately priced but are they reasonably effective.

I would appreciate any advice before walking into a store to purchase. TIA.

Pat
 
If it isn't comfortable, you won't wear it.

Get the most supple, light, breathable fabric you think you can trust (Gore may be your best bet here). Stiff, heavy suits are yucky to wear.

Get a suit that gives you full range of motion without being restrictive to ANY movement (hands over your head stretched out, all the way down to a full fetal position ball), and is also not baggy or floppy. Think articulated and athletic fit.

Get integrated full-sock feet and bring the footwear you intend to put over it to check to see if it will work. Waterproof/breathable fabric socks attached to the suit are nice if they aren't too baggy to bunch up in your footwear. Full latex socks can be ok though they may be more delicate. Latex ankle cuffs (your feet stick out the bottom of the suit) are less desirable in my book.

Make sure the suit has relief (aka pee) zippers for him/her.
 
Kokatat GoreTex would be my recommendation- it's what my wife and I have, and it's also what most of the experienced paddlers we see (trip leaders, instructors, etc.....) seem to choose. The GoreTex suit warranty is a LOT better than the Tropos and other 'semibreathables'.

I'd also recommend the 'plain' (bottom of the line) model with front zip entry, and attached Goretex socks (and 'relief' zipper). I have a Meridian (with the sprayskirt tunnel) and it is not worth the extra trouble. (I don't go paddling in very rough conditions- no green water over my chest...). Get (optional) sleeve pocket if you can.

If you are in the Puget Sound area, my strong recommendation is to deal with George Gronseth at Kayak Academy- they sell a lot of dry suits, have good advice on fitting, and good prices (sometimes new suits on closeout, as well as used suits from the rental operation also). Definitely worth a call when you are starting to shop.
That's where we went for my wife's suit when the local dealer here in Victoria couldn't give us any answers on fitting, options, and times/prices on a special order suit. (BTW, a friend is now in his 3rd month of waiting for a suit he ordered from the same local supplier.) Kayak Academy had the suit to us by USPS within a week.

Another option would be to take a class or two at BodyBoatBlade- they supply Kokatat suits with the course fee, and are also dealers. I think you get a discount on a new suit purchase if you take a course- give them a call. Both Leon and Shawna worked at Kokatat some years ago.
 
Philip.AK said:
Get integrated full-sock feet and bring the footwear you intend to put over it to check to see if it will work. Waterproof/breathable fabric socks attached to the suit are nice if they aren't too baggy to bunch up in your footwear.
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Good advice. I seemed to have some problems with 'bunching up' of the GoreTex socks when I first got my suit, but that problem 'went away' somehow. I guess I've developed a technique that solves the problem, or it may be a case of the socks getting a bit more flexible with wear, or perhaps I've just 'gotten used to it'
:)
 
What are people's thoughts on the soft neck padlling gore tex suits from Kokatat?
 
If you aren't going to do a lot of rolling or self-rescue work where you do a series of wet exits, then the neoprene neck is probably fine. It will not totally seal like a latex neck, but then again if you don't need it to, then it's a moot point. I think they have bungee cord pulls at the top of the neck where you can snug then down a bit if needed. I don't think water exactly gushes in the neoprene neck, but it will be less dry than a latex seal.
 
JohnAbercrombie said:
If you are in the Puget Sound area, my strong recommendation is to deal with George Gronseth at Kayak Academy- they sell a lot of dry suits, have good advice on fitting, and good prices (sometimes new suits on closeout, as well as used suits from the rental operation also). Definitely worth a call when you are starting to shop.
That's where we went for my wife's suit when the local dealer here in Victoria couldn't give us any answers on fitting, options, and times/prices on a special order suit. (BTW, a friend is now in his 3rd month of waiting for a suit he ordered from the same local supplier.) Kayak Academy had the suit to us by USPS within a week.
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I agree whole heartedly, you should at least call and ask them these same questions. Another plus is they do leak checks, gasket repairs, and also provide loaner suits if you need one while yours is off for repairs
 
I'd suggest waiting to purchase unless you plan to get wet often.

Who knows ... you might find that you don't enjoy the kayaking all that much (unlikely)

As emergency gear a drysuit only extends lifetime in the water. If you can't get back in the boat before hypothermia is a factor the drysuit won't help.

There are a whole series of layers for risk management that come before drysuit:

-Assess sea conditions and don't go out if you are not comfortable. (Listen to the knot in your stomach)
-learn paddle skills so you don't capsize.
-Learn rescue skills: some people can get back in within a minute or so. (you can do this in a pool)
-learn a roll

Victoria Jason paddled the NorthWest Passage without immersion gear.
 
ken_vandeburgt said:
Victoria Jason paddled the NorthWest Passage without immersion gear.
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I am hoping this isn't a suggestion for not wearing any immersion gear. Holding off on a dry suit might be appropriate, but in that case you should at least be wearing a wet suit and paddle jacket.
 
My 2 cents:

-It's pretty hard to learn a reliable roll without regular consistent practice.

-Learning rescues in the pool is an excellent start, but totally different from practising in open water (wind, waves, cold etc.)

-From what I've seen, with few exceptions, the paddlers wearing drysuits are the ones getting wet (and having fun doing it) and the ones who don't aren't practising anything. Let's face it the water is COLD!

-It's quite true that a drysuit alone will not provide much protection. What you wear underneath is crucial,and it is sometimes challenging to dress for the water as well as the air. You do need to be comfortable, fortunately, there is lots of cold water around to cool off in. :wink: However, a dry suit with appropriate layers will protect you from cold shock and buy you a lot of time.

-I do not like relief zippers, the women's drop seat is cumbersome and awkward to use. Also, at rest stops I like to remove the top half of my suit anyway to air out. I have always had ankle seals. The advantage is at the end of the day you can hose the suit inside and out. However, I admit my next suit will probably have feet.
 
tmgr said:
My 2 cents:

-It's pretty hard to learn a reliable roll without regular consistent practice.

-Learning rescues in the pool is an excellent start, but totally different from practising in open water (wind, waves, cold etc.)

-From what I've seen, with few exceptions, the paddlers wearing drysuits are the ones getting wet (and having fun doing it) and the ones who don't aren't practising anything. Let's face it the water is COLD!

It is from this perspective that while we may find we dont enjoy sea kayaking and have all of the stuff on Craigslist in a year, I think not having the proper equipment to learn and participate in the activity will almost insure that we dont get out on the water.

We are inteent on continuing our lessons and actually are heading off to our second half day lesson this afternoon. But while I would love not to spend $2K (wife and I) on dry suits I dont really see much alternative if we are paddling in cold water conditions. Maybe it is not life and death but I am sure one or two cold dips may prompt us to be more conservative in our approach to learning.
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My husband and I were exactly where you are 5 years ago. We made the decision to buy the suits and haven't regretted it for a second. It opened up a whole new side to kayaking (the upside down and in between side!) which has doubled our fun and allowed us to develop skills that I would have been too afraid to try otherwise.

We compromised at first and bought the Tropos suits. They worked fine, but only lasted for 2 years. Granted, they saw a lot of use! Our gore-tex suits are on their 3rd year, and so far doing fine. I understand that gore-tex is also more repairable than other fabrics, and Kokotat has an excellent reputation for customer service.

Happy paddling!
 
Thanks for perspective and I will certainly share it with my wife as well. Both of us are really excited about learning together. In our other pursuits, (sailing and cycling) we started at different times and I ended up with the greater experience. This is more fun because we are both at the same place.

Sounds like Kokotat is the route to go.

Pat

tmgr said:
My husband and I were exactly where you are 5 years ago. We made the decision to buy the suits and haven't regretted it for a second. It opened up a whole new side to kayaking (the upside down and in between side!) which has doubled our fun and allowed us to develop skills that I would have been too afraid to try otherwise.

We compromised at first and bought the Tropos suits. They worked fine, but only lasted for 2 years. Granted, they saw a lot of use! Our gore-tex suits are on their 3rd year, and so far doing fine. I understand that gore-tex is also more repairable than other fabrics, and Kokotat has an excellent reputation for customer service.

Happy paddling!
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Hi Pat;

You may want to also consider the Reed Chillcheater PADDLE SUIT. I recently purchased one from the UK, and while maybe not as bomber as the Kokatat products (which I also own), the cost was much easier to justify. I've done an initial review of what I've found.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4931

Keep in mind, I did not purchase the suit with the intention of becoming an instructor or paddling around Alaska. If your expectation is to be deliberately getting wet on a regular basis, the Kokatat Expedition suit with full latex gaskets will probably keep you dryer. OTOH, if you want to provide yourself with a very high level of safety and comfort while paddling on open water and also have a suit you can use to become proficient at rolling (when not in a heated swimming pool), you would probably be very satisfied with it. I ordered mine from the UK and the cost was a bit less than half the price of the Kokatat. You could probably get two custom suits for the price of one Kokatat.

Having said that, I can also say that the service you will receive from Kokatat (if you go that route) will be head and shoulders above your expectations. Reed is across the pond and their response time is less than stellar...
 
drahcir said:
KW

Did you interact with Reed (Chillcheater) through their usa presence? There is a distributor on the west coast:
http://reednorthamerica.com/
gives it as Ebersold Distributing. They also list a bunch of dealers:
http://reednorthamerica.com/page3/page3.html
some of which are familiar to this forum.
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I dealt directly with Reed in the UK. I didn't realize they had distribution in the US. It's nice to know there's North American service available, though I expect they'll charge me if I need anything of mine fixed, given that I purchased directly from the U.K.
 
They do list Deep Cove in North Vancouver, so there is some Canadian presence. I'm very curious about their product line - supposedly a new fabric called aquatherm? But I got a dry suit last spring, so too late for me.

It's not clear how deep their distribution is e.g. Deep Cove shows a long sleeve shirt, but no paddling suit.
 
I have a Reed tuiliq, made of aquatherm, which I totally love. I bought it mainly for rolling, but find that it is so comfortable I now wear it all the time. Usually over my drysuit, or if it is warm enough, over my wetsuit.

I have seen, and tried on the aquafleece. It is much like the aquatherm,but with a fleece layer on the inside. I hear that it is quite warm, and am thinking of ordering some to replace my aging wetsuit.

Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson will be selling Reed products through their online store. (kayakways.net) I ordered my tuiliq straight from England and had no trouble. I do not know of any Canadian sources...
 
tmgr said:
We compromised at first and bought the Tropos suits. They worked fine, but only lasted for 2 years. Granted, they saw a lot of use! Our gore-tex suits are on their 3rd year, and so far doing fine. I understand that gore-tex is also more repairable than other fabrics, and Kokotat has an excellent reputation for customer service.

Original poster hear....we are deciding between two suits the Kokatat gore tex at $760 or a Kokatat Tropos at $300. So is the Gore Tex worth the additional cost?
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