Comfort
After posting my last reply to you I reread your post and you asked about comfort. As far as comfort goes I would again suggest going with a Kokatat suit. Nothing breathes like Gore-tex to keep you comfortable. I’m a big guy, and sweat a lot! I wear my dry suit most of the summer, because I’m usually paddling in 5o* water. Hypothermia is not your friend. I wear a thin poly-wicking material as a base layer and add insulating layers as needed. Best way to test this is to suit up, and then go walk out in the water your going to p[addle, and stay submerged to your neck for 10 minutes or so. See if you stay warm.
Thanks for the input.
Anyone here use a level 6 drysuit? Have found quite a sweet deal on one, and was wondering if they were any good?
Never another dry suit
I blew out gastkets on a dry suit that was less than a year old in the 90’s almost froze to death. Water entering the suit slowed getting out of the water as well.
Recently cut my neoprene waders and some water entered but I stayed pretty warm. I’ll choose tighter fitting neoprene most every time the water is truly cold. Once you tear that dry suit you have no protection at all.
My gaskets looked fine and the suit was being worn for the 3rd time so I don’t know how you trust the gaskets.
I know the dry suit is a million dimes more comfortable but a raincoat and rain pants ,ight be safer because then you know you have to stay out of the rough stuff and play it safe.
No
idea about Level 6, but based on a quick look at their web site they look like a solid company making good stuff. I would just say this in general about waterproof/breathable material (warning: controversial statement ahead, may result in possible disagreements). I’ve tried several “high end” waterproof/breathable fabrics and none have come close to the performance of Gore tex. That does not mean that it is perfect. It is not, but it is, by far, the best stuff out there. Well worth the extra cost in my opinion. To paraphrase Winston Churchill’s famous comment about capitalistic democracy, “Gore Tex is absolutely the worst breathing waterproof material out there… except for all the rest.”
breathability
lemme see. breathable dry suit covered from the waist down in a cockpit with a neoprene cover (sprayskirt)
top core covered by a pfd
pretty much leaves the arms and shoulders to breathe. so I never bought the how much better goretex is to all the rest. Perhaps in lab conditions but for the paddling I do I am going to sweat regardless and no fabric is able to transfer that much anyway.
I have a NRS Extreme that is a couple of years old. no frills and probably too big for me but I can layer undrneath if I need to.
Paul
3mm vs. 7mm
To answer the original question, 7mm is too thick to paddle in, IMO. 3mm will be much more flexible. I’d say 5mm is about max for a wetsuit that you can move in. Leave the 7mm suits to the divers.
What is the water temperature when
you will be paddling?
I once ordered a custom wetsuit, and
specified 3mm. They made it in 5mm and I could not paddle in it. Having a copy of the order form I had sent in, I was at least able to get them to change the sleeves to 3mm. I never got much use out of that wetsuit, and it cost a bunch.
Georgian Bay
As someone who has actually paddled on extended Georgian Bay Trips the last several years (Tobermory and the Mink & McCoys), I’d have to echo the previous paddler in asking when are you going?
Early August the last couple of years has brought water temps to respectable levels. Even enough to do a bit of swimming for those with thick skin. If you’re going early summer or fall, I’m guessing a Dry suit or Wetsuit, whichever fits your budget would be a must.
On several trips our group included paddlers who used dry suits exclusively and others like me that used fuzzy rubber on the sunny days and a dry top on the windy overcast days. The ladies in our group used their drysuits primarily for warmth and the guys layered as needed.
Water/air rules state to dress for the water, so whatever makes you comfortable. I paddle warm, have a bombproof roll and self rescue skils and am always with a group of very experienced paddlers on these kinds of adventures. So I don’t plan on being in the water for an extended period of time, but there is always that sliver of a chance I’d be in the water long enough to experience hypothermia. That’s the chance I take, not owning a full drysuit.
I’m assuming you don’t have $500-$800 to spend on a drysuit. Have you thought of a farmer john and a drytop, this combination of layers allows for flexibility in your gear throughout the season and buys you some in-water time if you are out of your boat. You get the warmth of a wetsuit, the shoulder flexibility of the farmer John and then you can regulate your heat by layering to fit your needs?
I have been testing my own theory
on the paddling prejudice against wetsuits.
I think it depends on what you are going to do, and what range of temps we are talking about.
Sea Kayaking in air temps above 50 with water temps in the 30-40, would be a good case for a drysuit. You are exerting yourself in a temp range where water and air are fairly disparate and you may not be repeatedly getting wet.
I have been toying with the idea of a 4/3 suit for surf kayaking in spring and fall. Water temps 30-40 air temps 50-70. But I will be wet and not paddling continually. I got a good used Xcel 4/3 full suit. I used it this weekend on an inland lake for a paddle round the lake. It was really warm, too warm, but the range of motion was excellent. The newer surfing suits are pretty nice. It was warm and didn’t impede paddling at all.
I have a good Kokatat Drysuit for paddling, so to me it is a choice.
But a 3mm suit should be fine when paired with a drytop.
LOL!
In the land of “group think”, individual theories are not welcomed, even if based on actual experience rather than conjecture.
sing
Yeah,
I should stop with all this empirical stuff, it just gets me nowhere.
We’re going to have you on a waveski
before the end of the summer …
The trip to the darkside continues …
oh wait I did have you on a waveski …
Never mind …
it was not a very exciting one though …
My farmer john breathes pretty well …
through the arm holes …
Back to the original question
Since a Farmer John allows complete arm movement would a 7mm be better? After all if you get too hot you can always take a swim. Thats what I do in the spring and in the fall.
not just arms
You need easy movement of the torso, abs, shoulders, and to some extent legs.
When I wore a 5mm farmer john I felt like a hube rubber band was resisting my every move. Granted the higher quality neoprene in surf suits is probablly better, but I’d think 7mm would be a problem in any material.
Wetsuit/neo vest/drysuit combo
I used this combo and was able to continue to “practice my roll”, aka swim a good bit, down to water temps of 45 degrees farnheit. Also hood and gloves of course. That was when I was in a state of mind that was much more doggedly determined than I have been since. And even then, water at 45 degrees was my stopping point.
The wetsuit was a typical paddling suit, a Farmer Jane, NRS vest and a long sleeve hydroskin top under the wetsuit. I had neo. Dry top was a good one.
My own experience -
Somewhere below 50 degrees a typical paddling wetsuit is prohibitively cold and uncomfortable, so I stop doing the things I should be contuing to practice or play with out there.
A drysuit with the layers I need to keep me warm, even Goretex, will leave me sweated up some underneath unless it is a perfect day of low to mid-fiftes air and water temps. So I frequently change into dry layers at lunch break if it is a longer paddle.
All of this is about the typical paddling wetsuit - NOT the much more advanced suits that surfers use these days which are a step way above and cost halfway between the basic wetsuit and the more expensive dry suits. There are probably just a handful on this board who have any real experience with them - Sing is one.
I Don’t Know…
It depends on local conditions, and your own personal tolerance for cold water.
The trouble with asking a question like that on a national board is you are going to get opinions from people that just don’t have a clue
Yup…
– Last Updated: Mar-17-10 5:52 AM EST –
bottom line - whatever one wears, it's a compromise between the conditions, the venue and one's skills. The latter makes a huge difference in deciding what kind of compromise one makes in the choice of immersion gear. All immersion gear is a compromise of factors.
Have no clue what the OP wants to do or the skills s/he has or not. When in doubt, say nothing. Though in likelihood, given the question, I would suggest with the majority, go buy a "drysuit" if you can afford it and experiment with the layering to figure how much to layer underneath without getting drenched in sweat and yet still have enough insulation for some "immersion time" necessary for self or assisted rescue, a swim in, or staying alive long enough for someone to pull one out.
sing
I haven't worn my two drysuits in years. For me and what I do, my wetsuits are much safer.