Wetsuit...how thick?

VC…I have a Kokatat Drysuit for sale for only $350…it is the GMER model. Gortex. It is in very good condition. Hate to admit it but I can’t fit into it anymore and need to size up. The Drysuit is a size Large. Text me: 518-796-6289 or pitmartin@roadrunner.com …if interested…

@pitmartin said:
VC…I have a Kokatat Drysuit for sale for only $350…it is the GMER model. Gortex. It is in very good condition. Hate to admit it but I can’t fit into it anymore and need to size up. The Drysuit is a size Large. Text me: 518-796-6289 or pitmartin@roadrunner.com …if interested…

It kills me to pass that up, but a large would be too big for me :frowning: Thanks for the offer though!

Perhaps it is, but make sure you also consider the thickness of the insulation layers you’ll be adding. A drysuit on it’s own offers almost no thermal protection in the water.

I own a Kokatat Expedition XL, more for the height than the width. But I’ve found when paddling in the winter that the extra bulk is handy. I’d love to have different sizes for different conditions, but I’d also love to win the lottery… which you need to play in order to win, and I don’t.

my personal opinion, you would be much better off with a “cheap” drysuit and buying some fleece pajamas at walmart as a under layer
https://www.mythicdrysuits.com/collections/drysuits,

I’ll gladly spend more on clothing than a boat or paddle so i can boat in the winter( in wv)- your life could depend upon it, so going cheap ain’t a good idea for true winter paddling- just my two cents

@tdaniel said:
my personal opinion, you would be much better off with a “cheap” drysuit and buying some fleece pajamas at walmart as a under layer
https://www.mythicdrysuits.com/collections/drysuits,

I wonder if Mythic is still in business. Many suits are out of stock.

@melenas said:

@tdaniel said:
my personal opinion, you would be much better off with a “cheap” drysuit and buying some fleece pajamas at walmart as a under layer
https://www.mythicdrysuits.com/collections/drysuits,

I wonder if Mythic is still in business. Many suits are out of stock.

Hmmm… Maybe going of business. The female model grabbed a left over drysuit for a guy…?

https://www.mythicdrysuits.com/collections/drysuits/products/taruba-unisex

It says “uni-sex” but the design clearly favors the male function. Just saying…

sing

Dying sucks I have heard. So if you don’t have proper gear stay home.

@PaddleDog52 said:
Dying sucks I have heard. So if you don’t have proper gear stay home.

You obviously didn’t hear from someone who died. :wink:

You can die physically once. If you live your life in fear of dying, you’ll die a thousand deaths. (A warrior’s saying.)

In terms of “staying home,” I don’t. With paddling, I just learn to stay away from being engaged with certain types (as they are would mutually want to stay away from me… so it all works! :smiley:

sing

You don’t want to die dumb because you cheaper out.

@PaddleDog52 said:
You don’t want to die dumb because you cheaper out.

Ok. I hear you. But, even with the “best” gear, nothing is 100%.

I don’t know the statics of it, but I think I am actually more likely to die pedaling to work than going out paddling. I wear my helmet and reflective clothing. Still several years back, a woman broadsided me in front of an entrance to a mall and sent me flying 20’ or more across the road. I tucked in the air and rolled and came up luckily with a few minor bruises (my bike fared much worse). Another time, my attention lapsed and I went into a pothole and did a head over heels with my feet clipped into the pedals. I got knocked out and blew out my knee (torn ACL and ripped meniscus). Having experienced these, I could give up biking (as many has suggested and some said outright) and get into a car crawl through traffic on the daily commutes… No thanks. I acknowledge that I may die yet while commuting by bike. But, when the times comes, so be it. No one lives forever (and I don’t want to). :slight_smile:

sing

Nothing’s 100% but my father said “good care takes the head off bad luck”

How much money did the owner of North Face have? Millions but bad choices killed him.

Just heard about his after getting home on my bike:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/11/09/pedestrian-hit-truck-seriously-hurt-near-museum-science/RO8nIZod95n7WOSEqybClK/story.html

Stuff happens.

sing

Stay safe, sing.

@VACaver

This link may help answer your questions. http://www.coldwatersafety.org/Rule5.html#rule5Case1

Paddler was wearing a 3mm neoprene wetsuit.

Don’t do it! I haven’t read through all the posts so, my apology if this has been stated. My point is that wet suits are not designed to be used in air. Under water, there is no evaporative cooling, therefore you stay warm. In air, you are always cooling down (assuming the suit is wet). I find a wet suit good on a super hot summer day because of this. My opinion would be to go with a windbreaker if you can’t afford a dry suit. Of course, when it comes to clothing and staying warm, time is always an issue. An hour in a wet suit may not kill you but, a full day on the water in windy conditions may give you hypothermia. I went the wetsuit route early in my kayaking life. I soon ditched it for the above reasons.

Windbreaker is a bad idea for cold water paddling. I suggest reading through the entire thread and others related.

So Sparky, are you a clothing retailer. I’m just trying to prevent an inexperienced user from making a big mistake. Even after the initial poster stated he’d be out in 50 degree air, people are still suggesting a wetsuit. And as to your post about sweating in a dry suit, I wear a Kokatat dry bib and anorak and, I stay dry as a powdered babies bottom. You get what you pay for. And, the web is the land of misinformation.

@Old_Yakker said:
the web is the land of misinformation.

Indeed it is.

Yes I believe you need a windbreaker with a wetsuit in 50° air. Don’t really bother with my wetsuit much anyway. Water below 60° definitely a drysuit for me. I am usually alone paddling and feel better in it. Even 65° water I’ll use drysuit some times.