@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. 
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! 
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). 
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:
Stuff happens.
sing
Stay safe, sing.
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.
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.
" I haven’t read through all the posts …but " … “you need a windbreaker with a wetsuit in 50% air”
This site has become hopeless with misinformation.
The O’Neill chart is fairly close to what works for me, until the blue zones. In those, the upper end matches my “comfortable” zone but the lower end would be Get Out Quickly territory. And in the purple zone, it is strictly drysuit time for me.
The chart, and others like it, is only a starting point to determine what YOU need.
Fit matters, too. A lot. Make sure the wetsuit is snug enough to minimize flush-through of water.
@SeaDart said:
" I haven’t read through all the posts …but " … “you need a windbreaker with a wetsuit in 50% air”This site has become hopeless with misinformation.
Just have to shrug and move on. This “debate” plays out over and over on this site. People know what they know but also think they know what they don’t know.
sing
@sing said:
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.
50% of the people in the US die from heart disease, cancer, or lung disease. For people over 40, accidents come in 4th. So eat right, exercise, don’t smoke, and pray for good genes.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php
In 2017, the Coast Guard reported 138 deaths involving canoes and kayaks.
http://www.uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2017.pdf
In 2016, there were 204 cycling deaths - I would have thought that number would be higher. So Sing, you are not more likely to die in a bike accident, but you are more likely to get in an accident involving a serious injury.
By comparison, 33K people died in car crashes and 14K people died from opioid overdoses.
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/overview/key_data.html
So the most dangerous thing we do every day is get in the car and drive.