Kokatat Tropos Meridian
w. the full gaskets @ neck & wrists & booties.
Only had mine out seven times in December and this month, but even in stretches of brisk paddling no overheating. Just took my scull cap off for a few minutes to cool out. We after all lose a lot of heat thru our heads.
Nothing sweaty afterwards either except a bit in the feet but given that I’m wearing wool/capilene socks in Chotas, that’s acceptable to me.
Admittedly I’m a small person so maybe don’t generate as much body heat and lose it faster (smaller body mass 'n all that).
I wear three layers of diff types underneath anchored by medium weight union suit of Capilene fleece. Agree that wicking and warm layers are key to warmth without wetness. Dancewear & bikewear can be good layers next to the skin.
As to relying on the air in the drysuit in lieu of a PFD, that doesn’t jibe with the info which came with my drysuit from the Kayak Academy. They said to burp out the suit before getting in, either by squatting down several times w. the neck gasket parted, on land, or doing it in waist deep water. The goal is to get as much air as possible out before you get in the kayak.
I always wear my PFD.
NRS Triton
Is very breathable, compared to my non-breathing dry-top and non-breathing dry pants.
It keeps me very comfortable and I am sometimes able to wear my underlayers home if I haven’t been exerting too much during paddling.
I do it
Even if you get a tear in the drysuit material, the tear would have to be at/near the top of the suit for the water to displace the air in the suit. Gasket failure would be an issue when putting on/removing the suit, not while paddling.
I always have a pfd, if not on, then on the rear deck (after all, there’s snickers bars in the pocket.) Should I have a problem with the suit (HIGHLY unlikely) I have the pfd back-up.
I prefer non-wicking polypropelene
next to my skin for wear under a drytop. Wicking fabrics work by having non-absorbent core fibers with a hydrophilic (water-attracting) coating. Water moves across the temperature gradient and the water density gradient over that coating. However, inside the relatively humid interior under a drytop, a wicking fabric gets to feel soggy. Polypro has no water affinity, and so feels dryer.
Wicking fabrics are over-sold for paddling use. They work best for hard hiking in warm temperature and dry air, because they are very effective at getting perspiration into the surrounding air.
Fabrics
If I’m working hard my on a workout paddle I can outsweat any breathable fabric that I’ve seen in the past 17 years of paddling.
A couple of fabrics that do a good job keeping the tranpiration rate close to my perspiration rate are:
Eclipse by Stohlquist: www.Stohlquist.com
Entrant 3 by Immersion Research: www.immersionresearch.com
Goretex Immersion by Kokatat: www.Kokatat.com
Those have been the best in my experience. There may be more, just haven’t sweated them up yet.
I’ve seen some of the Stohlquist and IR garments on eBay! stores. Might want to do a search.
See you on the water,
Marshall
www.the-river-connection.com
eVent is excellent
and has better breathability than Gore. It is however a heavier fabric and that may limit it’s use some. They are working on that. I suspect Gore Tex has such a HUGE market recognition that companies may be reluctant to try other fabrics even though they may be better.
Only mesh does. But seriously,
Gore-tex is the most breathable waterproof fabric I have tried. I don’t even bother with anything else now, having tried “the others” too many times to find they don’t live up to their claims. Sometimes cheaper is only cheaper, not as good.
Yes, the PFD and sprayskirt tunnel will block vapor from getting out and evaporating, but that’s still a much smaller area of dampness than what you’d get with a nonbreathable drysuit. Remove the PFD at lunch and the dampness clears out quickly, too, even without unzipping the drysuit.
I haven’t had dampness from waist down due to the sprayskirt being on. The cockpit may be a sealed volume, but that volume contains MUCH more air than what would be inside your nonbreathable-wrapped legs. Hence, the cockpit can absorb more of the moisture without making you feel damp.
Something you don’t always hear…
from a company selling a w/b item. The amount of breathability a w/b laminent or coating has is a direct result of how breathable the face fabric that it is afixed to is. Meaning, it is possible for two Gore-Tex XCR garments to have vastly different breathability characteristics and comparing two garments containing the same w/b system could be like comparing apples to oranges. If possible, it's best to ask for advice on specific garments rather than the w/b laminent/coating used.
Typically w/b laminents (GORE-TEX) are more breathable than w/b coatings (typically less expensive private label brands). But not always. And as previously mentioned, what you wear beneath, or linings within garments, have a direct effect on how clammy your skin feels, or how good (percieved) a garment breaths.
An example: The copmpany I used to work for had all their w/b jackets lab tested. Surprisingly the least expensive jacket made (w/b microporous polyurethane coating; $69) was the most breathable of the bunch, and the most expensive jacket (w/b GORE TEX XCR laminent; $199) was not the least breathable, but quite less than the $69 jacket. The lack of a lining in the $69 jacket made most customers feel that it was not as breathable, however the lab results did not say the same.
Thus; ask about the specific garment not necessarily the w/b syatem for better feedback.
I hope this helps more than it confuses.
-MEAT
I’ll say it
Breathability is pretty much a myth. I’ve worn breathables, I’ve worn traditional. Found no difference. But others say they do, so maybe there is a placebo effect I just can’t buy into.
depends
Nothing I’ve tried breathes enough to keep me dry inside – but that also applies to layers I wear on land. That said, I do notice a big difference in sweat accumulation between my non-breathable paddle jacket and my breatheable dry top. The breatheable dry top is much more comfortable over time.