I presently own a PALM drysuit. It is becoming pretty shabby, so am thinking of another purchase.
Koatat, with gore tex, seems to be dominating the market, however what about NRS and the eVent material?
Is someone out there in a position to compare the two?
Thanks you.
Warranty
– Last Updated: Feb-28-08 8:30 AM EST –
There's no doubt that the competition has caught up with some of the new breathable fabrics and very competitive pricing. Kokatat has a life time warranty on their Gortex suits and they mean it. If you have a problem they repair it and sometimes send you a new suit. I know so many paddlers who Kokatat has honored with that warranty. So, for the price you pay, it certainly is something to consider. They can pressure test your suit for minor leaks and fix them. Plus they make their suits with real sewing machines etc. It is not a bought and re-sell product. You are dealing with the manufacturer.
Double D from IR. NM
I can’t find their sizing chart
Real Sewing Machines?
…as opposed to what, Mattel? I believe you will find the the better known companies that put out quality drysuits also warranty their suits the same as Kokatat and that Goretex has been surpassed by a number of newer products on the market. E-vent and Entrant just to name two.
John
Kokatat
I’m among the paddlers to whom Kokatat supplied a brand new dry suit becuase they felt it was delaminintaiting - I hadn’t noticed and simply sent it in for new gaskets and testing.
Kokatat provides amazing suport and service. You are talking to people who know of which they speak.
Some other manufactuer’s dry suits may perform as well as Kokatat’s - I doubt any exceed Kokatat dry suit performance. I greatly doubt any manufacturer exceeds Kokatat for serice.
I have both Kokotat and Reed
– Last Updated: Feb-28-08 12:26 PM EST –
I never put the Kokotat on anymore. The Reed Chill Cheater is so much warmer and the stretchy fabric so much more comfortable. You don't have to wear as much under it to keep as warm. This allows a much easier range of movement. The gortex suits are very cold when sitting on a windy beach in the winter due to evaporative cooling. You also wont find more comfortable wrist and neck seals.
http://www.chillcheater.com/products/shop.asp?cid=795
BPOD
I recently retired a 7 y/o Ravenspring drysuit and bought a BPOD. Couldn’t be happier. On price/performance and especially neck gasket function/comfort the BPOD is terrific. Suspect we’ll see over the next few years a wide range of innovative neck gasket product that will replace latex. BPOD is just the beginning.
ask me in a month or so…
I’m going to be buying the new NRS Mission drysuit within the next couple of weeks and I should be able to test it out as soon as the water melts around here. I’m intrigued to find out if the eVent fabric really is twice as breathable as Goretex. NRS is among the very best companies I have ever dealt with in terms of customer service so no concerns there.
Before one selects the Reed Paddle
Suit they might want to carefully read all the small print on the Chillcheater website.
“…Finally this paddle suit has been designed for surface paddling, it will keep you dry if you should occasionally come out of your boat and go into the water. It is not a DRY SUIT. This suit is not designed as a submersion…”
If Reed’s description and design criteria meets your needs this would be a fine garment, however it would not meet mine or most of those I paddle with.
YMMV
Wind Blows Thru a Kokatat
Okay, so one of these posts says that wind makes you cold if you’re wearing a Kokatat drysuit. True enough.
Because the Kokatat (which I own) breathes (some don’t, so read their literature), it also “breathes” the other way.
Yes, a Kokatat will feel quite cold in the wind if you’re not properly layered underneath. Perhaps this would be a reason to purchase a lined drysuit, but I think I’d rather layer…
Glenn
A lightweight windbreaker or anorak …
could take care of that – you can always layer a bit on the OUTside, too.
One of these days, I’ll paddle with my Kokatat Goretex drysuit underneath my IR Competition dry deck (very nice, comfy neo-necked semi-dry top sewed into a tough neoprene skirt). The IR neck rides higher than the neck gasket, and is a bit loose now that it’s a couple years old, anyhow.
yep
when it is windy and I’m sweaty and cold at the end of a paddle, I just throw a storm cag over my dry suit and put on a mountain hardware fleece hat. seems to take care of the problem–way better that neoprene too.
Re: Wind Blows Thru a Kokatat
Not true, it is the evaporative losses due to the Goretex fabric being breathable that makes it feel that way.
As someone else said, when you stop just throw a storm cag over.
Ragnar
oh - and on “breathability”
– Last Updated: Feb-29-08 2:00 PM EST –
Since I'm in such a fine mood.
I had to laugh at the sidebar about drysuits breathing "both ways" to the extent that you can get cold from it...my drysuit is an equal windbreaker to my running windbreaker, which isn't waterproof. That was just plain silly, the "chill" you feel is probably because you're damp underneath, and sedentary on a beach instead of generating warmth paddling.
Before someone goes off the deep end about how I must have last year's goretex - I've used three drysuits now in air conditions ranging from just below freezing to 80 degrees. You know what? I'm not completely dry when I'm done..in goretex, in eVent, in any of them. I may not be as damp as I am in a nonbreathable but unless some of you hardly sweat, you're not being entirely truthful to the OP.
Its warm if you tinkle
in a dry suit.
Glenn
women’s cut
Hi OSCONNIE, if you are a female paddler then consider drysuit cutto fit a woman: drysuit sizes are not just about weight and height - there are gender differences in torso length, shoulder width, length of sleeves, legs, diameter of neck and wrist gaskets, etc.
Sometimes a woman trying to fit into a man’s suit finds there is just too much fabric flapping around to make it comfortable. Or the gaskets don’t fit right. Not to mention the need to answer nature’s calls using a man’s relief zipper.
Some women can fit into men’s sizes - which is cool and gives them more choices. But for women-specific cuts Kokatat pioneered this concept and IMO still does it best.
They were the first to cater to female paddlers and their suits give you a choice of different relief openings as well - drop seat with zipper lowered front zipper, etc. Each has their fans and it is nice to have a choice.
I own a Palm Freestyle PFD and have nothing bad to saw about Palm, it’s just that a drysuit is a big investment and needs to fit well… for a woman Kokatat might just be that better fit.
You should definitely chat with Barb Gronseth of the Kayak Academy out in Issaqua WA. Or her husband George. They have put a couple thousand paddlers into drysuits and know their gear.
They also offer drysuit loaners and occasionally great deals on drysuits used in their paddling school.
They are exclusively Kokatat.
I am certain that you are correct
– Last Updated: Feb-29-08 2:49 PM EST –
Someone else here said to me that they get chilled in the wind with Gore-tex due to evaporative cooling, but I don't buy it. I think a person just feels the effect of the wind stripping heat more rapidly than still air, because I experience the same sensation in clothes which I know aren't letting moisture out at any significant rate (like rubber rain gear or multilayered wind-proof winter wear that's very dry inside). I also don't find that being out in strong wind keeps me any drier inside Gore-tex than I'd otherwise be, which to me shoots a hole in the idea that vapor transfer through the fabric is noticibly faster due to strong wind. In fact, when wearing highly breathable but windproof fabrics in winter (no high-tech stuff), I haven't found that being out in the wind keeps me any drier than I'd be when out of the wind either, even though I'm already staying a lot drier dressed in such clothes than I'd ever be in Gore-tex since the moisture leaves so much easier. Moisture transfer (in its gaseous state) through a membrane or other permeable material is primarily driven by vapor pressure (a result of temperature gradient), and once a gas molecule is free of a permeable material, it's as good as gone (no need for the wind to help), since gasses diffuse though air so much more rapidly than they permeate through such materials. That's my take anyway.
for a bit
then it just gets itchy.