Looking for a Dry Suit. Opinions?

Advice
#41

size

– Last Updated: May-04-10 3:42 PM EST –

Make sure to try on a Large suit with as many layers as you will ever use (probably thermals and medium weight fleece, top and bottom).

I'm the same digits as you (6', 185, but kinda lanky) and I got a size Large Kokatat GFER. With a fleece union suit and thermals on (in the coldest weather) there's no room to spare. I rarely wear that much, so it's usually a perfect fit with just enough extra fabric, but not all the folds of the XL suit on me.

Just a heads up that depending on how you carry your 185 pounds and what you expect to wear underneath, you might need to get an XL, or a Large Long (I think KayakAcademy stocks Long sizes).

Nate

#42

very good
make sure to rinse that suit in some clean whitewater after abusing it in the salt!

#43

re:relief zipper
From my conversations with female paddlers it sounds like a relief zip isn’t as useful for many of them. The dropseat seems to have as many negative opinions also. Only one paddler said that she uses it, and that is on multiday trips.



I used to think that attached booties were indespensible, but when my drysuit zipper failed in Nov I paddled through winter in drypants with ankle gaskets. I used a pair of neoprene socks and my nrs booties and was comfortable, but others may not be.



So for me attached booties are a convenient feature to have, but not an absolute.