Here’s my 4 cents about Mythic Gear and the $225 Drysuit -
I am in no way associated with Mythic Gear, just a guy who likes to paddle.
What’s not to be interested in a $225 drysuit?
I was concerned with fit, talked with Bob and he said he would gladly exchange it for a different size if it didn’t fit. And if the second one didn’t fit he would give my money back. So I pre-ordered one.
They showed up a week late, but Bob kept us well informed. They received the suits on a Tuesday and I had mine in hand by Thursday, pretty impressive.
First impressions - nice material, and looks like quality workmanship, no loose ends or things out of place. It’s a bit tough to get on, Bob makes it look easy in his video. But once on it’s quit roomy. Good freedom of movement and no binding. The zipper is, well, sorta like a stiff wire when zipped. I expected this to be a problem when paddling with a PFD. I contacted Bob about it and he said try it out on the water and if proves to be a problem send the suit back for a refund. Wow, obviously Mythic Gear is more concerned about happy customers than sales, nice stance.
Been pretty cold here lately and not much rain, so there isn’t much in the way of WW running for some solid drysuit testing. So second best thing, just a plain old river run. Did a 3 mile attain and then back down to the truck.
I was dressed pretty light under the suit cause I knew I’d be working. I was very pleased with the breath-ability, a few times I started to feel like I was approaching the moisture transfer max level and backed down the pace a bit and let it catch up. No complaints there for a non-goretex suit.
Freedom of movement was excellent! I was able to sorta twist, and roll the zipper under the PFD down at the waist and turned out to be a non-issue. It actually seemed like it wanted to lay that way.
The neck gasket seems thinner than my Stohlquist dry gear. Not sure if that will pose a long term durability issue or not? But I will say it is the most comfortable neck gasket I have worn. Pros and cons…
The water was 34* and I didn’t feel like getting my head wet, so I found a deep hole and waded in and swam around to test the dryness. Didn’t last very long. If felt like the cold water was filling up the suit. Spent maybe a minute to a minute and half in the water. It got cold quick. I could have lasted longer but didn’t see the need. It already felt like I was getting wet and cold. Remember I had very little insulating layers beneath the suit. Once out of the water it didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t wet at all, was just the feeling of the cold water. Well except for my feet. I had Chota Muklucks on, which are dry boots. So obviously they filled up with water. On the walk back to the truck I thought for sure my feet were sloshing in cold water.
When I took the drysuit off it proved to have done it’s job 100%. Not one drop of water inside. Even after walking in boots full of water. The material also beads the water quite well. Only place that seemed to be permeated into the outer material was at the knees from kneeling on wet pads in the boat.
So after the first testing the suit performed as expected, fits me better than expected and is shaping up to be a great value. Can’t really say I have any complains with the suit or with dealing with Bob. Did I mention it came with a patch kit, zipper wax and an owners manual. I’ll post a follow up once I get on some WW and do a few rolls or take a swim…
Thanks Mythic Gear for providing the paddling community with a functional and affordable drysuit.
comparison?
You say it as hard to get on, and mention about having other dry gear. Have you had other dry suits? if so, how did it feel in comparison?
yep
Had a Stohlquist B-pod drysuit, I was very restricted with that suit for some reason. Very tight in the shoulders and would cause problems while rolling. And when I would use my SUP the crotch would end up halfway to my knees. I sold it, cause I didn’t like wearing it. It was easier to get on though. The zipper must have been longer or placed differently. It was also plastic so it was more flexible and less noticable. The neck gasket was neoprene not latex, but the Mythic latex neck gasket is more comfortable to me.
I also have a Stohlquist drytop, which works well.
Thanks
Wow, thanks for thorough review. I’m now intrigued even more…
Zipper
The zipper is stiff even on my Kokatat GFER suit. I think they have to be to be waterproof.
Second thoughts
I have used my suit a few more times now.
I wore it on a training run on a lake just for some added security. Since there is no chance of an in the water self rescue in the race boat, and no others are out on the water yet, I knew a flip would be a swim to sure. No big deal with a dry suit. In all honesty, a flip would be pretty unlikely, but it's always possible. I had very little under the suit and temps were in the low 30's with a 15mph wind. Running at full pace it didn't take long to over power the breath-ability. I backed it down a bit and tried to manage heat build up and keeping warm due to the wind. Did an hour and half run. Never got cold, but was surprised at how much moisture I created. I still think the suit has better than my stohlquist suit breathability. I think this test would overwhelm most any breathable fabric.
Finally got the suit out on some WW yesterday. StoneyCreek River in Johnstown, Pa. A nice class III run. I was in my Outrage. Nice day with temps in the low 50s with sun and clouds. I hit the layering just right and never overheated or got cold, even with some surf playing. I managed to keep the boat upright all day, so no swim tests. But always have a few inches of water sloshing around in the boat, sometimes more. No problems at all. Not bad considering that I am kneeling on pads that are underwater, I think that kind of pressure on the fabric would be a good test of dryness. Passed!
My final thoughts on this suit, very pleased! I think it is a great value, does exactly what it is advertised to do at a cost that is mind boggling. Considering most drytops cost as much. I find it very comfortable with no restriction of movement in the paddling I have done. My only nit picks would be it is a bit hard to get on and off, and the zipper is really stiff. But at the price that is really nitpicking.
I will post a durability update when I pack it away for the summer season. Hopefully soon if spring would ever get here proper...
rub some parrafin or bees wax on the
zipper and it will slide easier
It’s great to have options with
equipment. Even if the durability of the Mystic suits is a bit less than higher priced suits, it may be well suited for the paddler who only gets out once in awhile and doesn’t place a heavy demand on their gear. But it is important to remember, there is a reason(s) why they offer the suit at the price they do and its likely the zipper is one area of cost savings.
But time will tell, thanks for the report
Time will tell
And I am a big fan of you get what you pay for. And I’m sure a lot of the expense of the lifetime warranty suits is to cover warranty replacements. And that is great to have that piece of mind.
Just to be clear, I don’t think there will ever be a failure of the zipper, it is incredibly stout. But I think it has less refinement and development of a more flexible zipper, which would obviously cost more. I’d rather have a good non-flexible zipper, than a flexible one that would be more likely to fail.
Again, this is no $1000 drysuit, and like you said, corners have to be cut to achieve the low cost. If that is worth it is something only the end user can decide.