I’m heading out for a trip and need a spray skirt for a Perception Montcalm. I’m not a kayaker so have know idea what to look for. I’ve done some searches and just don’t know what I need. I do know it should neoprene instead of nylon. This is for a friend, I’m paddling my trusty canoe. Any help would be great, only two weeks away from leaving.
dougd
Doug I have one I can give you
I have one in the basement like new. I can swing by this weekend and drop it off. It is nylon. Neo is too hot this time of year.
On second thought…
what is a Montcalm? Any idea how big the cockpit is?
skirts…
…I luv them cause i’m a leg man anyways…oh wait…skirts for kayaks!! is the boat a Monarch and NOT a Montcalm ???
http://www.sealsskirts.com/fitter/fit_model.php
or try snap dragon web site or a generic Harmony skirt …measure Length and width for sizing
My Mistake
It’s a Perception Montour. From what I could find the spray skirt size is 2.2 whatever that means?! Many thanks.
dougd
neoprene vs. nylon
If your friend isn’t an experienced kayaker, get a nylon skirt. Neoprene skirts are dryer, but they’re also hotter in summer, and they can be much harder to remove in a wet exit. A new paddler needs to practice wet exits with a neoprene skirt when using one for the first time.
NRS or Harmony
They both have decent nylon spray skirts this size, just a slightly different approach to how they label the sizes. Your friend probably wants one with a bar to prevent implosion, given the size of the cockpit, but I suspect that’ll be so in any of the better ones.
Agree with the other responses re neoprene - if this is a new idea to your friend to start with a neo skirt is not a great idea. Safer in your friend’s plastic boat than in the fiberglass boats that many of these folks paddle, but still not a great idea on safety.
But the worst problem is cost - the cost of a neo skirt for a cockpit this size is nasty.
Are you going to be carrying a lot of the other person’s gear? There is some storage in the Montour, but not much. And he’s got dry bags, yes? I don’t see that rear storage being all that dry.
IR Excursion
The Immersion Research Excursion touring skirt is reasonably priced for a neo deck/breathable nylon tube skirt. If you’re a p-net member, you can get it with the 10% member discount at backcountry. The deck is supratex, which if it’s like my (much more expensive) Snapdragon, is pretty easy to put on/take off.