-- Last Updated: Nov-01-06 12:29 PM EST --
http://tinyurl.com/y2hpw3 a kokatat storm cag..interesting....still like my SKG one....
Wicked expensive…
… even compared to the original Rasdex ($145 or so), but certainly to the SKG (forget exactly, but under $100). The one that SKG sells is OEMed to other places too.
And the GoreTex one at Kokatat is even more!
Besides, they misused compliments/complements!
–David (not usually a spelling cop, but this was in large, bold type!)
my spelling error has now been fixed 2
OEM??? dunno what that is…hmmm…Only Extremist Matters???
i do not think that i would want an extremely breathable one anyway…like the heavier material…and when i have to use then it is probably colder (or i am)…rather be a green house and keep that heat inside…
$$$like all Kokatat stuff…
Agree… GoreTex not for storm cag
You really want the cag to be, in essence, a one-person shelter that can also work while paddling. Breathability would compromise its wind protection.
OEM
"Original Equipment Manufacturer" One manufacturer making the same items for others but with different brand names.
Very common in industry
I like Kokatat too! Looks like a nice piece of equipment to have, when you need it. I’d go with the Goretex one.
Andy
Looks pretty sweet to me.
I don’t think that $299 is anywhere in the realm of ‘wicked expensive’ in this day and age for a Goretex product of any quality. And i’ve never seen anything but quality out of Kokatat in the past. I’ve been using a ‘Goredura’ drysuit for 7 years and it’s a fantastic piece of gear. As for the statement that a Goretex product would compromise wind protection, because it breathes, is beyond me. For years I road a motorcycle all year round (my ONLY transpo) and I’m here to tell you my Goretex suit stopped ANY wind flat, and often (OK…most of the time) at beyond legal speeds in the dead of winter. If it works in that realm it will work, as does my drysuit, for paddle protection. And speaking for myself, non-breathable garments have overheated me in the worst winter conditions, I personally will never use anything but a breathable garment again, I simply cook in anything else. I think this product will be ‘the bomb’.
Expedition Essentials
http://www.seakayakingusa.com/gear.htm#cags
I was thinking of purchasing this one which costs around $120. It is supposed to be very packable and lightweight.
Rasdex
My Rasdex is made from a breathable fabric, probably not as good as GoreTex, but doesn’t have the same warranty either. I figure about half the cost of a GoreTex product is the cost of the fabric’s lifetime warranty. If you have to have it replaced just once it’s probably worth the extra cost.
~wetzool
Storm cag
The Expedition Essentials is extremely lightweight and packs to a small self-contained package. It has pockets, velcro on the cuffs and is very warm. I picked one up at the BCU week symposium (just got back in town) and saw them in use quite a bit on Saturday in very windy conditions during beach breaks/rests. During three star training the Brit instructor pulled one out as soon as he got to the beach and kept it on until he started paddling again. Three of the students also pulled them on.
I’m a big fan of Gortex and breathable fabrics, but for the intendend purpose of a storm cag, I wouldn’t want breathable - I want to be as warm as possible.
My .02 worth, including some bias toward the Expedition Essentials gear & manufacturer/distributor.
ahhh-OEM
yep…but skg was getting theirs from Expedetion Essentials (says that name under my skg patch)…and now that Dale Williams has started seakayakingusa he has brought that product line with him…i love my EE/SKG cag and storm shelter…my cag is the heavier one though…more like the weight of the NDK/GRO ones out there…
I can’t find a link
to Original Equipment Manufacturer/OEM’s storm cags
Can you provide a link?
There are different Gore-tex fabrics
Maybe the different responses about breathability result from different types of Gore-tex. First of all, Gore-tex comes in 2-layer and 3-layer versions. Also, the outer fabric in one garment might have a tighter weave than that used in others. Another difference is that some garments have a taffeta nylon inner liner, whereas others just stop at the Gore-tex laminate (outer fabric, G-t membrane itself, plus that meshy-looking layer bonded to the membrane).
I have some G-t pants with taffeta nylon for an inner liner and it definitely blocks wind. The other G-t garments I own (drysuit and jacket) have the straight 3-layer G-t laminate (no liner) and are somewhat more breathable–which also means that wind from the outside can be felt a bit more.
After getting soaked by my own sweat too many times in various “breathable waterproof” garments, from now on the ONLY fabric I trust to live up to that claim is Gore-tex. Even my ancient 1st-gen Gore-tex jacket is far superior to any of the newer fabrics I’ve tried.
That said, if I want shelter from wind during a lunch or emergency stop, I’m pulling out either my extra-long poncho with hood (coated nylon) OR an “emergency blanket”–the thin foily looking thing that folds into a small rectangle and weighs less than any cag, parka, jacket, poncho, or whatever. There is a version of the “emergency blanket” formed into a sleeping sack; that would work even better as a windfoil for one person (the blanket version can be used by two people smushed together).
another vote for the EE Cag
just returned from the BCU Skills Clinic at Sea Kayak Georgia…and while there picked up the Expedition Essentials Storm Cag…with this garment you have NO excuse not to pack it…it is light and HIGHLY compressible-maybe to the size of a large orange. On the first and second days of the symposium I was very glad I made the purchase. I’ve still got an original ‘seal suit’, i think it was NDK that put it out…heavy oxford nylon but too bulky and heavy to pack in a day hatch. For the symposium the EE Cag resided in the knee tube in the Q-boat until needed…After experiencing it I think it to be mandatory equipment or essential equipment if you will.
any ideas on where to get some of these
cags (other than the kokatat)?
yup…look about 4 posts below
Goretex Kokatat cag due out in January
Just heard from Lisa Beckstead of Kokatat, check your local dealer in January. If the planets align, i’ll have a sample to review soon. Been wanting to try a storm cag since Freya Hoffmeister demonstrated the touring utility of hers in Newfoundland this summer. Will let my p.net buds know how it checks out first!
But it doesn’t satisfy the “I need new…
kit” itch, then does it? Million year warranties are so dull.
Dogmaticus
Have you gotten your test sample yet?
Mine came in today…
…maybe I’ll get to use it next weekend. If so I’ll let you know.