there is a discussion below concerning ravenspring drysuits and while i know the same folks peter does that ordered them and like them just fine, let me give my new palm drysuit a plug.
bought the palm stikine canyon drysuit at the kayak symposium up in durham and while i have only used it 4 or 5 times now and can’t speak to it’s long term durability, i have found it to be very, very comfortable and the material is quite rugged compared to the kokatat (have owned both and so have some basis for comparison) so i am expecting good things for years to come.
the suit i bought is a rear entry with a waist tunnel, a relief zip, reflective pips, a chest pocket (although, i am not a fan of this feature) and has reinforced material all over the place on top of which the construction was just heavier duty than the kokatat.
the top of the line palm was no where near as expensive as the mid/high end kokatat product and seemed to me to be a far better bargain for my $.
i had never seen this drysuit in the US before and don’t know whether or not it’s new or just new to the US market. in either case i thought it was a great buy, has proven itself in my limited experience with it to be very dry and very comfortable and the price was hard to pass up.
just nice to know the options before you spend the loot and the market for drysuits is expanding beyond just kokatat and even now, ravenspring.
good luck
link attached
http://www.palmequipmentusa.com/Pages/TextOnly/Stikine.htm
back entry
looked into palm last year, but as i paddle solo most of the time, can a male close/open this back zipper ? - also, are they now available with attached feet ? - and since you mentioned that they were a big saving, what do they cost ? - john
drysuit
the suit was about $580 which is about $100 less then a kokatat and the k doesn’t have the waist tunnel at that price. i thought that was a pretty good deal. i dunno whether or not they aftermarket the latex feet. i wear mukluks or watershoes/neo socks. you’d have to look up the aftermarket options from palm directly.
as far as getting into it…yeah, still a bit of a chore but far easier than the front chest zip i think. put a lanyard on the pull so you can pass it hand/hand but if you do have difficulty have one of your mates zip it for you. if it’s cold enough for a dry suit you should probably have a few along. what’s the old rhyme - less than 3 there shall never be?
Seen This One
and have been intrigued. Look forward to feedback over the coming 2-3 years. This is the only review I’ve seen on it:
http://boatertalk.com/reviews.php?reviewid=1838&productid=449
I guess if you’re not flexible in the upper body (and I am not), you could hook up a longer nylon strap, much like some of the surfing wetsuits, to facilitate closing and opening. Just make sure, it’s tuck into your pfd and out of the way when in use.
sing
Urethane vs florocarbon
membrane like goretex etc. Anybody know about durability difference?