In addition to entering p.net’s contest every day religiously, I also enter a much much smaller contest from a store in NY state. I bought my IR navideck touring skirt from them awhile ago. Well, I was just notified I won their prize, the choice of:
1)IR Super Bungee WW skirt
2)IR Navideck Touring skirt
3)Any in stock helmet (which I think is the prize one step lower than mine)
Well, I already have the Navideck because I bought mine from Voyage about a month ago.
How useful is using a whitewater skirt for touring? the Super Bungee appears to be a kevlar reinforced deck with imposion bar and a removable overthruster. Not knowing much about whitewater kayaking, I’m wondering would a WW kayak skirt be of any use for touring, perhaps for rolling practice or really bad ocean waves.
Obviously, the SB is $185 MSRP while the Navideck is a $95 so for reselling purposes, I would get the SB and then sell it for the cash… But I’m also entertaining the idea of using it if it’s worthwhile… I don’t think I’ll ever get into WW kayaking though.
Jay
If It Fits, It Works
some of my Snapdragon neo skirts are used for both white water and touring boats. If they fit, why not.
A good tight neo skirt can't be beat for rolling/sculling practice and going places where water will crash on the deck. How useful is that to you, I wouldn't know.
sing
I agree with sing but would add.
First let me say that I have great respect for sing as a paddler and a person. He is a superior paddler to me, overall, by a significant distance. But I'll add this criteria. If you can release it one handed with your off hand after a thrashing. The kevlar and implosion bar one sounds pretty much like overkill for sea kayaking even in nasty places. Probabably hard to get on with heavy gloves, but that may not matter to you. Then again, I am not be paddler on this board who goes out in the biggest water. Far from it. I like heaviest duty skirt designed for touring. I like non adjustable bungies for my rough water boats. In my case from snapdragon but all the majors are fine. Whatever fits and whatever you can release in a bad situation.
Update
Well, they allowed me to use the $176 for a new paddle so I’m eyeing that really expensiv AT Xception 2-piece bent shaft paddle they have there. I could always use my current paddle as a backup or a spare…
Now if I win that Necky from p.net, I’ll be all set. 
Jay
It’s All Good
heck, especially when it's free. A good paddle will go a long way more than an extra skirt.
Maybe you can take the credit and apply some extra bucks to get even a better paddle. Not saying the one you selected is not good. But an ultra light paddle makes a real difference on a long day of paddling.
sing
Go for the ww skirt
Actually, the Kevlar should only be a reinforcement around the combing. It helps from tearing the skirt up at its biggest wear point. Also protects a little while doing rescues, but for practice sessions I pull my skirt back or use an old one.
I have a Navdeck skirt and I don’t use it anymore. The neoprene is so stretchy that water pools on the deck. IR added an implosion bar to mine and it helps, but you still get a lap full of water when you remove the skirt. They are thinking of adding the bar to the 2005 models.
Gear…
I asked them but they are a tiny store, (seemingly more geared towards WW kayaking) and they don’t currently sell any paddles other than AT. They offered me credit but only at 1/2 the value, which is $88.
The paddle I’m looking at averages 800grams which is 1.75lbs roughly and is slightly lighter than my Werner Little Dipper…
Jay