does anyone wear separate neoprene wetsuit pants and top versus the full wetsuit? Wondering about effectiveness of this system - warmth, comfort, mobility, etc?
Summer Wear…
anything two piece will not keep you warm for long with immersion – I don’t care it’s 1 mm or 20 mm. Water will flush right through in between.
Best to talk about where and when you paddle. Given, the way the question was asked – with no context – I will go with “prevailing wisdom” and suggest you buy a drysuit if you’re anywhere where fresh water actually freezes in the wintrr and you want to paddle beyond June to September.
sing
the “contextual” wetsuit proponent.
Well, I once had a two piece wetsuit
that had very little “wash through” when I was in the water. But it was custom fit, and had a lot of overlap at the waist.
It interfered with arm and torso movement too much.
I recommend a drysuit. In milder conditions, you can use neoprene shorts with a high waist mated to a drytop.
Wetsuits
Surfers – kayak and board – all use full suits. The flexibility and range of motion in a modern surfing suit is much better than the wetsuits traditionally sold for paddlesports. There are folks who surf the New England coast all winter in wetsuits.
from late May to Mid October
I wear 2 mm neoprene shorts and a hydroskin top when the water is about 63 -70 and I am going to be out for hours at a time surfing.
Air temps are usually 65-80 F.
Many paddlers use the
one piece farmer john style. There are a lot of options, but from whitewater to sea kayaking there are serious proponents of the one piece farmer john…
jim