> sorry to be a broken record, but you <<must>> dress for the water temperature > even if it is warm and sunny. IMHO this means drysuits if water temp below 50 F. That's helpful. Could I have some suggestions on other dress? What water temp do ya'll put on (or take off) a farmer john wet suit? Thanks. Brian *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Brian Heath wrote: > > > sorry to be a broken record, but you <<must>> dress for the water temperature > > even if it is warm and sunny. IMHO this means drysuits if water temp below 50 F. > > That's helpful. Could I have some suggestions on other dress? What > water temp do ya'll put on (or take off) a farmer john wet suit? > Thanks. Brian, I'm not a dry suit owner. For cold water (less than 55 F) I use a farmer john under a Kokatat Goretex paddle jacket (has good latex seals at the wrists, but a neoprene/velcro closure at the neck). Depending on the conditions, I might have one or two layers of fleece under the drytop, and in really cold weather/water, I'd wear a neoprene beanie or hood. That's my cold-water paddling rig, and is designed to give me survival time in the water, and get-back-in-the-yak time. I'm figuring I will have *at least* half an hour of time when all my extremities will be fully functional, when the water is below 55 degrees F. That seems to be borne out by my experience in small surf (2-3 ft waves), when I spend lots of time immersed in the water, and do not even notice the water temp after 2 - 3 hours of mild activity (water temp maybe 50 - 55). The neoprene/velcro neck closure allows a little leakage, but is really pretty water tight. Between 55 - 60, I waffle. Sometimes I wear the full rig. Rarely, I wear just the john, but at least a fleece layer on top. At 60 - 65 degrees, I often dispense with the drytop and use the john with nothing significant on my upper body -- maybe a T-shirt (unless it is raining seriously). Above 65 degrees, I might do without the farmer john, and certainly would not wear it above 70 F. That's swimming temp! I'd caution you that these temps seem to work for me, and that you might want to go a little more conservative than I do. I'm a chunky guy with a fair amount of natural insulation, and do not get cold hands easily. Slim folks who readily get cold hands would not be comfortable with my benchmarks. The best test is to swim around in the water near shore and see how it works for you. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-05-16 00:57:47 EDT, dkruger_at_seasurf.com writes, answering Brian's question about levels of gear: << I'm not a dry suit owner. For cold water (less than 55 F) I use a farmer john under a Kokatat Goretex paddle jacket (has good latex seals at the wrists, but a neoprene/velcro closure at the neck). >> I don't currently paddle with a dry suit, either, but I have an optional system that works well --- for me. In cold water --- stiff on the edges up to 50-55 F. --- I wear a Mountain Surf "Drydeck", a drytop with latex neck and wrist gaskets, which is integrated into a tough neoprene skirt with a bombproof half-round rubber rand as the sealer. It's not "waterproof", but it's as close to that as anything is! As a base layer --- and I consider this "survival wear", 'cause I paddle a VCP Pintail, and you've gotta work at it to get out of that kayak with any appreciable amount of gear on! --- I use a Henderson Polartek 2000S jumpsuit, made of the Malden Mills material that alleges itself to be equivalent to between two and three mils of neoprene, and, depending on conditions, wear either the equivalent of a neoprene farmer john or a neoprene short john over the Henderson suit. And I always wear a Polartek hood and neo gloves in cold water; the Polartek material is sufficient for quick rolls in non-stiff water, is warm and fuzzy and comfortable when dry and not that bad when wet --- much better than neoprene --- and you can hear through the material far better than through neoprene. In a highly non-scientific study, I floated around in the Polartek and a two mil short john over it for 25 minutes in 38 degree F. water; at the end, I wasn't <warm> but I was still completely functional. Just a personal option. (I have an inherent distrust of single point failures, and the thought of having to swim for a while with a set of somewhat fragile latex seals as the only things keeping the wintertime Chesapeake Bay out of my no-longer dry suit is not an appealing one. A holed and partially flooded dry suit, even with layers of fleece underneath, has the insulating capability of a fabric coverall or flight suit --- i.e., virtually none. If/when I go back to a dry suit, I would always hedge my bets and wear some neoprene or, better yet, the dry insulation of Polartek 2000s coupled with its neoprene-like characteristics in the wet, as a base layer. But that's just me. And I have no affiliation with Malden Mills, Henderson or Mountain Surf [Friendsville, MD, generally WW outfitters].) Joq *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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