Re: [Paddlewise] 1 vs 2 piece dry suits

From: Jack Martin <jcmartin43_at_radix.net>
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 23:17:43 -0500
Woody wrote about dry suits ---

> I'd like to buy a two piece because of all the combinations I could then
> have with wearing other clothes with it (wet suit, semi-dry top, etc), but
> I'm afraid it would end up being just semi-dry (i.e. wet with less water
> flushing through it than a wet suit), and I already have a semi-dry combo I
> wear over my wet suit.
> 
> I've also seen a 2 piece pant/top combo where the pant top and the inner
> tunnel of the dry top rolled together. Any experience with that?
> 
My first dry suit was a Stohlquist two piece suit; the top had a long 
latex tunnel at the waist and the bottom had a long latex tunnel at 
the waist.  They rolled up together --- had to be careful to get them 
lined up and to keep them lined up, and it took a lot of reaching 
around on a solo, but it was an excellent seal.  Could swim it for a 
half hour and not produce any leaks.  But it was very hard to get it 
right, and the latex seals were large and had to be treated and 
were subject to dryrot if proper care wasn't taken.  Definitely a high 
maintenance item.  Much prefer my once piece Gore-Tex.

> And finally: Best time to buy? Is spring a good time when people are trying
> to clear their winter stocks? Summer?

If you do buy off season or late in the season, check the latex very 
carefully.  If the suit has been lying around for a while, the seals 
could be dried out.

Personal opinion: save up for the Gore-Tex, even if it means 
shortening your paddling season one year, it's worth the wait.

Jack Martin
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************
Received on Tue Mar 30 1999 - 20:11:36 PST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:06 PDT