Re: [Paddlewise] Drysuits

This is just me thinking out-loud about gortex...
It would seem when you are paddling hard your body needs to get rid of
excess heat and does so by sweating which releases heat energy by vaporizing
water from your skin.  Supposedly gortex helps lets out that vapor, which
seems good because it gets rid of the excess heat.  In a coated suit, you're
nice and warm too, maybe warmer, when you're paddling, but it would seem
when you stop paddling, all that soaked clothing around you now acts to
conduct heat away at a much greater rate than if it were dry, air filled,
insulating clothing.  Granted, soaked polypro inside a nylon shell is better
than nothing at all should you take a nasty dip, but Gortex would seem to be
much superior in performance.

In real life, I've found gortex doesn't breath as well as you might hope
because of the temperature gradient across your undergarments between your
skin and the outer gortex.  Vapor seems to end up condensing inside the
gortex, making you soaked anyway.  In other sports like skiing and running I
don't usually use Goretex because I need maximum breathability.  But
paddling one needs waterproofness so the Goretex is a good compromise I
guess.
Tom
York, ME

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