Nick asked about drysuits. I've owned two of them, and two different drytops. These are my prejudices RE: drysuits based on that limited experience: If you want to paddle in the late fall, early spring, or winter, I think a drysuit is absolutely worth the money. They*are* expensive, but they're way less costly than a funeral. In my case, having a good drysuit has expanded my paddling "season" to 10 or 12 months out of the year, and has done wonders for my comfort while paddling. Others find that coated, nonbreathable dryuits are okay. I don't. In non-breathable suits, once I get to paddling even moderately hard I generate enough body heat so that I'm uncomfortably hot except on the coldest days. It's not just a comfort matter with me; it really decreases my ability to perform significantly. Therefore - for me, Goretex is the only way to go. I've owned Kokatat products, and although I haven't bushwhacked through the brambles in them, I've used them fairly hard in normal kayaking and camping use, and have never had a puncture or tear. I have had a gasket split after two years' use, but it's easy to replace gaskets. My Kokatat Goretex drysuit is now in its 5th season or so, and it's in perfect shape. (Its shape being way better than my own!) My experience with a two-piece suit has been that it's perfectly fine for light use if you don't mind getting a little damp. But the two piece suits I've used have not kept out **all** the water if I'm practicing rolling or rescues. BTW - once the water gets to that 52 degrees mark Nick mentioned, I often switch ot a wetsuit and polys. I guess everyone knows that drysuits must be worn over appropriate layers of polys; they offer very little insulation all by themselves. My biggest problems with this come in the spring and fall, when the water temp may be 36-46 degrees and the air temp maybe in to 60s or 70s. Using the rule of "always dress for the water temp" I have to be really careful not to get overheated. Bill Hansen Ithaca NY *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Apr 27 2000 - 07:11:09 PDT
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