John, You could always rent one. There are a number of outfitters here in the Puget Sound area that rent Gortex drysuits. Here in our normal off season weather (40-50F air and water temps, cloudy, maybe windy) I actually use the Gortex suit, while the coated one (I used to have one) was way to much like paddling in a sauna. I have had no problems with leakage in extended rescue practices or otherwise swimming or wading while practicing or teaching. I usually wear the equivalent of a medium or expedition weight polypro layer under the suit, and I have had the experience of becoming chilled during the lunch break. I think that it must be because of evaporative cooling, and I can't imagine evaporative cooling taking place under water. Anyway, I have mostly stayed comfortable while swimming and paddling, and I am prepared to put on an extra layer during the lunch stops. At least now I can bear to wear the thing, where I could rarely bear to wear the coated drysuit. My first Gortex suit lasted through 7 years of hard use, and I could have made it go more. The material on the new one seems to be wearing even better. For sea kayaking, with the extended energy output, I wouldn't get anything but a breathable drysuit. I can't overstate the tremendous difference in comfort to me. My humble opinion only. Regards, Dave Carlson John Blackburn wrote: > . I'm wondering just what a "Dry" suit > under a PFD, with your lower half isolated below your spray skirt would be > like. From the discussion here, I would be reluctant to lay out big $ for a > Gortex dry suit without trying it in actual conditions. And I can't imagine > any mfg. giving me a chance to test drive a dry suit long enough to get a feel > for the product. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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