Despite having 3+ feet of snow in the yard I'm thinking of getting out in the boat, as is my recent paddling recruit. He's in the market for a drysuit. This is someone for whom the drysuit will get used in full immersion conditions, in areas where there may be ice on land. Overheating, from exertion, is also an issue so a breathable suit is probably necessary. I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has had to have their suit undergo warrantee work. thanks, Kirk -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Natasha & I both have Kokatats - new enough that warranty hasn't been an issue. My assessment, after long & thoroughly anal pre-purchase research, was that Kokatat charge a premium but are second-to-none on both quality and customer service. A friend in Connecticut has just had a Kokatat suit replaced free, after sending it in for well-deserved repair. Just my two cents and YMMMV. Don't even think of not getting the integral feet and the pee-zips for any day-on-the-water-activity. Perhaps, if your paddles will be very short (ie: 1 hour rolling sessions), you could save the $; but you may still regret not having them both. Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On 01/02/2011 10:43 PM, Paul Hayward wrote: > Don't even think of not getting the integral feet and the pee-zips for any > day-on-the-water-activity. Perhaps, if your paddles will be very short (ie: > 1 hour rolling sessions), you could save the $; but you may still regret not > having them both. I have a breathable Stholquist, and it seems quite rugged. I wear it on trips with lots of scouting through the bush and so on. Because it is breathable, I use the relief zipper, and I can have full feet. Pals with non-breathable suits don't have feet or relief zipper, which is good because they sweat so much they need to hold the ankle gasket open to drain it out, and they would not need to use a relief zipper much anyway--and of course they could let that drain out the ankle also. =-O GaryJ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 3:26 PM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > > This is someone for whom the drysuit will get used in full immersion > conditions, in areas where there may be ice on land. Overheating, from > exertion, is also an issue so a breathable suit is probably necessary > I have an NRS Extreme drysuit with booties but without pee-zip. I bought it at the NRS store in Moscow, Idaho in their Bargain Loft for $50 because, according to the label, the booties leaked. I also bought $10 worth of sealant. This might not be the usual sales price but I've been to this store several times and it's not unusual to find drysuits for under $300 with some minor defect or other. I've also bought their hydroskin apparal and a drytop from their Bargain Loft. Probably worth the gas from here (200 miles each way but our daughter lived there at the time). My wife has a Kokatat with booties (and, oddly enough, a pee-zip) which I bought for her from a craigslist ad. The guy was giving up kayaking. I bought a bunch of his stuff. I had a Kokatat two-piece drysuit without booties that cured me forever of having any drysuit that did not have booties. This is partly because I have a physical problem bending my left leg completely. Nevertheless, getting out of the bottoms of that suit required that I round up help. I've never had a real problem with the NRS suit not breathing well enough but I don't think I've worn it in air temps warmer than about 70F. So far the gaskets on both drysuits have never required any maintenance. Zippers can be stiff on the NRS suit. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
My husband and I both bought Kokatat suits in 2004 (with feet and relief zippers). We chose Kokatat because of their reputation. We seem to get torn neck gaskets every year or two (I try to do all the right maintenance) and we send the suits back for replacement. Twice each we have received new suits. They never report why the suit was defective although the first time for me, I was starting to feel wind through it so there was obviously something. We wear the suits a lot (although not all year round) since the place we paddle locally has very cold water except for July and August. We recommend Kokatat to everyone. Caroline --- On Tue, 2/1/11, Kirk Olsen wrote: Despite having 3+ feet of snow in the yard I'm thinking of getting out in the boat, as is my recent paddling recruit. He's in the market for a drysuit. This is someone for whom the drysuit will get used in full immersion conditions, in areas where there may be ice on land. Overheating, from exertion, is also an issue so a breathable suit is probably necessary. I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has had to have their suit undergo warrantee work. thanks, Kirk -- Kirk Olsen Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
go with kokotat - they have wonderful customer service. know people who have had new drysuits sent when there was a problem In a message dated 2/1/2011 6:26:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, kork4_at_cluemail.com writes: Despite having 3+ feet of snow in the yard I'm thinking of getting out in the boat, as is my recent paddling recruit. He's in the market for a drysuit. This is someone for whom the drysuit will get used in full immersion conditions, in areas where there may be ice on land. Overheating, from exertion, is also an issue so a breathable suit is probably necessary. I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has had to have their suit undergo warrantee work. thanks, Kirk *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:54 PDT