Hello all,

Ok so am I getting old, don't answer that... Looking around at dry suits and there seem to more more and more on the market from palm to immersion research and the list goes on. Can anyone offer me an opionion on the ones you have, it is quite alot of money and I seem to get through dry cags one or two a year, they start water tight and soon leak like holed boats.

Thoughts on a reply... Particularly interested in long term use, breathable ones are they actually breathable?

Thanks in advance.

I have a Typhoon kayaking drysuit which I bought last winter which is at the basic end of the market it had a spray deck tube but no extra seals on the wrists or neck just the latex made from a breathable fabric of some sort. It cost me £200 which compared to a dry cag/ dry trouser combo which I have been using for years was cheep. Used it all last winter for river running and it was great seemed reasonably breathable and kept me dryer than the combo approach. Due to no extra bits on the neck and cuffs was not so good a keeping out squirts while playboating so still tend to where my drycag for that. I have just been on their website and they don't seem to do it anymore which is a shame but they may do you one if you asked nicely you never know.

My mate went for the much posher Palm Sidewinder Torrent suit more bells and whistles a much lighter weight fabric and twice the price at £400. Seems to be going well although he has not worn it quite as much.

Couple of extra points to think about back entry zips seem to work better than front entry. The best quality zips are the brass ones they are dryer and last longer but cost more, the plastic ones seem to be getting better all the time. Socks or no socks? Grit in your shoes will hole socks, latex socks are really really hard to get into your shoes (some people put plastic bags over them to make it easier), feet will be warmer in socks, the Palm suits use something other than latex which may work better? If you are Kayaking always buy a dry suit with a deck tube or you will spend your whole time bailing your boat.

At the end of the day I think there are quite a few good suits on the market you pays your money and takes your choice.

im also looking at a drysuit, probably one from a company called DAM watersports, they do made-to-measure drysuits. round £300

they don't have a website but they are mentioned in a number of different places.

HTH

If you want info on DamX email them at damwatersports.drysuits [at] ntlworld [dot] com and they'll send you their catalogue/info files. Ive got separate cag and trousers from them and they are totally bombproof, the fabric feels really tough and the design is very simple - minimal seams and weakpoints. My only gripe is that the trousers can be annoying for moving about in because the cut is quite baggy and mine tend to slip down a bit - probably not an issue in a suit and Im thinking of putting some braces or something grippy on the waistband which should sort it.

I've never owned a dry suit but the Palm Extrem I had was made with the so called XP200 and it breathed very well. The Kokatat Rogue I paddle with at the moment works wonders too. With Gore-Tex you can't go wrong.. A great top, awesome quality, good fit and super dry.

Hope that helps a wee bit. Cheers

Thanks Guys really helpful replies.

Also found out that Rubberman makes a made to measure suit

www.rubberman.co.uk

How is paddling with chunky zip on your back? do you find it rubs

Adrian, problem I have with breathable material is it does not stay waterproof for long, but hey better than nothing, surprised you paddle down there with anything other than a shortie cag

Cheers

SlapHappy wrote:

Adrian, problem I have with breathable material is it does not stay waterproof for long, but hey better than nothing, surprised you paddle down there with anything other than a shortie cag

Hmmm, they have given me good service. Just never store it damp otherwise the material just rots. I made that mistake last year when I went overseas for more than a month and stored a dry top damp.

I think a lot of things would surprise you here. Paddled the Ash on sat and measured the temperature at around 9 degrees C. South Africa is mostly warm paddling but many times the air can get chilly. Paddling near Cape Town in the winter with snow on the mountains is close to paddling in Norway in some places. Minus 15 degrees on the mountain tops in winter and snow in the Drakensberg and then 45/50 degrees in other places in the summer.. Somewhere in between it rains and we get to play

Good luck with your choice.

Yeah good point about storage, mine never seem to dry out bwefore they are on again, ahwell will just have to buy a set

Yeah I remember doing table mountain and took my usual pack with me and met tourists up there in t'shirts and short wondering why it was cold, ITS A MOUNTAIN!!

funniest sight was someone doing killi in sandles we did point out it rather high and could have snow further up, a look of horror came across his face and he backed off quick.

9deg in water! I'm on me way

Never paddled whilst I was there must come back with a boat, what's the best time of year? does lesutho / golden gate (trying to remember geography) have good runns?

The Ash flows all year as part of a hydro scheme in Lesotho and is about 20km from Golden Gate National Park. Best time of year for most rivers is Jan/Feb/Mar, sometimes December can be good.

Cape Town region only works in our winter (June/July etc) Then it's not bad with some very good creeks at least!

Lesotho has some runs. I think the DVD is calle Wet House 2 where Steve Fisher runs some sweet drops there. If you have a driver, loads of time and a 4x4 then Lesotho would be interesting with some first descents waiting. As would the Transkei region. The province of KwaZulu Natal is the place to be for ease of access and good water.

Hopefully one day you can make a turn here again.

Never had a problem with my zip across my back rubbing. I know some people have a little difficulty putting on over the head style PFD's as they can catch on the zip while putting them on and need a second person to sort them out, but once on no probs. A PFD with a zip would sort this if you were finding it a problem (such as the HF Serpent).

How is paddling with chunky zip on your back?

Much more comfortable and easier to put on than any other type of drysuit.

Slaphappy, I have been using the Stikene for several years, it uses the most breathable material that Palm makes works really well, kept me very dry, the brass coil zips do start off feeling a bit stiff, but with about 2 paddles they do free up. Just make sure you do the zips up completly especially the pee zip otherwise your dry suit may not stay that dry. Oh and Palm stick by their products and offer very good after sales they have replaced the seals for me and changed the ankle seals to their xp200 socks and now my feet are dry and warm as well as it being easier to get off!

Hope this helps, any other questions?

Hi,

Thanks for all the info, narrowed it down to a Palm or DamX.

Cheers

just bought a palm sidewinder, havent paddled it yet, will let you know how it goes, sems v. gd though