Hi all,

Hoping to get a bit of advice on two topics. I have a few years experience paddling (ww kayak), but I'm looking to take it up a notch on a few different levels (booyah).

First, I've generally only paddled in warm summer weather, but really want to stretch it into spring and fall. I'm in Canada, so that means cold water. After a quick trip a few weeks ago, I quickly found that I didn't have the gear necessary for cold weather paddling. What I'm hoping for is some advice re. dry jacket vs. full drysuit; under layers for either combo (wetsuit, fleece, etc?). I've never worn a drytop before so whatever recs/advice re. brands and features would be appreciated.

Second, what do people who wear contact lenses do when they paddle? I've tried a few times with my lenses in and sometimes it works out, but most of the time I end up losing a lense or fishing it out of skull behind my eye - and then lose it. I've tried goggles over top, but they fog and don't shed water fast enough. Any approaches out there that work?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Mike

i paddle in quebec city, i wear a drysuit till mid june, under it you just have to wear thermal fleece

for contact lens, try the one day contact lens it's thinner and stay better on the eye, you've got to put it 2-3 hours in your eye before paddling to get the contact lens to your shape of your eyes, it stick even better the second day

Hey Jimb,

Thanks a lot. I do have one daily disposables but I've never tried leaving them in for a day before I paddle, even though I have noticed they seem fit better after wearing them a while.

Any recommendations for a dry suit? What about other gear like gloves and boots. I assume you wear them when it's cold. Any preference in brand or features?

Hey,

I wear daily disposables aswell and have never had them fall out while kayaking. This thread may be of use to me as this is where i decided from when i was starting out and stil wearing glasses

www.irishfreestyle.com/node/1785

Sometimes when i get a big wave in the face it forces them to move around a bit but they generally go back when i close my eyes.

I have also heard of different size contact lenses, maybe the ones you have are too large.

I dont have any other suggestions at the moment!!

Kokatat makes gear that is of exceptional quality:

www.kokatat.com/

I've got their Gore-Tex Rogue dry top and can't really complain at all. Very dry, super quality, really soft material too. I'm sure someone else could add a few more brand names.

Palm also makes great gear in my opinion. I don't have much experience with other brands.

Level 6 is supposed to be top notch too, from what I hear...

Go with the Kokatat Dry suit. The company rocks and It's the real deal with Gore. If you can swing the price don't cheap out. Get the REAL Goretex and Socks plus relief zipper. I live in north Idaho and we wear them 9+ months a year. They layer easy both up and down. Even when the temp is hot the water isn't. Dress for the rescue.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I've done some looking into prices and the drysuit option is looking a little tougher to swallow, especially when I think of the boat I could get instead, for pretty much the same price.

Does anyone here paddle cold water in just a drytop? Is it possible? Assuming a swim is unlikely, is a drytop + wetsuit combo decent? I guess when safety is an issue it's always better to play it safe, but I tend to paddle rivers where the water may be cold, but prolonged swims are pretty rare.

I'm also leaning towards Level 6, as they're a local company for me (not that Koka and Palm aren't great brands) - any opinions as to the suits/jackets they offer?

Thanks again for all the advice.

I'm no expert when it comes to cold water, but I use a dry top/dry pants combo. I've never seen anyone paddle in a dry suit in real life, not even my Finnish friends who paddle in some crazy cold weather with chunks of ice around... I took an ice cold swim in Norway and although it was a bit of a shock to the system it wasn't that bad. Especially coming from sunny South Africa

With a good dry top/dry pants and fleece underneath I think you'd be cool. Also, drinking enough fluids and having something to eat on the river will also keep you warm. Basic stuff, but most people tend to forget this.

Good luck though. As Terry said, dress for the rescue!

This may be redundant at this point, but definitely dress for the rescue. That being said, a lot depends on you--your weight, the food/drink you've had, etc. I live in MT--the waters here stay pretty frigid until late summer (and then it can still give you an 'ice cream headache' when you go under). Most everyone uses a full drysuit until about late June. I've gotten away with a drytop and some paddling shorts with thermals underneath, but I haven't had to swim. It definitely makes me think twice and three times even about where I'm paddling as I feel limited by my lack of a drysuit (in fact, I'm debating going out this weekend and my hesitation stems from lack of pants).

If you can swing a drysuit, go with that. If you're balking at the price, then you should be okay in a drytop and drypant combo with some thermals under the pants. Don't forget ear plugs, too.

As for contacts, I wear them as well. Mine stay in place, but I do find I have to blink rapidly to get them from being sticky when I'm getting smacked in the face from wave upon wave. I'll even bring eyedrops to rewet them during the calm stretches. It's when they get sticky from water that they start going places they don't belong. Get some rewetting drops and you should be good to go. Good luck!

Just thinking of contacts - I started kayaking with a mate of mine called Joe Carter. He wore contacts/glasses but never wore them kayaking. Shame, no wonder he got eaten... I pity you guys.

Another friend of mine used to wear contacts and said everytime he ran #9 on the Zambezi one or both of the contacts would shift so he never got to see the bottom hole properly. Maybe it's just as well! HAHAHA. Now he's had the laser surgery thing and he's good to go. Good luck, again!

Yes, ear plugs are a good idea. I should actually get them. I'm sure I've lost a fair amount of hearing already Adding to this, has anyone ever gone the route of getting the custom fitted ones where they mould the plug exactly to your ear? Any recommendations? Sorry to hijack this thread a little.. But cold water and ear canals are a bad combination so you might want to know too

Contacts- The best move I ever made was getting Lasik corrective eye surgery. I waited until my eyes were stable before getting it. It has worked without change for 8 years.


Warm gear- I paddle in Maine, USA. The water is pretty chilly in the spring egUpper 30's and 40's. I use a combination of a durable drytop, in my case a Mountainsurf Typhoon, mated with a durable, gasketed overall, Palm Sidewinder bib. There can sometimes be a small amount of leakage in the hollow of your back in a swim but not much gets in because it has to travel a long way to get to your skin. This combo is more versatile than a complete drysuit and vastly cheaper. Inside I use a wetsuit analog as a backup plan for a more complete failure, which hasn't happened yet. Mountainsurf sold tops and bottoms with a fleece lining and waterproof breathable exterior that acted equal to 3mm of neoprene, but more comfortable. Unfortunately I think Mountainsurf is having severe financial difficulty and no longer seems to offer many products. NRS has an equivalent, Hydroskin I believe.
On my feet I wear lowcut neoprene footwear over Sealskinz socks. It works great.
I wear an NRS Mystery helmet liner. I tried one with ear flaps, but couldn't hear a thing particularly after rolling; so I use one without ear flaps.
I wear NRS Navigator gloves. They make warmer gloves but I find the grip with the navigator gloves is superb and my hands have never been cold once I get warmed up.

I've never worn ear plugs when paddling before and had no idea I should be worried about it. Do all you cold water paddlers where them? Don't they obstruct your hearing.

As for laser eye surgery (or lasik or whatever it's called), I'd love to but am terrified of the whole "slicing off a piece of your eye" thing. That said, my brother's had it and has had zero diffuculties and 100% satisfaction, so I should probably just man up.

Good to hear that other people are comfortable with the drytop/dry pant or wetsuit combo. I think that's the setup I'll be rocking this Fall and next Spring, until I can drop the kind of cash required for a full drysuit.

As I said before, I'm looking at Level 6 gear first as they're local here in Ottawa (and I've heard great things about their products). Does anyone have any feedback on the Mack and their dry pants (can't recall the name)?

Again, thanks for the advice everyone, and no worries about hijacking the thread Adrian - I'd never heard that earplugs were so important before so I'm glad to know now.

My experience with a drytop/overall bib combo leads me to think I will never get a drysuit. I think I will always have other items that are priorities ahead of a drysuit.

I do not use ear plugs, though that does appear to be a reasonable thing to do. There are two issues. Short term, there is the problem of vertigo- dizziness, nausea and vomitng induced by the cold water. Injecting cold water into the ear is actually a test of Meniere's disease. I have never experienced this. My wife has Meniere's. I can't imagine trying to paddle in a river rough enough to roll/swim with what I have observed of Meniere's. It can be incapacitating.
The other problem is surfer's ear, which is somehow related to repeated exposure of the ear canal to water, particulalry cold water. It can induce boney growths within the ear that can cause problems. That concerns me a little; but I am not sure what the risk is in kayakers. I do know every time I cover my ears I can't hear; and I can't stand that.

I would still go for the dry suit. When you think about it, Most water in Canada was snow 10 min.s ago. If you are "stepping it up a notch" then It's not just about a quick swim, but portages/walk outs, getting stuck out overnight and most importantly the chance of a time consuming rescue of a boating partner, pinned boat, etc... You stand in icewater for a little while in a 2 piece combo the extra money for a full suit will seem well spent. Have done it both ways, Kokotat drysuit and Kokatat drytop/wirlpool bib combo. Don't own the 2 piece anymore.

We have a large creeking community here is the N/W. Would estimate 90% in drysuits.

Hi,

Cold weather paddling is always a tricky one but hopefully i can help!

the dry trousers and cag option is always good because when it gets a bit warmer you can choose not to wear the trousers and still have the cag which you can't (obviously) with a drysuit! the bad side is if you swim you will get wet. me and my mates did some experimenting invloving gaffa tape and all sorts to see if you could stay dry and unfortuantely you can't!! if you did want to buy cag and trousers i would recommend the 09 palm sidewinder trousers because they have attached socks for extra warmth:lol: and either the palm sidewinder cag r the level 6 mack! both are around the same price and are excellent products.

drysuit wise. never ever ever buy the palm sidewinder drysuit! it looks good but the zips are awful. my mate was wearing one on the upper dart and he swam (haha) and the zips burst open!! they are palms own zips and are rubbish. if you buy a drysuit buy one with YKK brass coiled zips. they are used on diving drysuits and are bomb proof! also don't get a drysuit with the zip across the chest! it will rub against you when you have your PFD on and irritate you! probably the most important feature is the relief zip! do not get a drysuit without one! believe me they save your life!! there are 3 main drysuits i would recommend and these are....

The Level 6 Barrier drysuit, good quality build YKK brass coiled zips, relief zip (very important!) and attached booties, also with shoulder zip. this is a bomb proof drysuit that looks awsome and is quite reasonably priced

Palm Stinkie Extreme, has all the features of the Level 6 suit but is very exspensive but then it depends if you like the look and fit of it!

Typhoon multisports drysuit, all my friends have them and rave about them. typhoon make diving drysuit and as such the multisport is exceptionally well made has all the features of the level 6 suit and is very well priced.

i would seriously suggesr not getting any other drysuit except the above mentioned!

hope this helps! (does show how much of a kit freak i am though ha!)