Let's Talk wetsuits and drysuits

[Dirk]

Have you used the OR Predator for kiting yet? From the website it looks like that the zipper fastener of the neopren shell ends at your lower back when you close it (so you close it from top to bottom). It seems to be in a place where your harness sits which could be very uncomfortable. Any experience?

[splatnikGanglion]

In my opinion its about dressing for survival and I've come to the same conclusion as others here.

If the air is warm and water is cold I wear a wetsuit because I find it easier to cool off in the water and if I get stuck in that water I'm dressed to avoid hypothermia.

If the air is cold and water is warm I'll usually wear a drysuit and dress to the air temperature.

If both are cold I prefer a drysuit and dress to whichever is colder.

I know drysuits can fail but it's not all that likely. I really like the fact that when I get out of the water I'm mostly dry with a drysuit and it isn't a painful experience putting it back on like what you get with a wetsuit. Makes it easier to take breaks than with a wetsuit.

[bay surfer]

I have a GUL suit with soft seals that let hardly any water in, most of the time I'm almost dry when I take the suit off. Wear a 2ml shirt or shorty for the days when the water+Air temp is <100deg. Had a bag suit can't stand the constriction on my neck and wrists, plus I dont BOB in the waves.

[sourra]

As I see it, there's two major benefits with a dry suite over a wet suite:

1) Over here we sometimes surf when it's just around freezing point. Then you don't want to stand nude, fighting with a wetsuite when the wind is blowing at steady 35 knots. You can just step out of the drysuite and into the car without freezing to death.

2) You can take a break and chill on the beach for an hour or so without being cold.

Apart from that, the wetsuite is a winner on all levels.

[splatnikGanglion]

I think the wetsuit guys are just bummed that it's harder to stuff your package when wearing a bag. All it takes is a sock or two and your wetsuit is very impressive.

[toyletbowl]

Interesting reads.

I sell and rode both styles a lot and went from crappy neo style stiff dry suit, to top of the line OR baggy dry suit years ago and then last year I thought I'd try a neoprene style 6/5/4 hooded NPX Zealot. Wow...what a difference. I wasn't expecting much, but was surprised.

Loved the OR dry suit, but when it was cold, the layering made me feel like the Michelin man and flexibility suffered. Newer 6/5/4's are very flexible and just as warm with much less layering needed.

Also, no matter what, I was soaked in my dry suit after every session and it's no fun taking off layers and layers of wet cloths when it's cold.

So I would have to get naked in the cold no matter what suit i wore. You can't just take the suit off and get in the car unless you didn't work at all while on the water.

If just standing around in the wind, both suits would get cold, so wearing winter jackets were often the answers or sitting in the truck with the heat blasting.

The first day I rode the 6/5/4 hooded was in water where ice was still on the lakes, so the water was COLD. I purposely sat in the water for over 5 minutes to see if I would get cold and did not.

Plus, the cost is much less.

Side note. Newer baggy styles might have better cuts for better flexibility and my layering may not have been as good as it could be at times, but getting wet inside my dry suits drove me nuts. I tried many ways of making sure the seals were tight so water would not seep in. I think they are great suits, but just want to make sure facts are known.

One advantage of a good baggy style dry is it might be easier to use one suit and layer appropriate compared to 2 or 3 wet suits to fill the same temps.

Hope this helps,

bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[Don Monnot]

Nobody's mentioned the combo suits. I have an (old) baggy-top / neoprene bottom suit (Bare Polar). I've bobbed around in 30 degree water for 45 minutes and haven't even started to get chilled. The neoprene bottom is drysuit construction (like a SCUBA drysuit) sealed to a baggy top. It came with a super thick poly fleece top for under the baggy top. Unbelievably warm, and the top gives me pretty good freedom of movement. It's way, way warmer than my 5/4 Mystic steamer.

Don

[frankm1960]

I've never tried a dry and likely never will unless I'm given one to demo or something.
I use my NP 5/3 3000. This suit is very light and stretchy and comfy compared to the suits of only 5yrs earlier. They're super stretchy and easy on and off. I've been out this year in 7deg C in 20-25kts a few times and no problem, windsurfing and kiting.

But I don't know how warm it would be without the polyolefin layer I've been using under the suit. This layer is fantastic and would probably work well under a dry suit I'm sure cause I've used the top when running in cold weather, it wicks the sweat away from your skin and leaves you feeling quite dry. In fact I'm quite dry after a session in the water.

This is my first year using a layer under my wetsuits and it's making a huge difference on comfort, the suit is very easy to get off and on, not bulky and has flat sewn seems. Very worth while piece of equipment for cold water.

[cram]

My Ocean RodeoPredator is great for kiting. I use a session harness and it seems fine so far. Definately no different than my summer suit with a back zip (in answer to a previous question). I have to say--it is an awsome suit. As far as I am aware, there is no other like it.

[LanBro]

I plan to wear some thick fleece under my drysuit. Can I also wear a special polyester (relatively thin) underwear or will that have them same affect as cotton?

Thanks