semi-drysuit questions and other brands

[vakiter]

i ended up going with a kokatat, fully dry. a nice feature on this suit is the zipper; while in the front , it is flat, so its not too uncomfortable. neck gasket seemed too tight when first put it on, but didnt even notice it when i was riding.

i wore it foiling. unreal comfort and warmth. especially when de-rigging. wow.
wore it boosting. it was ok, but i found it hard to regulate temperature. the amount of insulation you need to safely do a rescue swim in, vs what you need when boosting is quite different. wetsuits definantely regulate temp better. its still totally doable in drysuit, but i had to cool off by floating around.

the thing i worry a bit about winter foiling in drysuit is suit failure. if suit ripped for any reason, and i was in the water, pretty sure i would be dead before i could get to shore. i suppose it would have to be a combo of suit failure + not on board for while. probably wont foil too far from shore. .

[Windigo1]

That's a myth check this video out.



I have been kiting in drysuits for 13 years in Canada I have seen many people with leaking suits none has sunken to the bottom yet.

In General people tend to overdress in drysuits. If it's above 10 celsius or above 5 and sunny I put one layer of fleece underwear. If it's below that I put 2.

[juandesooka]

"Semi-drysuit"....sounds like that was maybe more a thing before surfing wetsuits became so good. Like when I started surfing in the late 80s, wetsuits were so leaky that they were indeed WETsuits. Now, I often no water in my suit until 10 or 15 minutes into the session, with first duck dive. From the way they are described, any good quality surfing wetsuit is now "semi-dry".

Sink or swim video...that guy is 10 feet from shore, and he says that once drysuit was full of water he found it very difficult to swim, would be in a bit of trouble, etc. If he was a km offshore, cut his suit like that in 5c water, with a non-paddleable twintip or pocket foil, unless help is nearby he possibly dies. Yeah, bunch of "what-if's" there, but that's the ultimate risk factor to consider and plan for. My own experience is limited to wetsuit failure, surfing in UK in a rented suit in winter, the zipper split right open, suit filled with water, and the combination of instant freeze and sluggish swimming, there was a panicky moment ... I made it in, but it was scary. In bigger surf or with a rip current, not hard to see how consequence could quickly and easily be more significant.

Conclusion: like other posters above, I prefer good quality wetsuits. Though I have used a drysuit in certain situations and would again -- just with care/caution.

[vakiter]

yeah i think the sinking drysuit idea is silly. the hypothermia and you drown idea is real.

two failures i can think of,
catastrophic suit failure; like a hard crash that tears the suit wide open and you get too cold too fast to get to shore, or
small leak; but you have to do a long swim in and you dont make it.

i am really glad they made a video about this, but the test is not really representative of a real emergency. that guy must have been cold !
i had not considered a wetsuit failure , like @juandesooka described.

[vakiter]

so i have had around 15 sessions with the kokatat drysuit. its become one of my favorite pieces of equipment. the get in/out ease, comfort/mobility, the fact that i dont have to run to a shower to warm up, the warmth on the water, no worry to dry it fast enough for tomorrow. wow. gloves are the only problem left.

being bone dry for a low wind winter foil session. amazing.

[papasmerf]

so i have had around 15 sessions with the kokatat drysuit. its become one of my favorite pieces of equipment. the get in/out ease, comfort/mobility, the fact that i dont have to run to a shower to warm up, the warmth on the water, no worry to dry it fast enough for tomorrow. wow. gloves are the only problem left.

being bone dry for a low wind winter foil session. amazing.

which kokatat did you get? they look nice

[vakiter]

hydrus 3 with pee zipper and socks.

[jakemoore]

I just picked up an ION Amp 4;3 semi dry. It looks and feels and smells every bit a wetsuit. But DO NOT URINATE in it. An hour long session and my torso was dry. There is very little rinsing with normal crashes.

[SolarSet]

Good question, is there any reason why drysuite doesn't have integrated gloves like it can have socks? That's the only part of body that is cold for me.