Had he fallen in that parka would have sopped up enough water to drag him down. Assuming he didn't experience a gasp response when he hit the water he would have been in terrible trouble, indeed!

Any time I do icy water paddling, I wear my Kokatat dry top with several layers underneath including one good fleecy shirt. The dry top is cinched up tight. I wear neo booties on my double-lined socked feet and wear at least two layers of heavy running tights (works the same as a wet suit). Neo gloves covered with pogies completes the digit protection scheme. I wear my sheep-skinned hat tied snug on my head. Having swam once during a winter day in February, I can say that this set-up works well enough but once wet, it's time to get out. That day when I fell in, I was able to stand in the river almost neck deep and felt quite comfortable, not a drop of water wet my torso, head or my feet. Once I got out of the water it was a race to get back to the car and change. I have been looking at a full drysuit from Kokatat but the $1000 price tag is a hard swallow when I consider that I would use it only rarely. I will most likely make the decision to buy in time to take one along for my run to Hudson Bay during 2010.

Robert N Pruden