Boat Building Forum
Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats
how do you figure out sizing? Based on waist, arm and chest measurements, I'd be a large. Based on height, id be an XL, but these are meant for paddlers up to 240# and I'm 195 - I'd rather not have an overly baggy suit.
The height is fairly important in a drysuit, since you need to pull the suit up high enough to get the neck gasket over your head when you are donning the suit. In a too-short suit, it will be difficult to 'hike up' the suit enough to get your head through the gasket.
Ideally, trying suits at a dealer will give you the answer, but that's not always an option.
I'd contact support at the drysuit company to get an answer, and then try to buy it from a place that has a easy return policy for suits that haven't been wet and still have the tags.
BTW, talcum powder on the inside of the gaskets make them easier to slide over your head and hands.
I'm 5'11 and 165# and I wear a L Kokatat suit. I just recently bought an eBay Kokatat suit in size M and I 'think' I'll be able to get it on- height is the limiting factor-, but I need to put in a new neck gasket before reaching a conclusion on that.
Once you burp the air from the suit and put on a PFD, the extra fabric in the girth gets tucked away, IME.
Don't forget that you may have layers on, under the suit.
I was paddling this weekend (Vancouver Island, cool air in the morning and ~10C water) in a class, so there was a bit of 'sitting around time' in between the exciting parts, and under the Kokatat GoreTex suit I was wearing Helly Warm base layer + light v-neck sweater + fleece salopettes (OR Saturn suit) + thick socks. So you don't want the suit to be too snug, but if you are 195# in an XL suit that shouldn't be a problem.
Messages In This Thread
- Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/14/2014, 6:01 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
george jung -- 11/14/2014, 8:16 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/15/2014, 8:33 am
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
howard -- 11/14/2014, 8:16 pm- Winter wear Now for something completely different *PIC*
John Messinger -- 11/15/2014, 3:01 am
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Robert W -- 11/15/2014, 8:24 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Jay Babina -- 11/15/2014, 11:32 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Mike Bielski -- 11/15/2014, 3:41 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/16/2014, 12:15 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Mike Bielski -- 11/16/2014, 8:56 pm
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/16/2014, 12:12 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/15/2014, 8:26 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/15/2014, 11:11 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Mike Bielski -- 11/15/2014, 11:34 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Yoshi -- 11/15/2014, 5:22 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/15/2014, 10:48 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Yoshi -- 11/16/2014, 1:36 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
george jung -- 11/16/2014, 1:56 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
John Roberts -- 11/16/2014, 4:34 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
george jung -- 11/16/2014, 7:33 pm
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/15/2014, 10:33 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 11/16/2014, 4:23 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 11/16/2014, 4:28 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Ken Blanton -- 11/16/2014, 1:00 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Etienne Muller -- 11/16/2014, 2:10 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Ken Blanton -- 11/16/2014, 10:54 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
scottbaxter -- 11/16/2014, 11:33 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Etienne Muller -- 11/17/2014, 4:55 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/16/2014, 11:50 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/17/2014, 12:30 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/17/2014, 7:38 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/17/2014, 9:43 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/17/2014, 10:35 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/18/2014, 12:28 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear *PIC*
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear *PIC*
Sean Dawe -- 11/17/2014, 10:56 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/17/2014, 10:23 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Mike Bielski -- 11/17/2014, 10:49 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/17/2014, 10:53 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Mike Bielski -- 11/17/2014, 11:02 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/18/2014, 12:37 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/18/2014, 2:02 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Sean Dawe -- 11/18/2014, 9:10 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Nick R. -- 11/18/2014, 6:07 am- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Robert N Pruden -- 11/20/2014, 5:48 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/20/2014, 7:00 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/23/2014, 1:54 am
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Gero Verheyen -- 11/20/2014, 10:24 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
scottbaxter -- 11/20/2014, 10:51 pm- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/21/2014, 12:03 am
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
Bill Hamm -- 11/21/2014, 8:50 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
