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If the water gets cole enough to freeze, then I would go with nothing less than a drysuit!!
I started paddling in the summer of 2009. As it was summer, I saw no need for a drysuit. Beside they are expensive and I had just bought a new boat and such. I opted for the Farmer John and dry top combo. It was alright for the summer although I do find the tightness of the neoprene uncomfortable!!
On November 11 we went for a paddle on the bay. It started out fine but about halfway through the paddle, the wind whipped around to the NW and came up with such intensity that we could not turn. The accompanying snow made visibility almost nil!! We had to make for the nearest beach. From there we made the call for someone to come and ferry us back to our cars. As we stood around waiting, I noticed the guys in drysuits were all warm and comfy with their fleece layers while I was freezing in my neoprene. It was one of the most uncomfortable times kayaking for me as we huddled against the cold waiting for our "rescue" It was at that moment I swore never to get caught in conditions like that wearing neoprene. The next day I was visiting the local outfitter store purchasing a Palm Stikine suit. And I've never looked back!!
The Palm died on me and I've just replaced it this summer with a new Gore-Tex Kokatat suit. Our summer saltwater temps rarely go above 15 Celcius, so the suit is pretty much a permanent fixture all year 'round. It is, by far, the best money spent on equipment!!
The attached image was taken back in early 2010 when I had the Stikine. We decided to "cold water" test our gear that day. The air temps were around -17 Celsius and you can see the ice on the water in front of my boat.
Just my 2 cents!!
Sean
Messages In This Thread
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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
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howard -- 11/14/2014, 8:16 pm- Winter wear Now for something completely different *PIC*
John Messinger -- 11/15/2014, 3:01 am
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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
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Bill Hamm -- 11/16/2014, 12:12 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
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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
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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
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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
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- Re: Off Topic: Winter wear *PIC*
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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
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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
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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
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Bill Hamm -- 11/21/2014, 8:50 am - Re: Off Topic: Winter wear
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