NYCkayaker Dressing for Dry Suits

[mike]

 first off I really don't kayak or canoe much anymore, I definitely don't go
out in winter, I am purely a shallow, slow ,  non windy , warm day paddler,
I don't know if the Gore-Tex material they use has changed from my gore tex
dry suit.  One of the great marketing boondoggles of  outdoor swear  is gore
tex and it breathability . The first generations worked the best when the
ambient temperature are the same. So in a rainstorm on a warm day in the
pacific northwest  it may  work ok. North east winter  climate it didn't
work , even for hiking 
This whole gore tex marketing scam has everybody wanting Gore-Tex boots,
properly made leather ones  work a lot better and are not as hot, cause
leather breathes. 
 I used to race , so I  tend to think of paddling as a high intensity  heat
producing activity, slower sea kayaking may work out ok with a dry suit, but
you still need enough core clothes  I am not sure if the new Gore-Tex dry
suits breathe well, I think the Gore-Tex  has to be closer to the body or
your  wicking skin suit than most dry suits are. 
The guys that go out in the winter have the most experience , one of the
problems with this kind of stuff, you don't really know if it is going to
work as planned  until your in deep. 
Do any of the outfitters rent out dry suits? 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: nyckayaker-bounces at rockandwater.net 
>>[mailto:nyckayaker-bounces at rockandwater.net] On Behalf Of 
>>Chris Starace
>>Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 6:13 PM
>>To: NYC NYC Kayaker
>>Subject: NYCkayaker Dressing for Dry Suits
>>
>>
>>Hi Mike,
>>     I don't own a dry suit but I'm considering one.  Your 
>>statement:   I do not know if a  paddler could adequately 
>>dress for water temp in a dry suit, unless they are paddling 
>>very slow and/or very fit and experienced and used to the 
>>stress and aren't exerting and overheating.
>>
>>What you said makes sense.  If the water is 35-40 degrees in 
>>March and the air is 50 degrees, I have to dress for the 
>>water temp.  Even with $900 Goretex wetsuit, you're saying 
>>that I'll sweat like a pig if I paddle hard?  I definitely 
>>don't want to spend that kind of money and find that I can 
>>only paddle at a snail's pace so as to not over heat.  
>>
>>Anyone have experience with this?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Chris  
>>
>>
>>Message: 1
>>Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:04:06 -0500
>>From: mike <mpidel at optonline.net>
>>Subject: Re: NYCkayaker Conn. Death, Dry Suits, Liability and Barriers
>>To: "'nyckayaker'" <nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>
>>Message-ID: <00ce01c83c0f$752f76c0$6701a8c0 at e510>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>>
>>I was more familiar with scuba dry suits, then kayak suits, 
>>the scuba suits should not fail and if they did, I could 
>>understand a product liability tort. Operator maintenance and 
>>the point of failure would be the pertinent points. 
>>The diving suits are manufactured to work underwater for 
>>multiple hours at a time.  No limit on submersion time. I 
>>remember when DUI suits were having problems with the 
>>inflation valve sticking and the dump valve falling off, that 
>>was in the 80's. They recalled and fixed the problems fast.  
>>The wrong composition of plastic can cause water absorption, 
>>and cause the plastic to become soft. 
>>Velcro is a type of plastic and there is a version of it that 
>>will work pretty well underwater or when wet, whereas the 
>>standard Velcro will become soft and lose its holding power 
>>quickly.  The failure point of the dry suit was not 
>>mentioned. It is hard to wear proper cold-water insulation 
>>when involved in above water heat producing activities.  With 
>>scuba diving, the insulation could be very thick, since you 
>>fell off the boat into very cold water, pulled your self down 
>>an anchor line, and kicked your legs relatively slowly. I do 
>>not know if a  paddler could adequately dress for water temp 
>>in a dry suit, unless they are paddling very slow and/or very 
>>fit and experienced and used to the stress and aren't 
>>exerting and overheating. This is similar to a conditioned 
>>commuter bicyclist, they do not need a shower if commuting to 
>>work, they do not break a sweat, the ones that are newer to 
>>bicycles are the ones that sweat out on a slow 10 to 15 mile 
>>ride. Modified neoprene wetsuit though more uncomfortable, 
>>may in reality be a safer cold-water paddling suit. 
>>Experience may be the most important factor; the new 
>>equipment can give unskilled people a false sense of security.
>>
>>www.Fon-is-Fun.org
>>A website dedicated to sharing my experiences as a Peace 
>>Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa.  Learn to speak Fon, 
>>one of Benin's local languages.  The site also contains my 
>>Benin related stories, pictures, books, music, links, 
>>recipes, Q&A, discussions and more. 
>>**********************************************************************
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