Dry Suit advice

[Kyle Saltzman]

Greetings Ice Hounds,

Don't know about ya'll but I am certainly looking forward to colder weather.  In anticipation of the skating season and new adventures, I am looking for advice on dry suits.  Size, fitment, brand; any and all info is welcome.  As our activity can be athletic, layering is key so size of a dry suit is the biggest xfactor for me.  Thanks and see you on the ice.

Kyle S

Enosburg, VT

[Kevin Dean]

I have a level six emperor suit, mainly for boating but I’ve worn it skating. Probably one of the more durable options but not as breathable as gore tex. I have been pretty happy with it though.  A lot of people go for the front zipper styles though, which are really nice when you are throwing a lot of layers underneath, zipping mine with anything with a hood is pretty much a two person job.

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[diana hanks]

I bought an Ocean Rodeo drysuit from Windance Boardshop out on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. My suit gets used three seasons of the year, and I’ve had it several years. It hasn’t shown any signs of wear. This is a reasonably priced drysuit, designed by Canadian dinghy sailors who go out in the winter months on any open water they can find.

I use mine for early and late season rowing, and outrigger canoeing. I have skied and gone out in the water on the same day. My water season is doubled in length, and of course this adds a huge amount of safety to my skating. 

Below is a link to the suit on Windance’s website, and the size chart for the suit. I bought mine sized up to fit winter clothes underneath .

Diana Hanks

https://www.windance.com/Ocean-Rodeo-Heat-Drysuit-3.0-X/48290/

Here’s their size chart 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 26, 2022, at 11:25 AM, Kevin Dean <kde...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Jeff Sands]

Kyle, I bought a Kokotat suit which seems great but lacks a male pee zipper. I’ve since sent it off to have that added and then I see using it a lot especially early and late season. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 26, 2022, at 12:27 PM, 'diana hanks' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I bought an Ocean Rodeo drysuit from Windance Boardshop out on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. My suit gets used three seasons of the year, and I’ve had it several years. It hasn’t shown any signs of wear. This is a reasonably priced drysuit, designed by Canadian dinghy sailors who go out in the winter months on any open water they can find.

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[Kevin Boyle]

I have a kokatat semi drysuit. Its neoprene neck gasket is easy to get on and off plus very comfortable. It took me a few outing to figure out my layering. I really missed the added warmth of neoprene. Previously I was using a wetsuit and neoprene coat.  

Kevin Boyle

Linear Art Studio

518-593-6633

On Aug 26, 2022, at 12:35 PM, Jeff Sands <Je...@dorsetpartners.com> wrote:

Kyle, I bought a Kokotat suit which seems great but lacks a male pee zipper. I’ve since sent it off to have that added and then I see using it a lot especially early and late season. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/351C2DD7-E250-4883-B6C7-4023FF0F37BA%40dorsetpartners.com.

[David Lysy]

Playing devil's advocate, one must be careful about drysuits from the perspective of high output and significant sweating, even if it's a Gore tex or otherwise"breathable" drysuit.  

I like my drysuit for marginal conditions, but I end up very sweaty in it.  I like to skate fast and hard.  The sweating is not a good thing on super cold or windy days.  

I've since switched to nordic skiing clothes most of the time plus a change of clothes in a dry bag backpack. 

That said, if I'm pushing the ice thickness and potential to plurr, then I still consider my drysuit some of the time.

YMMV

D

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[Peter Schoen]

I'm a huge fan of wool. I think there is room for some experimentation with wool. Actually deliberately going in and seeing how well wool insulates after that. I know that sounds maybe crazy, oh well. Crazy to me also is a 1200$ plastic suit, that may not save you. 

Just curious. Not necessarily volunteering to be the testee:)

Peter

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[Sandra Owens]

Peter

I am a huge fan of experimenting with various fabrics myself. I am a winter swimmer, so I have a good concept of what to expect under that ice. I did a test plurring sessions couple winters ago but would like to do it again if you have any interest?

Sandra Owens

2nd year Nordic skater/6year snow swimmer

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On Aug 26, 2022, at 5:35 PM, Peter Schoen <psch...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Daniel Spada]

I use a Kokatat drysuit with front entry and pee zipper.  It's relatively easy to strip off underlayers if too layered up for the day.  I've been on the ice at 10 degrees, unzipped and stripped off an upper layer that was just too much for my activity levels.  Zipped back up and kept skating.  I've also plurred at 16 degrees (see https://youtu.be/GjqWaRkH3xs) wearing the suit and my PFD/Pack.  I never went in deeper than mid-chest and floated about mid-chest deep in the water while others fumbled to get video.  The only reason I made a quick escape was because I realized my phone was under water.  I was totally comfortable in the suit floating in the water.  Laid on my back and drained my boots and skated on in comfort.  Zippers and snaps were frozen, but ice just cracked off the suit as it flexed and I was dry.  The drysuit has been a real game changer for me.  I too love wool and know that it can keep you warm when it is wet.  But, at very low temps I think it might turn into an ice straight jacket.

Dan

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