Fladen Immersion suit

I have been looking into getting a full suit and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this brand? It seems to be very good and the price is much cheaper then kokatat.  For around $130 if offers so excellent protection in either a one suit or 2 piece.

http://www.fladenfishing.se/pdf/en_catalogue_lowres/122-131.pdf


http://www.uk-fishing-tackle.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=145

At first glance it looks like you would be pretty toasty on a nice day. I also wonder about paddling comfort. But it's hard to tell just with pictures.

I chose this: http://www.paddleshack.com/DrySuit_Specs.htm and have been really happy with it in terms of overall comfort as well as when paddling. Got it new for ~$350 on eBay, and see them pretty regularly in the $450 range. Both Stohlquist and Kokatat have models made with breathable material like goretex which I think is an important consideration.

Ben

Kinda looks more for power boaters, wonder how comfy it would be for sitting in the yak? Good price though

After that last story I am really thinking about getting this. I contacted the salesman and am seeing about getting a discount for multiple purchases. If anyone is interested this could be n excellent buy here is his reply to me today:

Hi Jim

 

A one piece suit, which would be preferable for this application would cost £61.63 sterling (you do not pay UK sales taxes being based in the US).  A single suit weighs about 2.5kg, so allow 3.5kg as a packed item.   A rough quote for a US delivery on that basis would be about £38 (via Fedex).   Total cost would therefore be £99.63.

 

You would be liable for any import duties or fees charged for bringing in the suit.  You’d need to check with Fedex what those are for your State based on a consignment with goods value of approximately $100 (it may well be under the threshold for such things).

 

I am sure you can do it online, but based on todays rates if you paid via a card you’d be looking at ballpark $155 approximately.  For a US order you’d either need to ring us to arrange the delivery or (and easier for us) pay via a Paypal invoice, which we can arrange if you are interested.   They are an excellent suit (in the US they are sold under a different brand name for around $300 I was told, but I’ve never actually checked) – Total weight is about 2.5kg, and in fairly bitter UK weather (sub zero temperatures on the coast fishing) they keep you perfectly warm.   They are built for Denmark, Norway – fairly extreme sort of places – There is a fleece undersuit (like a large baby grow type thing for adults) you can buy to go with these which would be an additional £20 approx – In our climate I generally do not bother with one, but given they only weigh a few hundred grams then it wouldn’t affect the carriage costs so would be cheaper to add it now rather than later!

 

I’m happy to provide advice on sizing if you provide your height(ft/inches) and weight(lbs) – I am no good with metric equivalents, -still-!

 

Steve Malloney

Technical Manager

 

Pozzani Pure Water plc

Here is a response to my last queston


Hi Jim

 

At 18 stone and 5ft 11’ you’d be fine with an XL – In truth the XXL will suit up a guy with a 60” chest up to about 6ft 6” in height.

 

Floatation suits are not water sealed per se – They are fully waterproof and windproof, so anything landing ‘on’ the suit will not seep into it, but they are not the same thing as dry suits at all.  They have neoprene cuffs so you will not get water ingress through the arms (which is probably the key area when paddling) and the legs are on a strap over style arrangement which seal pretty tightly to the bottom of your leg.  Someone could throw a bucket of water on you and you’d not get wet – But they are not designed to be submerged (read on, it does make sense!).

 

All seams are double stitched so you will not get water ingress through the shoulders and what not (i.e. one of the major seam points in any suit).   

 

For kayaking I cannot be specific – Its not a huge sport here, but we sell these to guys who fish on North Sea trawlers which are about the worst wind/rain/water conditions you’ll fine (The TV series Trawlermen which you may find on youtube, the guys where the exact suit we are talking about).  I also sell them to Microlighters, who wear them as flight suits in bad weather (again – price up a ‘flight suit’ and price up one of these and they are a fraction of the cost).   Like I said on top of that they go out to Railway contractors, Winter Motorway Labourers and Off-shore Turbine construction companies.   

 

The only thing with a floatation suit like this is you cannot ‘submerge’ your legs in water like you maybe could with a dry suit – The way a floatation suit works is very much like a wetsuit in that water is trapped between the suit and your body and insulated – The resultant lack of ‘cross flow’ prevents hypothermia, so in terms of what happens ‘when you fall in the water’ you will get wet, but you will have a survival time of 2 to 4 hours in UK sort of sea temperatures whereas without one you’d be lucky to make fifteen minutes before the onsite of shock.  So anything landing on you be it severe rain or water splashing up you’d be fine with – No problems at all and 100% confident – But you couldn’t wade out into shallows and keep your legs dry. 

 

As I said, these are exceptionally warm – I’ve stood out on the Humber Bank on the North Sea here in gale force wind, rain and severe hail and been quite comfortable in sub zero temperatures.  From the UKs point of view these are by –far- the most popular suit of the type worn by anglers.

 

I have half a dozen camo suits in size XL (two piece version only) – The price for those is £99.95 + postage – Again you don’t have sales taxes to pay (regular price is £119.95 here).   There are very limited numbers and when they are gone, they will be gone for good (these are now officially discontinued).

Can anyone respond as to if would be a safe thing to wear? It sounds like this would be a great thing to wear on the ocean. It will not keep you as dry as a dry suit but for a safety factory it sounds like it will do above anything needed to keep from getting in any danger on the water.  I will probably pull the string and buy one of these unless I get any valid negative opinions.
Thanks

Jimbo