Can you swim in waders?

Nope, found out the hard way at Santa Cruz yesterday.  Tried skiing of the dock to launch in the yak, and that was bad too. Overall, yesterday, I was a dumbass.

  Tried skiing of the dock to launch in the yak, and that was bad too.

Ah, the "Seal Launch" method!
the whitewater guys do it all the time, but I've never had much success doing it off of docks.
Glad you survived the swim with no major problems. Kayaking is a learning experience, every day has the potential to teach even the seasoned paddler something new.

What,,,,No Video???? Maybe you needed more launch speed.

NO video, camera is toast, it was in my vest, and apparently is not rated for over 20' of depth!

Ask this guy.

That would be classic to watch on vid . could you do it again , more speed?

waders are scary

some friends were fishing the mouth of a river up north and a guy went under fighting a big fish

they said his head popped up once in the river and then out in the ocean and then he was crab bait



the only reason the guy in the photo is standing there smiling is because of the tame conditions you see in the background

some friends were fishing the mouth of a river up north and a guy went under fighting a big fish

they said his head popped up once in the river and then out in the ocean and then he was crab bait

rarely does the fish wins the death battle.................

OK now I want some details. Come on Montana, paint us a picture with words 

-FF

That picture's concerning.  I was planning on buying a dry top to wear over waders for some whitewater float trips in the pacific northwest.  I'd have a PFD on the whole time, but does it seem like a bad idea?  It seemed like a perfect setup, but I'm having second thoughts.

Thats why you are supposed to wear a wading belt, snug if possible. The same thing will happen on a river if you step off a shelf or rock.

wading belt and a knife....knife to cut your off your wader when you fall.......

I won't wear a wader for kayaking.....asking for trouble.

Hey did anyone ever check out this video?



I guess they (Jim Sammons and PAL) must have used a lot of CG magic or something, because he seemed to do okay in that wader test.     Some key points to the video..

1.) Wading Belt
2.) Snug PFD
3.) Dry Top
4.) Waders that fit!



I'm guessing these waders were about 2 sizes too big and there wasn't a wading belt involved..


Do yourself a favor, test out your wader/dry top combo in a controlled environment (pool) to make sure it works before taking it out on the kayak.  Oh, and if you can't get it to work, please visit one of our AOTY sponsors (Kokatat) and a buy a real dry suit.

Brian

As someone that wears waders every time I go out...I've never had more than a trickle of water get through. I always snug up the waist belt, wear a splash top and my pfd. The time I got a trickle, it came down past the neoprene neck opening of the splash top.

I prefer to have the ability to adjust the clothing I wear underneath to match the current temp. For me, a wetsuit isn't even an option I'd consider. That said, I do plan on getting a dry suit in the near future, mainly because of the relief zipper!!!

Jay

I wear waders all the time also. I don't wear a belt but I do pull the drawstring at the top of the waders tight.

I ate s**t at Muir today. Went completely under my kayak and the only water that got in my waders was whatever my shirt soaked up. My feet were still dry.