Follow up on rookies first fishing trip on my new O.K. P. Trident 15'

Me being so new to the sport of kayak angling, I'm a little hesitant about voicing an opinion about products on the market, but after my escapades on Lake Chabot on 1/31/2010, I just have to say that the Kokotat Tempest pants with the Kokotat Tempest hooded top are NOT a good anglers match up for newbies. When and if you fall off of your yak, the pants fill up with water pretty darn quickly,making getting back on your yak very very difficult with all the water weight in your legs. One of the vendors at the Sportsmens Expo and even some of our NCKA guys thought it was a good outfit for kayak angling,well maybe if your quick to get back on your yak, but I was not quick enough. I will be wearing a Wet Suit or Dry Suit in the future. The Kokotat products seem to be of excellent quality but i think that they are better suited for Surf fishing or some other type of Kayak sport.

Sorry about posting in the wrong section, I will get this computer thing together one day.

Humbly speaking B.A.

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B.A,

Here's my response to this from a similar question regarding the dry pants....

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,22465.0.html

Here's my 2 cents on the Tempest Dry Pants...

They are comfortable and a lot easier to put on compared to a farmer john BUT I'm still not convinced that it's the safest thing to wear if your yak fishing by yourself and miles away from shore. If you dump (fall off the kayak) water will still seep in through the waist if don't self rescue right away. And the little water the seeps in won't protect you from the 55 degree nor cal water. Even if you have your fleece pants on, it won't do any good if it's wet. Let's just say, if the worse happens...like your kayak takes on water and you need to swim back to shore, I'd rather be wearing my 3 mill FJ's.

just my 2 cents...

I still prefer wearing my FJ's if and when I'm way out there and by myself - which is a rare thing for me to do these days now that I've got my buddy list. Needless to say, I've been wearing the tempest dry pants more regularly

FJ baby!  Although I was sweating like a pig...  Had to jump in the water several times to cool off!

Good morning B.A. I hope Eric B could see this post so he can chime in
on the tempest pants and tops combo. He has proven it along with others that
if the pants were properly velcro and the top jacket string tightened, you barely
will have any water inside. At least that is what I remembered when Eric fell in
the water after a mishap at the BH. Good luck!

Jedmo

Good morning B.A. I hope Eric B could see this post so he can chime in
on the tempest pants and tops combo. He has proven it along with others that
if the pants were properly velcro and the top jacket string tightened, you barely
will have any water inside. At least that is what I remembered when Eric fell in
the water after a mishap at the BH. Good luck!

Jedmo

I have the same set up as EricB (maybe its an Eric B thing). Its really important that you have the jacket gator fully pulled into the pants and snug. The the pants (waistband) needs to be snug, followed by the jacket (again snug). A critical piece is the PFD over the top. I'd venture a guess that most ppl have a PFD that is either too big or they wear it too loose. The PFD over the top that is snug really doesn't allow the jacket to ride up. I've  taken a spill in the surf and rolled around a bit and the only water I got in (about a mouthful) was at the neck (because I had just loosened the neck gasket). I would guess most of the dry top/pant failures are due to improper setup/fit

my 2 cents...

i've done some swimming in my Temptest pants and non-temptest dry top and have stayed suitably dry.  Not as dry as a dry suit, but good enough for me to feel comfortable in them.