Waders of death?

Here's the real life situation and conditions you will encounter and need to prepare for. You need to prepare for IMMERSION. Not a brief accidental slip off your kayak and instantly climbing back up out of the water....and wader simply don't cut it when it comes to protecting you from hypothermia. They will not keep you warm and dry and safe.

When you end up in the water it will be a situation where the conditions won't be a nice calm warm sunny flat day. It will be a day where the weather changes abruptly and unexpectedly and you are caught in a rapidly deteriorating weather situation. The wind will have come up(despite what was forecast) out of nowhere unexpectedly and the waves white/caps will have come up and increased dramatically in size. I flyfish some large lakes in the CA Sierra's. The wind can go from not a drop/ flat calm 0 mph to gusting over 50+ mph in seconds. These lakes often get 5 foot+ whitecaps/waves in a blink. So you will be in a situation where you will be struggling to keep your kayak upright with you on top of it. The wind may not be in a favorable direction for you to return to safety. The waves and wind will have come up and will be knocking you off the kayak. You will struggle with reentry and getting back on your kayak as another wave white cap knocks you off. As you continue to struggle and exhaust yourself your fingers will be losing dexterity from the cold and you will be losing hand strength.  Then one big whitecaps slams you and rips that kayak out of your hands and the wind has quickly blown it out of reach. You will now be panicking. You will be up to your chin in the water and will have whitecaps breaking on your head. Water will enter the waders in seconds once you end up in the water. If the water temps and air temps are anywhere close to the 50's you have serious problems if you can not remove yourself from the water in a short period of time.

If you think waders will keep you warm and dry and safe or you can swim with waders filled up with water you are seriously deluding yourself. Those waders will be like heavy bags of water(that's exactly what they will become) seriously limiting your movement and ability to swim and Tread water. And as waves break on your head the flooded waders will contribute to you losing your flotation and will cause you to sink. Despite wearing a PFD the flooded waders and the waves breaking on your head will drive you below the surface and you will struggle to remain afloat by frantically treading water. You will be at the mercy of the wind and currents and will be taken in the direction they take you. And if that is further from safety you are not swimming with flooded waders against the tide, currents, wind.

Once again you need to prepare for IMMERSION. Not accidentally slipping off your kayak while netting a fish or something and then quickly climbing back aboard.

....buy a good wetsuit. It is very cheap safety from the elements and adds excellent floatation. Buy a good 7mm dive hood and gloves, keep them handy on the deck should you end up in the water. Get the thickest warmest booties, you can always dip your feet in the water. Get the thickest wetsuit. You can't cry about being to hot. You can jump into the water and you should be jumping in on a regular basis to practice reentry and climbing back up on the kayak. In cool or cold water and air temperatures you should wear either a wetsuit or drysuit that allows you the maximum time of safety from hypothermia in an immersion situation.

Good Luck, don't be a dummy and then a casualty ...Stay Safe.

I'm looking for some input on this Suit, nice little sale price at REI

http://www.rei.com/product/767366/stohlquist-gpod-dry-suit-mens

thanks for any advice

That's one great deal I think. It is front zip and has a relief zipper–very nice features for a suit in that price range. I'd jump on it like a Ling on a hooked Rockfish.

I have Kokatat suits, but a few here have Stohlquists and I haven't heard anything bad about them. This has a front zipper which is key—the back zipper requires help to close and it also bigs into your back when sitting in the kayak.. Back zips are meant for standing and swimming activities while front-zips are best for kayaking..

Holy Fishstalker! That was an excellent description and great advice! Welcome and Thanks!

Camphand, those Kokatat drysuits are top-notch. I want to get the SuperNova model. A few guys here have that one and like it. Unfortunately, the Gpod that's on sale is only available in Small. Otherwise, it's a smokin deal.

I have a Stohlquist bpod which I have had for 2 years. I love it. It couldn;t be any better. So damn nice and comfortable wearing toasty fleece and wicking underwear under neath. It breathes great. WORTH EVERY DAMN PENNY! Peace of mind is a good thing when you are out on a half frozen lake in Late december in the sierra's. I jump in and swim in half frozen lakes in the dead of winter regularly testing out the suit for leaks. Not a drop. Stohlquist has great customer service. When your neck gasket or wrist gaskets get old they will replace it for you FREE. The bpod has a comfortable neoprene neck gasket. The gpod has a latex neck gasket. I believe that is the only difference between the two suits but I would call stohlquist and talk to customer service about the suit. If they are the same aside from the neck gasket then that will be your deciding factor. Would you be comfortable with a latex neck gasket is the question or would you prefer the more comfortable neoprene neck gasket? I LOVE the neoprene neck gasket on my bpod. There are latex wrist gaskets and they are comfortable enough but I'd rather not have one around my neck if I can help it and the bpod solves that. just don't get one with the spray skirt tunnel. AND you want the piss zipper. Do not get a suit without a piss zipper. Trust me on this. 
I looked at the kokata suits. The Stohlquist was a better suit for significantly lower cost. I liked the fabric and material comfort of the Stohlquist over the kokotat. ie, nicer material on the Stohlquist. I paid a little over $500 for the bpod 2 years ago. I would google the suit and search all over the net for best price, no tax, free shipping. I got mine from a local store Sheels in reno. They have a liftetime warranty and I can bring back the suit if anything happens to it. I went in testing their return policy a few months ago. They said no problem bring it back we will get you a new one or give you your $$$ money back. I had no reason to return it. I was just testing Scheels customer service return policy. Plus Stohlquist will repair it for you and replace a gasket and reseam the thing FOR FREE FOREVER. Stohlquist drysuits have full lifetime free warranties. ALL gaskets fail after a few years so make sure you buy a suit from a good co that will fix the gaskets for free or for cheap.
http://www.stohlquist.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=20#1
$399 for a gpod is an excellent price. Cheap as you can find.
Are you a SMALL? It looks like they only have smalls for that price.

I'm looking for some input on this Suit, nice little sale price at REI

http://www.rei.com/product/767366/stohlquist-gpod-dry-suit-mens

thanks for any advice

I guess it's only fair to post in this thread that if I would've had a dry suit instead of waders I would've actually fished Shelter Cove during GS5! 

I guess it's only fair to post in this thread that if I would've had a dry suit instead of waders I would've actually fished Shelter Cove during GS5! 

Don't flame me but I did... great thread...everybody knows "whats best for them" and I guess it comes down to personal choice and some ching!!!  before my much awaited Revo!!! going to throw down for some nice threads!!!   but been OTW in very scketchy weather in waders... and never really took the plunge because i knew if I did it would be the end of it........and every time I've gone out was thinking "I shouldn't do this" and hopefully won't do it again but I know I will!!!   only if I can get me a sweet suit I can pee freely from, than I won't ....HA!!!  But Keep it coming that's what makes this a great site.............and buy a dry suit if u can afford it.....................  

PS  know wonder u were giving me a look @ GS5 SaltyDog....J/K.....

Sledge, you are so friggin salty yourself you would probably put your head down into the waders.....
suck all the saltwater out in one big mouthful.....and spit it back out like nuthin ever happened. 

And I'm looking at everything a little funny right now cause I need glasses but haven't got round to getting the eye exam or a pair yet. 

Sledge, you are so friggin salty yourself you would probably put your head down into the waders.....
suck all the saltwater out in one big mouthful.....and spit it back out like nuthin ever happened. 

And I'm looking at everything a little funny right now cause I need glasses but haven't got round to getting the eye exam or a pair yet. 

  but I am going to upgrade....just makes since!!!  And if by chance I'm way out by the red can @ Albion and a freaking sea lion knocks my ass off my s#it Again...and I can't make the cool desperate move of getting back on!!!  and I'm floating away from my ride thinking ummmm if I would've just spent a little more ching I might just get through this!!!  Hell Yeah!!! nxt purchace...thanks for making us a little more aware than we were before...

This is what happens when you end up in the water with wet clothes and/or your waders flood(and they will in 2 minutes).
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/122196279.html

How do you know they were wearing Waders?

I don't know that they were wearing waders and never said they were ,,,,but it is pretty apparent they died of hypothermia and that they were likely only wearing clothes(ie no mention of survival suits in the article). If you are wearing waders or clothes and end up in the water you will be soaking wet......point was the result will be the same if you are wearing waders or clothes.

How do you know they were wearing Waders?

As long as we're pointing out all the bad stuff that can happen to you while kayaking, don't forget if you use a drysuit and you end up in the water -and the suit gets ripped - you're in trouble.


I fished with waders and a dry top at Caspar Point today...........no casualties.......except a few ling cod.

As long as we're pointing out all the bad stuff that can happen to you while kayaking, don't forget if you use a drysuit and you end up in the water -and the suit gets ripped - you're in trouble.


I fished with waders and a dry top at Caspar Point today...........no casualties.......except a few ling cod.

Good for you Glad you stayed warm , wheres the pics

I use my waders  when I am fishing STILLWaTERS, not Stillwater.....and I want to keep dry. I don't think I would feel comfortable in the salt in waders.
And here on the American I know a few places I wouldn't even think about it either....