Outer wear

Well still searching for the best outer wear for my new kayak fishing venture. Dry suit and semi dry suit were all to small in the neck and wrist, wetsuit was a battle getting in and out of, now looking at the Kokatat and NRS waterproof (semi) pants and tops that are adjustable which of course I can not find in my size anywhere. Everyone is sold out. Any one wearing these products? Running out of ideas

The Kokatat NRS pants and tops are good, and many people use them.  I'm wanting to get a set for the hotter summer days where I usually wear a wetsuit instead of my drysuit.

I have an older kokatat semi dry suit that I'm willing to give you.  The wrists are already cut, but you can go ahead and cut the neck seal as well.  It's been well used, but has life left in it.  If your interested in it, lets figure out how I can get it to ya.

Thank you but kind of defeats the purpose of the suit. I am really leaning more toward the the pants and top NRS or Kokatat unless I hear anything negative abut them.

I have used dry top/dry pants combinations when whitewater kayaking, including a bunch of 1-2 week unsupported kayak trips.  A dry top/dry pants combination can provide you with good rain, wind, and splash protection, but it won't keep you dry if you end up in the water for more than a couple of seconds.  It worked for me because I'm an experienced whitewater kayaker and my chances of ending up in the water are very low.  However, if you will be kayak fishing in cool water and cool air conditions away from shore, and there is any chance that you might end up in the water for more than the 30 seconds it might take you to right your kayak and climb back onto it, you should wear a drysuit with latex gaskets.

Fpomilia, you don't say what your height, weight, and neck size is.  If you have found dry suits with latex gaskets to be uncomfortable, I have three suggestions:

(1) Get used to wearing a drysuit.  People trying out a drysuit for the first time often feel that they are uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it, and neck and wrist gaskets loosen with use and exposure to the sun, skin oil, suntan lotion, etc.  Complaints that neck gaskets are uncomfortable almost always come from first time users.  Experienced dry suit users almost never complain about neck gasket comfort, although I have occasionally put on a new neck gasket which is unusually tight the first time or so that I wear it.

(2) If you are large, heavy, and/or have an unusually thick neck, consider replacing the original neck gasket which comes with a drysuit with a neck gasket which is the proper size for your neck.  OS Systems sells neck gaskets in seven different sizes, see http://ossystems.com/?page_id=802. NRS's neck gaskets come in four sizes, see https://www.nrs.com/product/2284/nrs-latex-neck-gasket, as does Immersion Research, see https://immersionresearch.com/products/latex-neck-gasket.  Bare's neck gaskets come in three sizes, see https://www.amazon.com/Bare-Latex-Drysuit-Neck-Seal/dp/B07BNCBZHN, but Kokatat's neck gaskets only come in sizes large and small, see https://kokatat.com/latex-neck-gasket-zcufnek.

(3) You can stretch neck gaskets by putting a cylindrical object in them for several days. I have never trimmed a neck gasket.

Thank you but kind of defeats the purpose of the suit. I am really leaning more toward the the pants and top NRS or Kokatat unless I hear anything negative abut them.

Understand your concerns, but you haven't even tried it yet.  The neck was stretched out enough for me to be comfortable in it.  And I assure you that the wrist gaskets do not leak after being cut.  You could at least try it and jump in a pool and see how it goes.  Modifying a free drysuit wouldn't cost you anything, and you might find that it works fine?  Drysuits hold a lot of air inside, and when you jump in the water it forces the air to the torso area and if it was leaking you would see bubbles coming out the wrist gaskets.  Can also just put it on and bend over and see if you feel air escape from the neck and wrist gaskets.

I have an older kokatat semi dry suit that I'm willing to give you.  The wrists are already cut, but you can go ahead and cut the neck seal as well.

Fpomilia, when AlsHobieOutback says that "The wrists are already cut," he means that he trimmed the edge of the wrist gaskets to make them looser.  Neck and wrist gaskets have small raised ribs on their inside surface to bite lightly into your skin to make a better seal, but those ribs also provide a guide for trimming a gasket evenly.  I never trim my gaskets because trimming reduces the area which contacts your skin, and when a trimmed gasket gets looser, as it inevitably does, it may be too loose and flabby to make a good seal.  I think that stretching is a better way to deal with uncomfortably tight gaskets.  But some people trim their gaskets.

He's been given conflicting view points, since this is a forum and you know what they say about opinions    I figured I'd offer up something he can try that might be alterable with no cost to at least try it.  The wrist gaskets can be replaced as well if need be. Just wanna help him get on the water and enjoy the madness. 

Thank you all. I appreciate it all. I am actually trying to find a company that will custom suits in the U.S. preferably Ca.

Thank you all. I appreciate it all. I am actually trying to find a company that will custom suits in the U.S. preferably Ca.

fpomilia, what is your height, weight, and neck circumference?

Thank you all. I appreciate it all. I am actually trying to find a company that will custom suits in the U.S. preferably Ca.

fpomilia, what is your height, weight, and neck circumference?

And, what's your sign?

Bushy

For the first few years, I wore the NRS neoprene Hydroskin jacket (https://www.nrs.com/nrs-mens-hydroskin-15-jacket/pe8g) and the NRS farmer johns.  The jacket was super comfortable and very movable.  I knew that it wasn't super ideal for immersion (just 1.5mm) but its what I had.  As long as you are aware of its limitations, I would recommend it as a comfortable, semi-protective piece of clothing.  One thing I found was that it was actually quite cold in just the jacket on our foggy summer days off the coast, so I paired it with an NRS splash jacket (https://www.nrs.com/mens-high-tide-splash-jacket/pe7y) to keep the wind out.  Good luck!

Neck is 19.5 and wrist is 8.5. That was the problem until I contacted Kayak Academy who are going to modify the Kokatat Legacy Dry Suit I just purchased. Great people to work with. During my research it appears that Kokatat is the top of the line company but I really do not understand how the could have the same size neck and wrist gaskets for suits large to XXL and not provide the same option as Kayak Academy. Any way thanks again and looking forward to my first launch date. Tight Lines

Kokotat is my brand, always.  The first drysuit I got I had to lean to train the gaskets.  I would strretch wrist and neck gaskets over big balls.  (No, bigger than THAT!)  Like tennis balls t softballs fror the wrists, and volleyball size for the neck.  If that was not enough, I'd trim according to their instructions gotta be very careful the gaskets could split super sharp 'pro' scissors'  then I'd use the balls as stretchers while storing the drysuits.  Nearly strangled my first go out, could not feel my hands they were so constricted.  Whtitewater kayaker guys finally told me how to solve the problem without losing water-tightness. 

PS I'm a Leo....  I like long walks on the beach (with the surfrod.

Buxhy

Drysuits sounded good in theory to me until I got one (this was in the 70s) and was working in SF bay for long hours and had to get out of the water every time I needed to pee. After a month or so i packed it away and went back to my wetsuit. I still have that drysuit, not sure why. It’s a DUI commercial dry suit, now vintage.

One of the other things I didn’t like about the drysuit was it is awkward to swim in. Of course that is only a problem if you actually end up needing to swim. These things do happen

I have no idea what the new drysuits are like but I’m assuming there’s a pee zip there

Either that or you guys who wear them are camels or are sporting Foley catheters when you fish

fpomilia or anybody else if you want another option and you’re on the bigger side I have two top of line O’Neill wetsuits(psychotech) that are 2XL for sale cheap. They are in primo condition, one was a warranty replacement so is basic new. And a 2XL Xcel front zip also new

Reason I’m offloading them is Mother Nature decided I should suddenly shrink so I had to downsize to XL

Back to the drysuit/wetsuit question. I’m spending many hours swimming the Pacific every week, if/when I get back to fishing from a kayak it will be in a wetsuit peeled down to the waist until I need it. Tshirt or whatever is comfortable for a top

My NRS farmerjohns is now retired. It was ok for the short immersions but not sure what purpose it would have served if I was looking at a long swim home

Drysuits sounded good in theory to me until I got one (this was in the 70s) and was working in SF bay for long hours and had to get out of the water every time I needed to pee. . . . I have no idea what the new drysuits are like but I’m assuming there’s a pee zip there . . .  Either that or you guys who wear them are camels or are sporting Foley catheters when you fish.

I live in Montana, and in addition to using a drysuit for much of the year while kayak fishing, I wear a drysuit while snorkeling and speargunning for pike.  As I got older, I started needing to pee more frequently.  A pee zipper, a funnel, and a piece of hose makes peeing while kayak fishing easy. The funnel and hose is the best five bucks I ever spent on kayak fishing gear.  But when snorkeling and speargunning, every time I developed an urge to pee I had to make a speed run back to my kayak, climb in, pee, and then get back into the water.  This got boring, so I added a pee valve to my snorkeling drysuit, and wear an external catheter while snorkeling. Now whenever I get the slightest urge to pee, I can let it go.  It's great!