Do I really need a drysuit, or will a two peice do fine?

[gravis1982]

Kokatat drysuits are quality, I know. But honestly most of the time I am paddling I WOULD NOT want to be in my drysuit all day. Occasionally there are times I would want to put it on, but usually don't and hope I dont swim. If I did, it would be unpleasantly cold, but likely not dangerous.

Id be more inclined to buy pants and a top just because of cost and also they serve double duty as extra rain gear in a week long downpour or serve as waders seperatly during for shoulder season.

If you do the two piece up well, I know it will leak, but for a river situation when you are going to swim to shore shortly, wouldnt this be good enough? It would prevent the initial shock of hitting 10Celcius water and should do the trick for a minute or so. for 1/3 of the cost.

I really only do tripping when it cold out (trips go ahead regardless of weather), and have been levelling up recently to class 2/3 water on most of our reaches. I have only dunked once on a class 3 in 5 years on a 3+ days trip. ~10 trips in total. That happened to be middle of summer in 30C weather.

Buying a two peice waste of money even though it saves money? I am on the fence, leaning towards cheaper and good enough. The kokatat full gortex drysuit is as much as a canoe almost.

 

[UCanoe_2]

You primarily canoe in winter. You can't count on being in cold water for only "a minute or so." Compare the cost of a drysuit to the cost of rescue and ER treatment for severe hypothermia.

Kokatat make drysuits in other fabrics that are less expensive than Gore Tex. They also make a semi-dry suit with a neoprene neck gasket instead of latex, even less expensive. If you are on a budget, consider other brands or used equipment.

 

[recped]

While I have a dry suit I very rarely use it. I've switched to using only semi-dry bottoms for almost everything except for early spring trips with Class 3 rapids. Swimming used to be a regular thing for me but now is very rare but I do often have a fair amount of water sloshing in the boat along with frequent wading. The bottoms are sufficient for that type of situation and bearable to wear in warm weather. On my long solo trips on big rivers I do still bring my full suit for when it's cold and wet and I am happy to use it. I will also wear it when doing long open water crossings in rough conditions where a dump could mean a very long time in the water.

I currently have Kokotat bottoms (non-Gore-Tex) and both of the dry suits I own are the lower cost NRS non Gore-Tex (even those are pretty costly these days but still only a third of the price of a top end Kokatat).

 

[ScottS]

I really like my drysuit and I don't mind wearing it all day. I have a Kokatat Expedition.
About my paddling -
I canoe alone, year around as long as the ice permits ie as long as the ice won't prevent me from getting back to shore. Tidal and fresh water in CT. No whitewater. Lots and lots of day trips. There's no one coming to help at that time of year, so I think out any crossings and hang close to shore most of the time.
In this area, about the time the water temperature gets dicey, the air temperature is also cool, so the drysuit is comfy and not hot.
The only time I've gone in with the drysuit was when I slipped on submerged tidal ice as I was putting in, and went down on my side with the canoe on top. Because of the suit, I just got up and headed out for my paddle, no muss, no fuss. A 2 piece would have done just as well for that example.

When I was raft guiding out west - 50F snow melt and 80F+ days, I wore a farmer john with a paddling jacket. I did a 2-day swift water rescue course in that rig and it worked pretty good until afternoon when the chill finally started to catch up. But not as nice to wear as the drysuit.

 

[Foxyotter]

I have never owned a drysuit but I have used a few. In some situations drysuits are priceless but that is an investment that not all can make and rarely is a dry suit required. I am not sure what rivers you are paddling but often a dry top and bottom is more then sufficient to protect you from exposure for long enough to get out retrieve gear and change clothes. Time in water is the deciding factor. If you can't get out in less then 5-8 minutes you should probably wear a drysuit or wetsuit. I have swam a number of times in off season with just my cold weather synthetics and rain gear with change of clothes as backup but still waited to change out cloths until I reached vehicle or camp and was still comfortable. I have a dry top I purchased years ago and it has been worn less then 10x and only two days did I find it useful. I have been paddling for over 30 years and have only been in a few situation where even if I had a drysuit I might have worn it. For many years I could have stretched to have afforded one if I would have used it regularly but never saw the cost benefit for my given situation. I could comfortably purchase drysuit now and still don't have one. Build the skills, practice the skills, be aware of the risks, mitigate said risks and accept the consequences. Never forget that cold water is very very dangerous.