Surfski Knowledge Base

Keep in mind that none of the following “suits” is insulated. They have varying degrees of waterproofness, but no insulating qualities other than from the air trapped inside (wherever your body touches the drysuit will allow rapid heat drain). To insure cold protection even in a drysuit, additional insulating clothing has to be worn inside. Pile, wool, or other wicking synthetics can also help to wick moisture from your skin surface and thereby reduce conductive heat loss.

The distinctions we make between the non-drysuit variations of water protection below are the best we can find, but we are not sure that all manufacturers follow exactly the same name and style conventions in their products. We do believe that there is a consistent understanding that a “drysuit”, in good shape and properly fitted, should keep you completely dry during an extended swim (other than the moisture you accumulate from perspiration). But a drysuit is a bit like a balloon. If there is a hole anywhere, they will provide rapidly diminishing (easily to zero) protection in the water directly dependent on the rate of water leakage. Designed to be durable they still have to be cared for and inspected, particularly the latex closures which absorb wear over time.

Bottom Line - read what the manufacturer promises, see if you can find reviews, and if you buy, regularly confirm your suit immersion performance with your own tests before you bet your life on it.

• Zippers - are typically quite thick and stiff and can become harder to operate with age or storage. You can help ease operation with zipper lubricant or wax. According to NRS for long term storage zippers will better retain their seal if they are stored open.
• Gaskets - latex closures at the wrists and neck that need to be watertight. Suits may have latex gaskets at the ankles or have waterproof fabric feet.
  • Adjusting - new gaskets are designed to tightly fit smaller bodies but allow adjustment for your size. There are rings in the latex to follow when cutting to make the apertures wider. Carefully follow a ring when cutting, but go to and cut wider rings only incrementally and test your fit as you go, so that you do not make the opening too wide and loose. You can always take a litttle more off, but you can't add any back on.
  • Replacement - fortunately these closures can be replaced without having to buy a whole new suit. You can buy replacement gaskets and glue them in yourself with some good instruction or you can have the replacement done by a reputable repair person.
• Relief Openings - as you quickly learn from the time and effort it takes to get in and out of a drysuit, a relief opening for urination is quite valuable (and elevates the suit cost). Available for both men (front) and women (back) they use the same heavy waterproof zippers as the suit entry does.

• Drysuits 11/30/2013

Due to a drysuit's bulkiness, flex and amount of trapped air, it typically is pretty close to impossible to effectively get anywhere swimming in a drysuit. If you are still holding onto your paddle, you may discover that you can much more effectively cover a limited distance paddling side to side on your back with your kayak paddle. Test it.

• Kokatat
• NRS
• Stohlquist
• O'Neill
• Level 6
• Ocean Rodeo
• Crewsaver
• Typhoon
• Drysuit Guide (including used forsale) Kayak Academy

Similarly waterproof as a drysuit with the exception of the neck gasket which is neoprene instead of latex. So during an extended swim water may very well leak in (usually slowly) via the neck gasket. Some of these suits are reported to allow little or no leakage. Though not cheap they are generally less expensive than drysuits and do offer considerable protection. But they should not be expected to keep you dry nearly as long as a drysuit during prolonged immersion unless you have tested and verified such a suit's long term immersion waterproofness.

Have neoprene for all of the gaskets and should really be regarded as splash protection, NOT immersion protection, unless, again, you have tested your suit and know for a fact how long it will keep you dry when you're in the water.

• DIY - NRS advice
• See Repair