Dry suit recommendation
under $1000 ?
Idk where u are but i had mystic vulcanic front zip. Size was M for my 175cm and 70-75kg. Was way 2 hot for me but it was a snug fit (gone back to wetsuit). Price was around 550€ including vat+ shipping. Its probably cheaper now. 2017 model if i can recall.
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If there’s a local whitewater kayaking community in your area they are alway selling used drysuits, or NRS has them.
I am new to the site and Efoil world but not to Drysuits . I am a whitewater paddler in Canada and operate a Paddle sports repair business .I only do repairs no retail (not trying to sell anything). I am at over 200 drysuit repairs this year and these are my recommendations:
Buy a Kokatat suit.
Used suits probably leak -That’s why most people that are still into a paddle sport get rid of them.
Thanks for the recommendation
Winter is coming and I decided to buy myself a drysuit.
There is a lot of drysuits on sale now from NRS and Kokatat which seems like the top brands. However many of the drysuits have neoprene neck seal which is more comfortable, but will leak (not much) if you get your head under. Latex is not as comfortable, but keeps the water out, I tried one and it does feel a bit chokey.
The question is: Will this potential leak in the neck seal be a problem? What kind of drysuits are people using and what is your experience?
I dont plan to fall into the water that much, but as I’m a beginner I have to account for the occasional dive.
Latex on the wrist gasket seems like the way to go, most of the dry suits offer this.
Why not get the Thermulation surf vest? It keeps your core temperature at about 24 degrees regardless of if you fall into the water or not. You can just wear it under a normal wetsuit.
At almost the same price (429usd vs 500-600usd) I think I will go for a drysuit. Even with the thermulation suit I think that my limbs will get quite cold if they get wetted regularly and the temperature is below 10degrees celsius. I know that the hands are exposed in both suits, but with a drysuit I can wear warm clothes all the way down to the wrists.
I do think there are a couple of other advantages of using a dry suit, like more confortable to change to clothes before/after (or just drive the car in the dry suit(?)), and overall more confortable to wear when I am not surfing, but I dont own a drysuit yet so these are just my guesses on how it will be better. And I dont really like wearing my thick wetsuit (probably 4/3), it does limit my movement alot.
Therefore I ask people that do own a drysuit if it is worth it and what kind of drysuit it is worth investing in? @Clarin @Larsb @sunrise305 @Benjo @brycej @Ivryl @jeffM
I have an older ocean rodeo Predator drysuit that I got in 2011. Have needed to replace the latex seals on it. Been out on the water in March in MN where river emptied into a lake and didn’t freeze.
If I was going to get one today probably a Ocean Rodeo Heat 3.0.
They are a little more of a pain to get into then a wetsuit and more expensive, but definitely extends the season to the max!
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Thanks for the reply bryce.
I notice that the Ocean Rodeo Heat 3.0 has neoprene neck and wrist seals. You had latex seals on yours? I wonder how watertight the new one is with neoprene seals. I can see that the neck has a band for tightening as well.
How do you think it is more pain to get into a dry suit? I had the other opinion after trying a dry suit in the store. I had help with the back entry zipper though. Dry suit is more steps to get into, but it isn’t so tight and sticks to the skin as a wetsuit. Imo a wet wetsuit is real pain to get off, especially it its cold and windy.
My drysuit is the cheapest i could find at the time 
”crewsaver” for about 300eur
It’s good enough for kayaking which i’ve used it for and efoils don’t require any freedom to move so i think this is even less critical use than kayaking. These days i bet you can find an ok one even cheaper.
I have an older Kokatat drysuit that I used for whitewater kayaking for years. I was never happier or more comfortable than when I was in it. Super comfortable in cold weather and water. I’ll sell it cheap if you want to buy it.
My drysuit is Ocean Rodeo Soul. Yes it is expensive than wetsuit but well worth it. Few years ago I was out kitesurfing on christmas day morning. Air temperature was a bit below zero and there was little ice on the beach. I was out about an hour without any feeling of cold.
Soul has a latex neck seal. I found it a bit choking at beginning and I got used to it after few sessions.
The older drysuit is interesting because it is basically a bag drysuit with .5mm wetsuit over the top. Takes 2x more steps to get into.
I had latex seals, I had to trim my Latex seals a tiny bit to stop choking, they also loosen up over time. I haven’t tried neoprene ones, but probably would work just fine.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the drysuit!!
Thank you for your answers.
Brycej: Then I understand its a pain to get into.
Sunrise305: Thats kind. What model and size? How old is it? Whats the price? I have not checked for used suits as people say that a used suit probably needs to replace the seals if its old.
Just as an alternative direction… I use a Patagonia R5 wetsuit, recommended water temp 0-3C. Rode it through last winter in Germany just fine. You don’t really get wet in it anyways…
I have a surfing background so am more comfortable in wetsuits I guess.
For me the key question is not dry vs wetsuits but how do you keep your fingers warm…
Yeah fingers may also be a problem even if the rest of the body is warm (either dry or wet).
Neoprene gloves and some hot water on the shore to fill them with regularly is one option. Woolen undergloves probably also helps.
These gloves are “extremely water-resistant but not fully waterproof”.
Or what about latex dry gloves (latex to latex seal, not the o-ring seal that divers use) that keep the hands also dry? Seems to be very cheap.
Anyone have any experience here (on gloves other than thick neoprene gloves)?
O’Neil Fluid Neo - for under $500 it’s a no brainer. I’ve owned at least 4 drysuits so far and this is my favorite. The best part is O’Neil will generally repair the suit for free when it eventually getsa leak. The seals on the baggy suits just deteriorate at such a higher rate than the thick O’Neil seals. SWS used to make a great one but they went out of business. A good place to find used drysuits is www.ski-it-again.com. It’s a waterski equipment site but usually have a few drysuits for sale. I’ve bough two of my kids suits from them.
3mm neoprene gloves you can find on Amazon work great. Cut off the last inch of the trigger finger for better control of the throttle. If your hand is warm you won’t notice the finger being cold at all. My lake is in the high 40’s right now and it works great.
. 4mm neoprene gloves.