Palm drysuit

[gyork]

Saw some on display at Kittery Trading Post, about 1/2 the cost of the "K" brand, but didn't have time to get advice at the store. Please educate me re: Palm brand and drysuits in general, especially "How do you keep your tootsies warm?". I'd like to be able to kayak throughout the year.

Gary

[bob budd]

Palm. Roger Pollock has one, actually I think its his third, as the other leaked. So they are not perfect but do back up their product.

Booties are generally preferred. Goretex is breathable and more rugged than the latex alternative. (Fleece) socks are often damp or even wet after paddling.

Some wear boots and some wear water shoes and socks. You can get seal skin and similar types of socks, essentially a wet suit for your foot. I suppose you could put a fleece layer inside a boot if Rick Crangle was wearing a hat. I prefer shoes as they are far superior to any boot for walking on rocks. You may find you need a second set of footwear to account for the extra material of the bootie, I did.

Remember what the doormouse said. There are a host of issues with hoods, predominantly warmth and hearing.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Gary,

I've always used Kokatat, but those who I know that own Palm products say they are good and the company really stands behind them. As for features, get the attached socks and relief zip. When without those for a year and I don't know what I was thinking. If you can get one with an overskirt, that would be even better.

[subaruguru]

One of the first things I bought was a Palm hooded splash jacket. Really nice, but expensive unless on sale, as they're in British sterling... Never seeing the brand again for a year I assumed it was an off-brand, but it's held up so well that I trust it's as good as K and Immersion Research (they make a great dry top...the Comp.)

[scamlin]

Palm is a high end Brit paddle gear manufacturer. Good stuff.

Unless it was on a deep sale, my guess was the Palm drysuit was not GoreTex. Kokotat itself sells a breathable, non-GoreTex suit for half the price of a comparable GoreTex suit (under $400 without booties). See http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2262&deptid=1174. The non-GoreTex don't breathe as well, but are more than adequate and a whole lot better than a wetsuit for cold weather paddling.

Scott

[RogerPollock]

The Palm Stikine I have is really a beautiful suit. Has all features, tough, heavy, rip-stop fabric, relief, socks, tunnel.

The third Palm suit. First two leaked, as Bob notes. First one, actually, the lesser model, the Sidewinder, then they upgraded me, because at the time there were none of that model left in the U.S. to give me when the other leaked. That one leaked, too, and they replaced it with same model, which now came stock with the socks.

Same story, too, with Walter (two suits), and another friend (four suits).

A brand new drysuit every year - for a single payment of, like, $300.00.

Latest model okay so far . . .

At one point I was just ready to throw up hands, cut losses and buy a Kokatat, but learned several in the club have leak issues with those, as well, so it really didn't seem like I'd be any better off . . .

Note: The Palm stuff you buy in the U.S. is from Palm USA, technically a different company tham Palm in Britian, for whatever that's worth. And the gear is made in China. The problem with the suits was the seams; they were having QC issues with the taping process (which they finally admitted to, after insisting the first couple times, that they NEVER have leak issues with their suits).

All in all, a good suit, and good service from Palm (though I can't say the same for the retailer).

[rick stoehrer]

my second palm stikine....the first had a zipper issue (probably my doing) and MTI replaced it free...only problem at that time was the wait on shipment from china. very good suit, rugged as hell and when i had a problem MTI stood behind the product; topping it off it's less expensive than the top of the line kokatat.

Just bought my wife a palm yukon paddling top at kittery that she really likes.

i've had good experience with palm products.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Also note that Palm is trying to establish a presence in the US market so one would expect their customer service to be top notch as we respond to that feature of a company. Once they establish a strong foothold, we may not see that continue. In other words, just because they've replaced suits in the past with upgrades, etc., doesn't mean that it will always be their policy, so QC issues could be important in the future.