shewhorn Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I'm about to buy a dry suit. I'm going to go for the Meridian or the Front Entry Gore Tex (for the warranty... I figure I'll buy it once). The Meridian seems to be the most popular but I'm just curious as to the pros and cons of the front entry vs. the Meridian. These are the models I'm looking at: http://www.kokatat.com/product_detail.asp?code=gmer http://www.kokatat.com/product_detail.asp?code=gfer Cheers, Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsoj2 Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I have the Kokatat Expedition dry suit and am very happy with it. It has all the bells and whistles. I haven't used the hood, but find all the other features useful. http://www.kokatat.com/product_detail.asp?code=exp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 The Meridian version is made for kayakers and the front entry version is for general water sports. The Meridian has a "Dual-adjustable overskirt" that will go over your spay skirt. Along with coverings to protect the gaskets from UV. -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I decided to get Kokatat's Semi-Drysuit called the Super-Nova as the neoprene neck is MUCH more comfy than LATEX.Will probably not hold up as well as the tougher Goretex, but at under $400 WITH booties and relief zipper and nicely-cuffed latex wrists it's a super deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin B (RPS Coach) Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 As Jason said, the overskirt is the big and quite helpful advantage of the GMER. The GMER also has a cover over the zipper which I've found to be a big help as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suz Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Personally I love the tunnel. Winter paddling when I am using my drysuit, my boat remains bone dry even when surfing and rolling. When I paddle w/o tunnel, I get water in my boat over the skirt tunnel. Ernie's Super Nova is a great suit. My personally feeling is that it works well for someone who knows they aren't going to use it for surfing/white water or rolling practice. Might also be a worthwhile back up suit or loaner suit. My experience is that the neck fits some people better than others so your degree of wetness using the suit will vary depending on the neck fit. Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Whatever drysuit you get, a relief zipper and integral fabric (gore-tex ) booties are highly recommended; you'll be quickly sorry you didn't spring for the extra bucks that these two features might entail. The integral booties are great; the suit is much easier to put on and take off, and you put whatever footwear you please over them. You just have to protect the booties, don't walk on them without putting footwear on first...The advantages of a relief zipper will become obvious the first time you need to excrete on a cold day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shewhorn Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Yes, I'm definitely getting the booties and a relief zip. Re: the Tropos Supernova... looks like a great suit at a great price. I'm not a big fan of having anything around my neck either so I'd probably prefer the neoprene but my reasoning for the Meridian is that I plan to be fairly active throughout the winter and get a lot of use out of the suit so the lifetime warranty of the Gore Tex suit and the several reports I've heard of Kokatat replacing or repairing old suits (really backing up that warranty quite well) is more appealing to me. This assumes that Kokatat will not change their policies and customer service but it seems as if they've been around for a while so I'm guessing that it's unlikely that they'll be going anywhere.Cheers, Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Suz, I'm confused by the term "tunnel". Are you referring to the overskirt as described by Kokatat ("adjustable overskirt with Smoothskin neoprene waistband keeps water out of your cockpit")? Does this overskirt substitute for the skirt I use during the warmer months?Gary Newbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob budd Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Tunnel usually means something attached to your garment that rolls up with the tube portion of your spray skirt to prevent entry of water. Similar to how a dry bag keeps water out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suz Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Right - "overskirt" is the correct term. Your spraydeck tube goes under the overskirt and your pfd on top of that. Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsoj2 Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I have a Super Nova as my back-up suit. It serves me well as such or when I want something lighter than my Expedition dry suit.The Super Nova is a SEMI-dry suit. This means that it is a damp to wet suit if you roll, side scull, wetback brace, or otherwise end up with your neck and/or head in the water.As a primary suit, I think it is best to go with a Gore-Tex true dry suit. BTW: I'm one of the people to whom Kokatat supplied a new dry suit because they felt the Gore-Tex was delaminating on the suit I sent in for gasket repalcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcosloy Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I also have the Super Nova and also have the Kokatat 100 full body fleece which I wear when the temp. gets colder. I've been out in 32 degree air and perfectly comfortable. However, if you intend to cold water practice roll you probably need the latex neck. I could not tolerate the latex neck and so consider the Super Nova a great compromise. Also a nice lighter suit for Spring paddling when the air maybe warm but the water still dangerously cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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