mccumial Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 Does anybody have experience with this fabric or the paddlesuites made of it? The prices are great and I was thinking it may be a good option, but don't want to buy blind:)TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kattenbo Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 Don't have personal experience (these are the ones from the UK, right), but Maligiaq was wearing their tuiliq during his participation in a symposium in Anglesy earlier this year.Might post the question in the greenland kayaking forum at www.qajaqusa.org site -- there was a brief flurry of interest when his pictures were posted.Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 Anybody know something about Palm drysuits? Like the Reed Chill Cheater, they sound interesting because of the price. But I don't know anything about quality or suitability for sea kayaking. The Palm Sidewinder is a non-Goretex drysuit I have seen advertised online for as little as $339. Made of a breathable fabric called XP70. Palm is a British company but I have found two US online outfitters that offer it. Palm also has a heavier drysuit, also non-Goretex but breathable, called the Skitine, for $639. Here are the web sites I found: http://www.cascadeoutfitters.com/shop/more...Product_ID=1508 http://www.palmequipmentusa.com/Pages/TextOnly/Classic.htm http://www.theboatpeople.com/atr_riverwear.html Sam Politz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Does anybody have experience with this fabric or the paddlesuites made of it? The prices are great and I was thinking it may be a good option, but don't want to buy blind:) TIA OK, so it now getting to the end of the season for dry tops etc... I have had a Reed dry top for about 4 years. It is relatively dry but not perfect, I will get a very small amount of water @ the neck. The material seems very rugged, I have used it in all types of conditions including rescues with no problems. One of the benifits is that you don't have to replace the gaskets. I would buy it again for the value, after 4 years it looks like new with out any special care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Millar Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Both my husband and I have Chillcheater tops and bottoms. I have a dry top, which I love, and both of us have Reed spray skirts. The stuff is great, works well for early summer into fall paddling, especially in cooler water like Maine, and is really nice in pool sessions. Savannah Canoe and Kayak in Georgia sells Reed as does Second Wind Sports in Washington State. Both have websites you can order from. And no, I don't work for either company, just know the owners and have bought from them. Deb M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick stoehrer Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 palm is imported into the usa out of mti - based in weymoth, i think? anyways, i've used the stikine for years and really like it. the outer fabric is very very rugged and pretty much has worn like iron. i am on my 3rd one and have paid for only the original...in the first instance of replacement i had a zipper problem (they use the big beefy metal zip on the stikine model, not sure about the others...beware plastic zips) and i may have actually caused the problem...in the other the fabric de-laminated....in both instances, replaced with no questions asked so i think quite highly of their customer service...like i said, the zipper was probably my fault and the de-lam was after more than a few years of pretty heavy use. in my experience with all "breathable" fabrics, i've found that i sweat faster than the material breathes...especially where we're dressing for water temp and not air temp...so you get out in the boat, you're dressed for cold water and then start paddling and you're sweating your brains out...so, wear layers....the outer will get wet, the inner will be toasty and dry (polypro or something like it works great...that smart wool if you can swing it...nice but bucks) the ONLY knock i can think of is while they will repair if possible (they use a shop in ct), in replacement, they go from stock....if they don't have the size in stock, you're waiting on a shipment from china.... on the other hand, for a bit over $ dollars more, you end up with a kokatat full boat gmer....have had less experience with their dry suit (owned one, used...too dang small and got rid of it) BUT it's sort of the standard, isn't it? you can get them custome sized, order the color you want and end up with the same sort or iron clad customer service...only they're based on the west coast so if replacement is what's called for, the order is being delivered from washington or somewhere over that way and you aren't waiting on an oversea's delivery. a friends kokatat suit de-laminated and they not only replaced it but for an additional $40 bucks he ended up with the overskirt...which would have cost him retail quite a few $ more...so again, excellent customer service. in any event, i don't think you can go wrong with either suit. i'd recommend getting a suit WITH the booties in either case...they are just waaaay more comfy than not getting them, you don't have to finagle with gaskets around your ankles and your feet are dry....get 'em! good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scamlin Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Like Rick said. And don't forget the relief zip--male or female--best $$ you'll ever spend. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Someone mentioned Palm drysuits: if you want to inspect one, then NE Small Craft have some in stock! I know one paddler who swears by them (Mr. Stoehrer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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