Palm - Silver Semi-Dry Suit

Still on my quest to figure out what dry or semi-dry (depends on the advertisement) suit I should look more closely at.  I'm looking at that age old balance between cost and quality. So far, most folks are pointing me at the Kokatat Supernova (non-angler).  A few other searches have pointed me in the direction of the Palm Silver Semi-Dry suit. 

Anyone have any input or experience with the Palm Silver?

  Are you going to be in surf/offshore conditions, or on the Sound, or on lakes?
The application should drive the choice.  In surf/open blue water, safety trumps comfort, with full drysuit having neck/wrist latex chokers...er, gaskets being the safest.
    For lakes and the Sound in relatively calm conditions, a Gore or Tropos bib with a skirt that mates to the Kokatat dry top with hood, wrist gaskets and open neck (a much more comfortable option unless you have a pencil neck) is great, you can leave the neck open for venting heat, in hot weather forego the jacket entirely.  In snotty or dangerous conditions the neck can be lapped over and there's a velcro tab that seals quite snugly. I chose this route, but the cost of the combination is at least the same or a little more than the Tropos  Angler suit.
It might be possible to get a NWKA discount from Outdoorplay.

I'll be out in some cold lake conditions.  But when I say cold, I  mean like dragging the boat over the snow and fishing the edge of the ice.  I won't be far from the shore, but definitely don't want to risk getting wet.  I have a nice set of Gore fishing bibs, but the inability to have a relief zipper kind of shot that idea down.  The Kokatat and the Palm look comparable, but I haven't heard much about palm.

I have a coworker with a Palm suit. Her only complaint on it has been the rear-zipper entry, but otherwise she likes it. I'm a big Kokatat fan myself. I used a SuperNova most of the winter, and just picked up the angler version. I've owned several of their Gore suits, along with drytops, pants, paddle jackets, etc over the years and been happy with every one. Since you already own bibs, you might try contacting Rainy Pass in Seattle. They are an authorized Gore repair facility, and should be able to install a relief zipper for you. You can find them at:

http://www.rainypass.com
888-747-7867


Brian

Relief zipper install between $100 and $150---cheaper than full dry suit!  I'm waiting to hear what Zee ahs to say about his new Gore Angler suit, it sure looks like a winner----neoprene neck gasket instead of latex, prolly feels less like having the ex-wife's hands around your throat, slowly squeezing....

funny, my ex-wife's hands are usually trying to squeeze my wallet.....

prolly feels less like having the ex-wife's hands around your throat, slowly squeezing....

Relief zipper install between $100 and $150---cheaper than full dry suit!  I'm waiting to hear what Zee ahs to say about his new Gore Angler suit, it sure looks like a winner----neoprene neck gasket instead of latex

Comfy, comfy, comfy. What can I say? I've had latex gaskets around the neck and if they don't fit right they can be pretty darn constricting. You can do things to make them fit better though. The neoprene neck gasket on the Super Nova Angler is really comfy. The cordura legs and fly over the relief zipper are also some really nice additions.

Z