NRS eVent Mission Drysuit review

Howdy all,

Just thought I would give a quick review about the NRS Mission Drysuit.  I've had it for about a month now, and have worn it on the last four trips out onto the ocean.  First trip out was my huli on the return.  So I've tested it both on and in the water.

A month in, and there is no evidence of seam failure or stress.  Everything looks like it is holding up.  All of the gaskets are nicely broken in, although the neck gasket is still a little on the tight side.  I attribute that to my thick neck, and not the latex.  The Latex socks show no sign of stress, and no wear from the sand that has gotten in between the socks and my water shoes.  I was concerned that this would be a failure point, but so far no worries.  I have a feeling that if I was doing more walking than just up and down the beach or boat ramp dragging the yak this would become more of an issue.

Zippers were a little stiff to start, I used some ziptech and now they run smooth and easy.  No leaks, unless I need to.

Since I don't have a Goretex drysuit to compare it to, I can't really tell you if there is a difference in the breathability and venting capacity of the eVent fabric.  It has kept me dry, and I come out of the suit a little sweaty and damp, but nothing worse than when, say, I go snow shoeing while wearing goretex pants and top.

My biggest and really only gripe is the DWR finish - it really didn't last much longer than the first trip out.  It doesn't seem to negatively effect the performance of the suit, I just get a kick out of watching water bead up and roll off.  I know that with my other membrane based wet weather gear, a quick wash will help get some of the DWR back up, and GE recommends using heat by way of a steam iron to renew the DWR.  I'm probably going to experiment with my travel steamer first, which doesn't produce nearly the heat of my iron.

I know that there was an issue with bubbling and delamination of a batch of GE eVent Pro fabric last year, but I'm pretty sure that was an isolated issue.  I'm going to keep a close eye on things, though, given how much the suit cost.


When I huli'd in the surf I went under several times - first as I got dumped from the boat, and then ducking under breakers.  No leaks to speak off.

The suit doesn't offer much in the way of insulation - I have been wearing a pair of 3/4 length 240 weight Icebreaker pants and smartwool hiking socks on the bottom half - and there is a gap between the bottom of the pants and the top of the socks.  When I'm in the water, I can definitely feel how cold it is with just the drysuit fabric against my leg.  Top half has been plenty warm, since I am wearing a long sleeve capilene tee underneath, and then my PFD over top.

I like it so far.

Good deal. I'm looking for my first suit.

Thanks for the report.  Please update posting as you use it more.  I've been really considering that model.  I'm happy with my eVent dry top especially now that the latex  is starting to stretch out.  But I'd like the one piece system for the colder weather.  I haven't felt clammy in it at all.