Just getting started

Hi everyone,
My name is Tim Wilson. I recently purchased a Hobie PA 14. I'd like to do some ocean fishing out of Pacific City. The main item I need is a dry suit. I'm hoping that someone can enlighten me on a brand that is good quality but won't break the bank. Thanks in advance, Tim.

The one I hear most people using is kokatat, I've been eyeing their suits for awhile but just haven't purchased one yet. Personally for me I still just use my chest waders, but if your talking ocean then definitely get a dry suit for sure. Cause remember the northern Pacific is gonna be cold, even here in Puget sound I don't read surface temps of more than say 54 degrees...

A good quality surfing wet suit will work fine unless you lean on the “I’m usually cold” side. I use a 3/4 mil and I’m good in the cold water of pc or Tillamook Bay. You do loose the ability to use the relief zipper so better have a good bladder.

Thanks for the insight.

Thanks for the insight.

Next Adventure is having their Summer Splash demo day this Saturday. The factory reps from Kokatat and Stohlquist will be there with all their wares and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. At the Kayak Fishing festival back in March they had some samples and demo suits they were selling at a discount. If you are still gearing up hitting those demo days can save you some cash. There are cheaper brands you can buy, but Kokatat and Stohlquist have good service after the sale should you need repairs or have any issues down the road

https://nextadventure.net/summer-splash-kayak-demo-day

I went through this several months ago and ended up landing on the Kokotat supernova angler suit with the relief zipper. If you have only that sit-on-top kayak (so don't need a spray skirt for a sit-inside kayak) and don't intend to also spearfish or scuba dive where you'd need the latex neck gasket, it's the one to get for kayak fishing. I spent months trying to pick the right one, including trying several on and asking multiple places on the internet and from kayak fishermen. I didn't find anything else close at any price, even the much more expensive ones. It's got the thicker lap, knees, seat and elbows that will help it last longer. I didn't think the lap would be important until I fished a few trips in it. I hope to catch more fish in the future that are big enough that I have to pull them onto my lap where their spines require that reinforcement in the fabric. 

I had to save a bit more to get the gore-tex version and I got it on sale for a couple hundred less than retail price. It was a bit hard to spend that much initially, but I considered that it might save my life. I decided that it's a "buy once, cry once" sort of purchase that is worth the extra money. I assume you've already reasoned through a similar decision if you bought that PA 14 kayak. 

I am one of those "I'm usually cold" people, and have been since I moved up here to western WA from Alabama just over twenty years ago. I probably would have been fine with the hydrus version of the suit that's supposedly not quite as breathable. During that sale, the gore-tex version was only about $150 more, and was actually less than the retail price of the hydrus version. I'm 6' tall and about 160lbs, so am fairly skinny. I thought I'd need a custom suit made or I'd feel like I was wearing a tent. I quickly found out that I wanted plenty of room for multiple layers under the suit in the winter, so am loving my standard large size suit. I like wearing really bright colors to increase the chance of  powerboaters seeing me instead of running over me and also for better visibility in case I ever need to be rescued.  Unfortunately, the gore-tex version of the Supernova Angler suit only comes in red and acorn. The red, the color that I got, is reasonably bright and the acorn (brown/gray) would disappear on/in the water. I really wish the gore-tex version was available in Kokotat's tangerine (bright orange) color that the hydrus version comes in, but I opted for the gore-tex fabric in red over the hydrus fabric in tangerine. That's literally my only complaint about the suit. I couldn't get the exact color I wanted without custom ordering it for hundreds of dollars more, and I would have ordered the exact same suit except for color.

I'm a bit far from you in Kent WA but we're moving and I'm organizing the gear I'll offer on, one of which is a Kokatat gortex dry suite in good shape.  PM me if you have questions

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=20618.0