Dry suit vs. Dry Bib and dry top combo?

Get the Kokatat dry suit. You won't regret it. I've had my Supernova Anglers for 5 years and live in it.  Go to a Kokatat retailer and get properly fitted. You want a little room underneath to layer.  I find a good pair of long underwear, some stretchy hiking pants and a comfy non cotton top to be best.  I have the Gortex Supernova Angler Suit arriving soon.  http://www.hobiefishing.com/blog/fish-longer-staying-warmer,720/

I fish primarily out of a Hobie Pro Angler.  For footwear, I wade in the water a bit to take the wheels out from the scuppers.  If you get water in your booties, plan on your feet being cold during the day.  Multiple merlino wool socks sometimes make your booties tighter cutting off circulation and leading to cold feet. I've tried multiple booties from various manufactures of different neoprene thickness.  My top choice is NRS's Boundary Shoe even over the Kokatat Nomad.  They are warm and extra high for wading https://www.amazon.com/NRS-Boundary-Shoe/dp/B003Y37LA2

I'm moving to Olympia, Washington from California in 2018 and want to kayak fish the Columbia for salmon.  Is this new Kokatat offering the best "buy it once and be done with it" choice?  It's the goretex version.  MSRP $829. https://kokatat.com/product/supernova-angler-dsugsa    Also, Rawkfish likes Next Adventure in Portland (nothing against that) but is there a quality "one stop shop" closer to Olympia to get Hobie kayak, trailer, accessories, PFD, and clothing?  I'm collecting knowlegable recommendations so I can just go into the shop and hand them my list. 

The Kokatat Goretex suits have a great warranty. I had one replaced with a brand new suit due to delamination of the Goretex fabric. The suit was purchased in 2008 and replaced last summer. Great customer service.

Kokatat Warranty:
All Kokatat products are fully guaranteed to the original owner against defects in materials and workmanship for the reasonable life of the item. Products found to be defective will be repaired or replaced at Kokatat’s option. Repairs due to normal wear and tear, accident, abuse, etc., will be made for a reasonable charge. Latex gaskets are not covered by the Kokatat warranty. There is a 2 year limited warranty on all TROPOS suits. Kokatat specifically disavows any other representative warranty or liability relative to the condition or use of the product.

I went through this same debate.  When the water is 40 and the air is 40, and you swim..."good enough" just wont do.

I bit the bullet, save up and bought a Stholquist shift.  Amazing suit.  Dry, dry dry. and suprisingly, both warm enough for springers and cool enough for fall kings...although I dont really need it in the fall...

Go to a Kokatat retailer and get properly fitted. You want a little room underneath to layer.  I find a good pair of long underwear, some stretchy hiking pants and a comfy non cotton top to be best.

I think you want a LOT of room underneath to layer.  You can paddle in comfort and safety in below freezing, windy weather with snow coming down and ice floating on the water, if you are wearing enough layers under your dry suit.  When kayaking in cold weather, I often wear a base layer of polypro long underwear and shirt, with two or three sweaters and two pairs of pile pants on top of that and 2-3 pairs of warm fuzzy polypro socks.  If your drysuit fits too snugly, you won't be able to get enough clothing under it to keep warm in cold weather.  Don't try for a trim stylish look when choosing a drysuit.  Get one with plenty of room underneath it.  It should be baggy when you are wearing less clothing in warmer weather.

Wow Pete, marshmallow man comes to mind.  What size shoes do you wear with all those socks? 😁

I actually wear a set of under armour cold weather, wool socks, then a lava core jumper, fleece wader  socks, my dry suit and wader boots.  Haven't got cold yet, but I am not in your neck of the woods either.

Guys, excellent info....thanks!  I hadn't heard of the Stohlquist Shift Dry Suit so I have to check that out.  The Shift has a ventilation mode, which sounds good, but it seems Kokatat is more popular and has an excellent warranty.   The baggy fit is on the list and the shop could help me with inside layering.    Getting this right is a bit involved but extremely important.  Resolving "too hot" or "too cold" seems learned through trial and error.  I hope the shop will have an experienced sales person who can size up my situation and recommend accordingly.  Unfortunately, I wear size 14 shoes, which leaves out some popular bootie choices.   

When you are kayak fishing, your feet spend a lot of time in the water or wet, so I wear several pairs of socks under my dry suit's dry socks.  I buy footgear which is 2 to 2.5 sizes larger than my street shoe size, because footgear which constricts your feet will make your feet cold.

Unless you're planning on doing lots of fishing in quite cold regions, such as Montana where Pete is, or you normally run cold, I don't recommend going for a "baggy" fit. I fish all over western OR and WA year round. I mostly wear a large in just about everything else I wear. I wear a size large kokatat drysuit, and I've never felt like I needed much more room for layering to keep warm. The only thing I recommend going bigger on is footwear. I also have fished for many years using the drytop+dry pants(made by kokatat) combo and never really felt like it let too much water in, even after a long swim in the surf. If properly matched, a drytop and dry pants (or bibs) combo is a perfectly safe option for kayak fishing in the OR and WA area. You also get the benefit of just using the pants or bibs during the nice weather months if you want to.  But even considering the nice months my drysuit gets used every month of the year. So unless you spend all of your time fishing in bass or trout lakes, your immersion wear has a use all year in the Northwest. Make sure it's comfortable and effective.

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If you visit the Kokatat website and select the custom dry suit option (https://kokatat.com/custom) then pick any model - I used the Front Entry because it looks the most like a Supernova - it'll send you to a page where you can enter your measurements and spit out the proper size for your height, weight and build.  Then choose any of the off-the-rack models in that size...

Worked for me.  Looking at the size charts, I'd have ordered a large, but the medium that was recommended was the right size for me, fluffiness and all.

When you are kayak fishing, your feet spend a lot of time in the water or wet, so I wear several pairs of socks under my dry suit's dry socks.  I buy footgear which is 2 to 2.5 sizes larger than my street shoe size, because footgear which constricts your feet will make your feet cold.

This.  I wear wool socks and mid calf neoprene boots.  My feet stay warm, dry and protected.  I walk a lot through sand so I want to protect the booties.