Paddle wear ---what do you use?

I was about to commend you Brian on not showing off those pictures of last secret fish dance. Guess that's off the table.

Sorry Wali, I wasn't going to just post a "here's Wali doing his secret fish dance" report.  However, when the topic of how difficult dry suits can be came up I had to dig them up.

I don't have video, but I did manage to take a series of photos of Wali trying to get out of his drysuit last month.

The last photo says it all..............  "Brian, I'm going to kick your @$$ if you take one more %^&*( picture!"   

My Hobie PFD is a PITA, rides up and is not particularly comfortable. 

I feel ya. I had a cheapo for a long time that just never fit right. Very PITA. The right PFD makes all the difference. Obviously I love the Kokatat Bahia tour (kayakfishing PFD) but like a kayak, try on a bunch and see which fits you best. Fit seems to matter to me more than the fancy pockets it may have on it.

My drysuit dance isn't so perfect but I'm working on the choreography.

And B.. man you're geek power is showing!



Z

The last photo says it all..............  "Brian, I'm going to kick your @$$ if you take one more %^&*( picture!"  

Hey I tried to help a bit towards the end there.   The biggest problem was that Wali couldn't remember which sleeve had to come off first.

The last photo says it all..............  "Brian, I'm going to kick your @$$ if you take one more %^&*( picture!"  

Hey I tried to help a bit towards the end there.   The biggest problem was that Wali couldn't remember which sleeve had to come off first.

Wali, it's the other sleeve first.  It's always the other sleeve.   

-Allen

That's alright B, I knew it was coming.

(but I own you one! )

K:

The inflatable is untested under duress. Mine is manual, so if I get hit in the head and knocked unconscious, the water may kill me as opposed to the blunt force trauma. I pop it off annually to make sure it's not leaking and to replace the CO₂ cartridge. Next time out, I plan to pop it off in the surf. So I'm living dangerously.

The upside is I can wear it all the time down here (with shorts and a tee-shirt). That said, a conventional PFD can add a fair bit of insulation as part of your cold water paddle gear. In fact, I have a neoprene water ski vest that I use as part of my winter paddle wear. It's not as loose as a paddle vest, but I don't find it too constricting either.

 All that said, the one time that I NEEDED a pfd I did not have one on or in the boat (which is why I'm such a big advocate of them now). To make a long story longer, my boat with a new thru-hull fitting filled with water and sank. Our boats are slightly positively buoyant even completely swamped. But if you fill it with an anchor, and a battery, and other misc. fishing junk, it gets to be slightly negatively buoyant. I was in Lake Pontchartrain in N.O., it's relatively shallow (avg < 20') and warm (+80^o). But negatively buoyant means it sinks and keeping it off the bottom meant I had to support myself and pull the boat and the water in it up to keep it off the bottom. I also found out that Lake P does have some slight current that was going offshore at the time. This was a VERY uncomfortable situation.
 Luckily, my nephew was a few hundred yards away (sleeping) and eventually paddled to my rescue. By the time he got to me, I was almost exhausted.  After I caught my breath, I had him tow the swamped boat a little under a mile back to shore while I swam along side.
Now, I was in the most optimal conditions for foolishness like that to happen (warm water, calm seas, close rescue) and I damn near drowned because I didn't have a PFD (that and I was too stupid to let the boat go). Throw cold water into that equation and I'd be a statistic. Y'all get the idea
(and you didn't even have to ask )


Wali

looks like b's willing to stand on his head for the cure.

THe Kokatat bibs came today, put em on and waded out from the DOckton boat launch------DRY FEET ROCK!!!  2 pair wool sock underneath, and Crocs over.
Dang!  The bibs are much lighter and more comfortable than I anticipated, and the skirt mates and folds perfectly with my dry top (also Koke).  I'm jazzed for some yakkin Saturday, prolly around the Vashon ferry terminal and outer Quartermaster.  Or, mebbe the north end, Dolphin Point.  So many choices!!!

Welcome to the comfort KT!! It is good ain't it?
Thanks for that reel BTW. You got some major karma built up.

Z

You're welcome!  It ain't an Avet, but the Shimanos are pretty bulletproof.

Looks like I'll be wearing my waders and a dry/semi-dry top with layers underneath. I have plenty of cold weather gear to wear under my waders from bank fishing in winter so I'm good there. Any recommendations on a good dry/semi-dry/splash top for fairly cheap?

For the people who wear stocking foot waders.....what kind of footwear are you using? The only boots I have right now are studded and I don't really wanna wear them in my yak. I was initially thinking I was gonna go without boots while paddling but I have a feeling my stocking feet would wear away pretty quickly. TIA

orignally i used a set of felt sole wading boots, then realized part of my discomfort while on board was brought on by stiff herman munster sized boots not fitting properly in the footwells, and the inability of my ankles and feet to properly flex as needed. ... i switched to a set of river sandals and have been far happeir. some use crocs but i personally dont care for them.. 

Looks like I'll be wearing my waders and a dry/semi-dry top with layers underneath. I have plenty of cold weather gear to wear under my waders from bank fishing in winter so I'm good there. Any recommendations on a good dry/semi-dry/splash top for fairly cheap?

For the people who wear stocking foot waders.....what kind of footwear are you using? The only boots I have right now are studded and I don't really wanna wear them in my yak. I was initially thinking I was gonna go without boots while paddling but I have a feeling my stocking feet would wear away pretty quickly. TIA

Hey SgtSlaughter,

What size are you? Allen has a NICE xl drytop in the classifieds for a song and if you don't jump on it, I will (I'm think I'm ready for a change from hot pink )

For footwear I found a pair of neoprene camp shoes (for lack of a better description).  They work great over the stocking feet of my waders and well as with neoprene socks with my drysuit.

Thanks but I don't have the money at the moment. I just spent over 1k on a new kayak so funds are pretty low. I'll have to wait for my next student loan to get the rest of my gear.