C-Forum

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dry-Suit-Sailing-Ka ... 3361f5812e worth 330 bucks?

I don't see the word "breathable" anywhere, so this will be a sweaty suit. Also, it doesn't have built-in sock booties. I think they're essential for canoeing.

The price is nice but it's lacking some features I like:

- Breathable Fabric
- Relief Zipper
- Booties

I had a cheap sailing drysuit (Gul) for a while. It was ok. It kept me warm and allowed me to paddle all winter. Then I got the Kokatat GMER and realized how crappy my sailing drysuit was. My sailing drysuit had a front entry zipper that I could manage to pee out of if I loosened my PFD and pulled my spraydeck down. You won't be peeing once you seal in to a rear entry suit. Because my sailing drysuit didn't breathe, my insulation layers would get soaking wet from sweat. With my GMER, I can wear my insulation layers to and from the river. If your layers are going to get wet and you need to change them after paddling, you may as well go with a good drytop with splash pants or bibs. Within 2 seasons, the seams on my Gul suit started to leak. Once the gaskets went, I decided it wasn't worth the cost of repair. Also, I hate ankle gaskets. When cold weather paddling, the ability to change in and out of your dry gear quickly is very nice. Struggling with gaskets with cold hands and having to remove your socks before removing your drysuit sucks. Also, more gaskets to replace.

You can find other sailing drysuits at that price point so maybe shop around for more features. If you can afford it, just get the GMER. It's among my favorite possessions.

Two quotes from ebay listings from that store:

"Unique patent pending design with easy entry and easy pee fully waterproof leg entry zip system. "

"By the way, you catch a good time, if you buy it, you will receive the product more than the price , because in November we have replaced a new fabric, this fabric's performance is the same as gore-tex , but our prices did not increase, but compared with the previous products, processes have also done a lot of improvement."

They offer them with and without booties.

I like the fact that I can send my kokatat back to them to have the gaskets replaced, but those ones ARE pretty cheap.

My first suit was a Kokotat Tropos, claimed to be breathable nylon. I sent it out to get feet and a relief zip. It was good but the Kokotat GFER is the real deal! Search the web for deals, I got a good price on mine and a free Kokotat bunny suit.

I felt like I'd seen that drysuit somewhere else...
http://www.kayakproshop.com/Palm_Stikine07.html

The e-bay seller's profile says:

We are from China, and own one factory. We have rich OEM experience for couple of the world famous brands. Now we intend to launch our own brand, hoping to provide good products for foreign friends which are the best quality and most competitive in price. We have a variety of sizes for you select.

My guess is that the factory in where Palm was having their good made has decided to strike out on their own. If you look the other items in there store, and compare to Palm's line, you'll see some other striking similarities. They even have a "Stikine" drysuit.

To answer the question, is it worth $330... it could be. The Palm suits have a good reputation. But if they cut corners on the knock-off, use cheaper seam tape, lighter thread, cheaper zipper, thinner gaskets, etc, it could be a waste of money.

Emergo wrote:"Unique patent pending design with easy entry and easy pee fully waterproof leg entry zip system. "

"By the way, you catch a good time, if you buy it, you will receive the product more than the price , because in November we have replaced a new fabric, this fabric's performance is the same as gore-tex , but our prices did not increase, but compared with the previous products, processes have also done a lot of improvement."

They offer them with and without booties.

Breathable, relief zip, booties, AND you catch a good time! I'd go for it.

Post a review if you get it. I might order one for my girlfriend if it is even partway decent.

ncdavid wrote:http://cgi.ebay.com/Dry-Suit-Kokatat-Go ... 500wt_1156

I have not talked to anyone who regretted spending the money on their GoreTex suit, including myself. If you can't afford a new GoreTex suit, look for deals like David posted here.

and go for this gre kot..........

ebay is how I got my Palm Torrent. Relief zipper, booties, seller had just replaced the neck gasket, delivered to my house for $282. It ain't perfect, but it didn't cost me a whole bunch.

Definitely the Palm Suits:

Palm Element Ripoff
Palm Element Original

Palm Stikine Ripoff
Palm Stikine Original

The listing for the "Element" shows the relief zip, has booties, and claims to be breathable. Looking now at the listing for the "Stikine", I can see the flap that hides the relief zip. Seems like it might be a great deal. Who's gonna order one first to test the theories?[/url]

They're ripoffs made by the chinese factory that used to produce them... Now that palm have produced a new model, the chinese factory started selling these.

Palm is taking legal action currently.