more drysuits

Pytheas · 15 February 2002, 20:13

Need to buy a drysuit suitable for wearing during very warm weather in greece.
Do you Brits wear them in summer?
Here temps rise up to 35C and more during summer months so I guess it will have to be a breathable one.I am looking at Ravenpring actually,but Iam not sure these things are wearable during extreme heat.Anyone with experience on the subject?
I do have a Guy Cotten drysuit but it is more a survival suit than anything else and protected me well when ribing at the Baltic in freezing January conditions!

Brian · 16 February 2002, 21:22

Ravensprings website is at

www.ravenspring.co.uk

Pytheas · 17 February 2002, 21:37

thanks, but I still dont have a personal opinion from you people.It is always more helpfull than reading the brands own presentation.

Ribald · 17 February 2002, 22:12

My new Ravenspring dry suit will be arriving tomorrow

so I will give you feedback in due course. From other posts on this site they seem to be the business. Try a search for Ravenspring to get some other comments. For my part so far their customer service is second to none.

batfalcon · 18 February 2002, 06:23

Are you Greek too ? (cause I am).
What do you need the dry suit for ? Do you intend to go ribing during winter ?

Pytheas · 21 February 2002, 19:51

Thanks,
yia sou Batfalcon, yes Im Greek too.Im trying to figure out if its at all possible to wear a dry suit during the summer (greek summer!)and this is a topic not realy discussed on the ravenspring thread that exists somewere on this forum.

I already have a survival drysuit but this is more like a life saving suit and there is no question about wearing it in warm weather.

I would also need the drysuits for some extra form of protection and safety for the crew in case of an m.o.b situation.

Alan Priddy · 21 February 2002, 20:22

I would suggest very strongly that you re-evaluate your need for a dry suit. If you are boating in the Med all you need is a set of splash covers. Even the best breathable dry suit will make you
de- hydrate which will do your crew more harm than falling in the water! My recomendation for boating in the Med if the wind gets up is to put a T Shirt on The boat you have is of reasonable size and I can understand that you are concerned about getting wet when running down wind in a typical Med sea, again drive the boat so you do not put the bow under the water and soak everyone on board. Prevention is better than cure

Nick Reid · 22 February 2002, 03:06

Question for Ribald,

How do you like your Ravenspring drysuit?? Any feedback would help. I may order one.

Alan · 22 February 2002, 08:24

Pytheas ... I must to admit having wondered why you'd need to drysuit in the med - the waters warm isn't it?!

Nick, I've had a Ravenspring for 3 years. Excellent bit of kit, lightweight, well fitting yet durable. Wore it for 8 days straight on RB4 last year. The Ravenspring people are very helpful as well.
It provides zero thermal insulation so what you wear underneath it is important.

Two pieces of advice .... one go for the hard boots as opposed to the latex socks and secondly if you are going to wear it for long periods go for the pee zip as well!!

HTH ALAN

Nick Reid · 22 February 2002, 14:20

Hey Alan, Thanks for the reply. I keep hearing compliments on Ravenspring, particularly on their service. Nice in this day and age, eh?

Right now I'm examining a used suit, a Multifabs #459, which I have on approval, with the right to return it. I learned about the suit from Sirzap on this forum. He bought a used one from the same outfit, Concorde AeroSales, Inc. The suit is built as a helicopter passenger suit. Front diag. zipper, four pockets, one-way exhaust valve, gore-tex socks. The condition is excellent, no visible wear at all. Very well constructed.

The price of the used suit is within a few dollars of a Ravenspring, actually the used suit is the higher of the two. The Multifabs suit is Gore-tex, very soft to handle, and it fits fairly well. My areas of concern are the lack of double layer patching over the seat, knees, etc. and the fact that the neckseal isn't protected from UV. Is that important? Another question which I'll present to Concorde is how one goes about repairing a multilayer gore-tex fabric.

My only concern about the Ravenspring suit is the durability of their breathable/waterproof coating system--though in fairness I've heard nothing but positive about them. The early coated waterproofing/breathable systems that were sold in the US--"poor man's Gore-tex"--some called them, worked only for a while and were highly subject to abrasion on the inside layers, as well as contamination fouling. I don't know how well Ravenspring's system breathes. I'm in a cool climate,similar to what you Brits tool around in, and condensation is a big issue.

Bat Falcon must be laughing as he reads this stuff!

Nick

Garygee · 22 February 2002, 20:01

Hi Nick

I have little experience with drysuit coating but have considerable experience of outdoor waterproofs which I understand dry suits use the same coatings.

In the past the coated materials did not peform as well but these days thare are just as good. Depending on who you talk to some say they are better then gore-tex.

It should be noted that gore-tex is a laminated material the gore-tex being a membrane glued to the main material. The membrage is usually sandwitched between two other layers (3 laye gore-tex or may even be just two layers (Done for weight so likley not found on drysuits)

As far as protective areas, well you can buy the glue and as the material does not need to be watreproof,for the patchs it is an easy job to add some wear patchs.

Regards Gary

Pytheas · 23 February 2002, 21:52

Thanks for the answers guys.

Originaly I thought I would need the drysuits as an extra form of protection for the crew of PYTHEAS 2,our boat during our Black Sea circumnavigation sceduled for this summer.

My research shows contitions there to be roughly the same for this time of year as in the Med and Aegean so according to your suggestions I might finally save the money for a better epirb or a glass of cold vodka at Novorossiysk!

batfalcon · 26 February 2002, 07:46

Not laughing really. I just realize how blessed we all Med people are. Specially we Greeks, the children of Gods, living in a godlike land.

Nick Reid · 26 February 2002, 14:42

That has a great ring to it. In the Pacific Northwest we're the children of mold spores, but we love it, too!

Nick

donald · 26 February 2002, 21:47

Hi all,

If you're still thinking of a dry suit, I can recommend the musto hpx. As well as a rib I also have a racing trimaran (sailboat), a very wet boat and I also race on other fast boats like catamarans.

In the summer I often wear t shirt & shorts under the dry suit, no sweating, no problem. Even on a warm day, a fast pace and continual soaking can chill you. I do this on the rib and the sail boat.

It's a very strong, well made garment and I routinely wear it for checking under the hull...it doesn't leak. And the after sales is good too.

Cheers

D

John Kennett · 27 February 2002, 07:22

These are indeed superb drysuits -- as tested by Alan Priddy & crew crossing the Atlantic in 1997!

However, they are not cheap. In fact you could probably by two Ravenspring suits for the price of one HPX.

John

Nick Reid · 01 March 2002, 23:14

Hey John,

Have you used a Ravenspring suit. Any shortcomings? I'm comparing that to a used Multifab gore-tex suit I have on approval from a company that Sirzap told me about. They, Concorde Aero Sales, state that I can't do field repairs on the suit; it must be sent to their repair station for any repairs, and I know I have to have field repairable equipment across the board. Any comments?
Nick

John Kennett · 02 March 2002, 07:11

I haven't actually.

When I first saw them I thought that they looked rather lightweight and wasn't sure how well they would stand up to live on a RIB. However, I know several people who do have them, and I have yet to hear a bad word about the drysuits or the customer service.

Whichever you go for, do make sure that you get a fly zip -- you'll regret it if you don't!

For what it's worth, my personal preferences are for the main zip across the back as I find it more comfortable than a front diagonal zip (and after a bit of practice I can now do it up and undo it unassisted!). I also definitely prefer built in boots rather than latex feet as it avoids having to keep a stinking, wet pair of trainers to wear with the drysuit!

John

jools · 18 March 2002, 20:03

OK - after getting a little damp on the Thames.... I've been looking at the Ravenspring web site. - 2 Questions

1) The 2 piece suit looks more flexable - are these simular to the camel suits and what are peoples opinions of 2-piece vrs 1-piece suits

2) After the "foot-wear" thread turning into a Land Rover discussion

What do people recomend when buying a new suit?

My gut feeling would be to go for the 2 piece - with "comfort zip" - and built in boots.

As this will be my first dry-suit and hopefully it will last many years anybodys past experiance welcome!!

(Hopefully I can get it before Cardiff!)

Jools

Ribald · 18 March 2002, 20:57

Jools,

I have just bought my first dry suit from RS. It is the one piece model with boots and comfort zip. They would appear to be very good bits of kit but as I have no previous experience I don't really have any benchmark to go on. As JK said, they do seem rather thin but I understand that they are to keep water out only, not warmth. This is derived from the various layers that you would wear underneath. I have one with the rear zip which the instructions state "must be operated by another person". Like JK, I am managing to close the zip on my own but "the management" has said that I look hilarious doing it.

If you want it before Cardiff, I would give them a ring and let them know asap as I believe they can work miracles.