Performance Review - Kokatat Hydrus 3L Kayaking Drysuit

So, it's been almost a year since I picked up—dirt cheap—Kokatat's economy drysuit: the Hydrus 3L.

I've had enough paddles, and unfortunately enough swims, to get a good feel for how this suit performs in cold weather and cold water.

That's me on the far left, post-paddle, in my Kokatat Hydrus 3L. The color is mango.

First, let's talk outfitting options. You can get just the basic version with no relief zipper, no sprayskirt tunnel and no socks for close to $500. I will tell you this right now. The relief zipper itself is worth its weight in gold. I opted for all the options, and that means the suit has incorporated socks, the sprayskirt tunnel and the relief zipper, and they're all worth the extra $100 or so. 

Let's tackle these options one at a time.

First, the socks. If you don't get socks, the suit stops at your ankles with the same latex gaskets you'll find at the wrists and neck. That means you'll have to spend an extra $30 or more for wet socks, so you might as well buy the suit with incorporated socks.

Anyhow, let's get to their real value. The incorporated socks allow you to wear what's most comfortable on your feet, whether that be wool or some other cloth-type sock, which is absolutely going to be more comfortable and a better insulating base layer. This means your body temp is going to be easier to maintain than if your feet are merely staying warm via a layer of water sealed in by wet shoes or wet socks.

These socks are tough. On my first swim in the suit, the river sucked off my wet shoes and I had to scramble up the bank in the drysuit socks—something I don't recommend. I wasn't paddling alone, but I still ended up sprinting down the river bank chasing my boat, and the socks didn't tear despite the usual stones, sticks, broken glass and other debris littering the bank.

The sprayskirt tunnel has adjustable velcro.

Second, the sprayskirt tunnel. The extra layer of waterproof material allows for a snug fit of your skirt against the outside of your suit with another barrier for water wrapping tight around the outside of the skirt. The double tunnel has velcro adjustments at the waist, so you can adjust the seal between the sprayskirt tunnel and the skirt. Both these aspects of the tunnel help keep your skirt in place while making it harder for water to make its way toward the suit's one Achilles heel: the zipper.

Third, the relief zipper. If you've ever put a drysuit on, then you know just how cumbersome and time-consuming it is. Imagine having to peel your suit off, squeezing your neck through the gaskets every time, and putting it back on every time nature calls. With the relief zipper, one quick zip and you're back on the water.

We'll get to the main zipper, which really is the key to this suit's performance, but first a few quick other notes.

The fit is perfect. The neck gasket is a little tight, but a few wears and overnight stretching will get it to a comfortable size in no time without cutting. It fits extremely well with my NRS PFD. And the wrist gaskets are very comfortable and accommodating for my Seat to Summit paddling gloves.

Some people say the Hydrus 3L material is noisier and doesn't breathe as well as Kokatat's proprietary Goretex material. The suit really doesn't seem noisy to me compared to other drysuit and drytop material. I do think it could breathe better, as if you find yourself sweating a lot you will find your base layer damp by the time you get off the river.

So far, it's very durable. The suit has encountered the usual rock-scrambling, branch-brushing and other encounters with nature with no rips or punctures. 

Now, down to business. Let's talk zipper.

If this suit has one weak point, it's the main entry zipper. From the get-go, the main zipper has been a pain. It sticks often, but the big culprit is that it's not entirely waterproof. Now, if you can show me a truly waterproof zipper, I've got some prime land in Florida you might want to buy. In other words, many people will argue there are no truly waterproof zippers—especially when it's immersed upside down in a moving river. 

But every time I've practiced a roll or actually had to roll, or swim, in this suit my base layer started to get wet right at the closure point of the zipper near my waist. 

I've paddled comfortably in this suit all day with no complaints.

Now, if you're roll, or swim, is fast and you've got a few good base layers on underneath the suit, then this isn't that big of a deal. And for me, it hasn't been a real problem. But in a lengthy swim, this could be problematic, as your core could get soaked in frigid water fairly quickly—practically defeating the purpose of an expensive drysuit.

Before you write this suit off, consider user error as the potential culprit for a leaky zipper. Like a fool, I've been lazy with my maintenance and have yet to use any parafin wax to lubricate the zipper. And there's one tip I have yet to try, and that's adding a gob of Vasoline or petroleum jelly to the closure point for an extra "seal." 

Not doing either of these two maintenance tasks is a bit like taking a new gun that's sat on a gun store shelf, taking it right to the range without oiling it or the magazine and being mystified when it jams. I'll be performing these two basic maintenance tasks before my next paddle, and I'll weigh in with a short update to see what kind of a difference it makes in the performance of the Hydrus 3L.

Bottom line, this suit has everything you come to expect in the performance of a Kokatat drysuit at nearly half the price. 

If you're looking for a drysuit, but you don't want to shell out $1,100 and don't like the idea of buying used, then the Kokatat Hydrus 3L should be on your gear shopping list for this winter paddling season.

My Kokatat Hydrus 3L drysuit is comfortable, dry and warm and has been one of the best paddling purchases I've ever made, aside from my Jackson Karma.

Swimming Showers Rapid on the Stonycreek River

I managed to drag my Karma large to an eddy but had to rely on the kindness of strangers to recover my paddle.

This blog lately has trended in pairs. I would write a post about a topic, and then the issue naturally expanded into a second post with time.

So when I wrote a post titled "The Swim" I should have known better what I was setting myself up for. Shortly after publishing that little gem I took a trip with some friends to make the last whitewater release from the Quemahoning Reservoir near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for some Class III+ action on the Stonycreek River Canyon.

We piled in the van, hooked up the trailer and set out at zero-dark-thirty, or maybe it was 6:30 am. Whatever, it was dark when we started our three-hour journey east into the Appalachian foothills. Most of us hadn't been in our boats for a few months because we haven't had enough water for local paddling here in Northeast Ohio.

Feeling more than rusty, I squeezed into my Kokatat Hydrus 3L and hiked up from the "easy" put-in to the drop in just above Showers Rapid--the only Class III+ rapid we would experience that day.

The rest of our compatriots were running shuttle, and so about a dozen of us had ample time to run Showers a few times if we were feeling up to it. The rapid offers almost a half dozen points to scout it from, including a few rocks right on the river's edge mid-rapid. I remember thinking "piece of cake." Stale, moldy one-year-old freezer burnt wedding cake.

I put in with another long-boating friend, and we ferried across the river using some eddies to try and break free of two months worth of rust. I watched a few people line up, drop and disappear into the first tongue of the rapid. It looked easy enough. All I had to do was try and stay to the left and miss the muching hole topped by a curling cross wave at river right.

Just as I lined up to drop in I felt my 4 a.m. wake-up that morning and about two months worth of paddling rust seize my hips, shoulders and eyelids. I made the first drop easy enough but was pointing too far river left while moving way too much toward river right. I dropped into the second hole nearly sideways. It was too easy for that wave to spin me like a window shade. Instead of bracing, I thought "flip and roll." Splash! Upside down and my face freezing, I remember thinking "set up for your roll, dumbass." The frigid water, bulky dry suit and aforementioned oxidation laughed off my meager roll attempt, and I pulled the rip cord. I hadn't had to swim out of my boat in months.

Fortunately, my long-boating friend and his LiquidLogic road cone were parked in an eddy where I managed to swim, dragging my 103-gallon volume kayak behind me.

The rest of the paddle, for me at least, was seamless. More than a few paddlers told me that had Showers been in the middle of Stonycreek Canyon I would have cruised through it. Next time!

A Summer Full of Personal First Descents

It was a busy summer paddling season for me, and one filled with a lot more paddling than I expected--and a lot more personal first descents of rivers for someone who's been mostly cruising Class I-II the past few years.

The only river on my list for advancing my paddling skills in 2014 was the Cuyahoga River Lower Gorge, which depending on the levels has some nice Class III-IV paddling beneath the Ohio Edison Dam.

I managed to tackle that section and then some this summer. First I was able to jump on a Keelhaulers trip to Slippery Rock Creek in Pennsylvania. Then I also tacked on the "new" section of the Cuyahoga River where two dams were removed above the Sheraton section in downtown Cuyahoga Falls (mostly Class II-III).

I was lucky enough to paddle Stonycreek River Canyon as well in early October. I learned more this summer about whitewater paddling than in the past four years of recreational paddling. Enjoy the photos!

I was lucky to paddle with a large, and stellar, group of Keelhaulers for my personal first descent of Slippery Rock Creek.

The eddies on Slippery Rock Creek are calm and plentiful.

Three members of the intrepid paddling crew about to put on the Cuyahoga River Lower Gorge.

Shoving off in my Jackson Karma.

We waited out a nearly two-hour torrential downpour in Gorge Metro Park before hiking the mile up the Cuyahoga Lower Gorge to the put-in. All the rain that day had the river running at 1400 cfs for our paddle.

Lined up and ready to roll.

GoPro pictures never turn out in focus. I love my Karma. For a big boat, it's nimble enough. Look for a review from a beginner's perspective soon.

Everyone and their gear made it off the Stony intact for a bomb day on the water.

Four of our five-man group getting ready to hit the Stony. We had a balmy high temperature of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It proved chilly for early October!

Two Types of Kayaking PFDs

What's a PFD, you ask? In the world of paddle sports there are two definitions for the acronym.

The first applies to all water sports: Personal Flotation Device. A personal flotation device is a must for anyone interested in paddling. Whether you're on a lake, pond or river, no one should ever paddle without a PFD.

Here's an example of a before and after of my PFD. Now, remember what I've said before. I'm a beginner paddler and a novice at best. So there are certainly better ways to equip a PFD for river running. But here's what mine looks like.

My river-running PFD before equipping it with some basic safety gear.

I picked up a basic PFD from my local outfitter. It's an NRS brand guide-type vest with all sorts of pockets for various safety equipment.

Here's what it looks like after some of my initial outfitting.

Some basic safety equipment to include in your PFD if you're interested in river running. Keep in mind many of these items are hidden in pockets and not normally visible.

I incorporated some of the basics when I equipped my PFD for river running. Some of my must-haves on the river include: a water-tight medical kit complete with bandages and gauze, pain relievers, coagulates and more; a river knife; nose plugs; several feet of webbing; multiple carabiners, including one that can be used as a clip spot for a rescue; and an emergency whistle for alerting other paddlers to a swimmer or in case I need to help rescuers find me.

You can find all these things and more at your local outfitter. What's nice about this PFD from NRS is that the pockets, of which there are many, are big, and the med kit along with the webbing and carabiners all fit nicely inside and are within arm's reach at any moment.

One piece of gear I'd like to add yet is some type of waterproof radio. On a recent trip down some heady Class III our group of eight paddlers had a swimmer who got stuck on a strainer in the middle of the current. The group got split with some in eddies along the river's edge several hundred feet downstream of the trapped swimmer, and the rest were either near the strainer plotting a rescue or in their vicinity. Two of us were downstream wondering where the group's weakest paddler was. Had he managed to catch an eddy while we planned the rescue, or was he bombing down stream, alone on a river he'd never run before.

Had we had a few radios in the group, we would have quickly known he was indeed safely parked in an eddy upstream waiting for the rescue.

What's the other definition for PFD? Find that out next time.