Wetsuit/Drysuit Selection for Kayaking Cold Waters

Kayaking in cold water presents a number of challenges, namely keeping warm and to a lesser degree freedom of movement.

There are basically two general categories of kayaking winter wear to consider for safely kayaking cold water.  The choices fall under the categories of  drysuits or wetsuits.

There are advantages to both types, but the trade-offs to seriously consider are the durability and safety as aspects of each type.

The Dry suit keeps you completely dry and provides freedom of movement with the disadvantages of price and suit maintenance.  Also, with drysuits, a single point of failure can cause a catastrophic failure of the suit and thereby result in an extremely dangerous outcome.

Wetsuits on the other hand, are cheaper, more easily maintained and are drastically less prone to single points of failure.

Watch the video presentation below for clarification on the wetsuit vs. drysuit issue below

The following are a few selected wetsuits for kayakers