Waterproof Jacket
 

I'm looking for a waterproof jacket that's not to heavy and can be worn year round....any ideas?

I would start with a retail location such as OEX...even west marine has them. Good luck in your search.:)

best of the best

Kokatat Tempest $190

http://www.clavey.com/images/TempestJacket.jpg

Stohlquist Splashdown ST $99

http://content.backcountry.com/image...0002/SSMAN.jpg

The Splashdown ST is pretty awesome and a great price.

For non-hooded, the NRS Endurance top has treated me well for quite a while.

I just picked this up last week from OEX in Kearny Mesa. Nice jacket. I was going to get another of the NRS (cheaper), but they didnt have my size (Petite), so I went with this one and I am glad I did. Comfortable and warmer than the NRS. It does have a mesh inside, kinda like a swim trunk that I thought I was not going to be comfrotable with ( always cut them out of my trunks) but I actually like it.

BT, does your wife know you're spending your kid's college fund?!!! I guess she'd rather eat :lobster:

I am lucky to have a wife that LOVES seafood. Lobster and Sushi especially. She is very frugal too! She isnt to happy if I get skunked, only bring home a couple of bugs, or I go on Tuna Trips that only yield rock fish (2 outta 3).

Another plus is I always prepare the catch, not her, so its a double bonus. And there arent to many dishes to clean after sushi or BBQ lobster.

If I was a morning person, I would be out in LJ, but I am working on that. I am just NOT a morning person, hence why I like buggin so much.

Now hunting is another story cause last year I got a hog that feed us most of the year, and the place we hunted they were EVERYWHERE. We got 6 hogs last year, and one this year, so I didnt get any meat. There went my argument of getting a rifle. Hopefully this spring we get em again and I can get my rifle.

And I am already pushing my daughter to be enrolled in Toddler JROTC. Uncle Sam paid my tuition...but the wife isnt buying it.

Ive been using the splashdown for a couple years and love it!

Hey Andy, do any of these come in a 54"-56" chest?

Thanks

Tim

Stohlquist Splashdown ST, looks good, will be on my wish list, thx for sharing.

Kokatat's sizing chart: I currently do not have an XXL in the Tempest (I will with my next order), but I do in the Splashdown XXL is 52" - 54". on both of these and they do not make XXXL

http://www.kokatat.com/sizing_mens.asp

Your question is a little broad. It's like asking what's a good car I can drive year round? It kind of depends on how you want to drive. :cheers1:

Basically I'd break it down to different kinds of tops.

There are Anoraks, hoodies, drytops, splashtops, and spraytops....lol

How about some questions....

Do you want a hood or not?

Do you want it to seal at the neck wrists and waist to keep water out of your waders or drypants if you roll, or just repel water when paddling?

When you say year round are you talking when it get's hot in the summer? Or cold in the winter?

For me the top thing has been kinda an evolution. I tend to fish long days and often change during the day as conditions change from cold to hot then back again. I don't think there is any one right top, so I've tried a few. Like any tools they all have their purpose or strong points.

Lets just say for me...Some things change some things stay the same.

Initially My biggest concern was safety, or basically keeping water out of my waders and having something I could swim in.

I bought a full on drytop with velcro wast closure and a six inch neoprene waistband by Bomber gear.

http://s.stpost.com/eccStoreFront/pr.../f_18046_1.jpg

I got it off ebay cheap and it sealed to my waders like a drysuit, or even something made for space travel. Coupled to my old hodgeman neoprene waders I could of swum the length of the Grand Canyon in floodstage and stayed perfectly dry.

Caught a few fish in the thing...
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6901/36375336.jpg

That said it breathed poorly, was clammy as all hell, and almost impossible to get on and off on the water. That's the part that did me in. I want to be able to change the layers under my top to match the conditions, and several times I almost fell out of my yak trying to get that clingy top over my head. Just no fun to fish with in all but the very worst conditions. Still have it (I mean what can I do with it), and I will occasionally use it when the surf is really up up north but for the most part let's just say I have moved on.

Like I said some things change some stay the same.believe it or not the top I wear the most was the cheapest, maybe my oldest (I got it about the same time I got the dry top), and it's nothing all that special.

It's basically a discontinued glorified paddling waterproof windbreaker.

http://s.stpost.com/eccStoreFront/pr.../f_44602_1.jpg

I've worn it so much the waterproof coating in the hood is now breaking down from UV, or maybe sunscreen... :D
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9341/double.jpg

Last I saw them they were on sale closeout for $18. I wish I had bought five of them. Wads down in the drybag to the size of a softball, weighs almost nothing and it's super easy to get on and off on the water. I always carry it.

Often I wear it over my real splashtop on really cold days with the hood up just to keep the spray and wind off, which keeps me warmer, and on warm days I put it on over a T-shirt open the vent pockets and I'm set... well sort of......it breaths kinda half assed which means you can get damp if it's near your skin, and it is somewhat warm on the very hottest of days.

All that said it's great though worthless if I roll in the surf as it's not sealed at the waist neck or even really cuffs.... So......

The next step was a sealed Splash top that combined the features of the two.

Extrasport H2o's...
http://s.stpost.com/eccStoreFront/pr.../f_1945T_1.jpg

It's a decent top and I actually recommend it.

Easy to get on and off, and it's sealed at the waist cuff and neck so it will keep water out of your waders or drypants if you roll your kayak. Lots of guys use these. Andy had one on the other day when I fished with him so maybe he can give you more info.

My take was it's sealed like a drytop but cut down the discomfort, and was light like my paddle jacket windbreaker. It came through in spades, good tops for the price.

If I load up layers under them and they are warm enough for winter but still light enough for summer use with a light shirt. Stores easy wadding up pretty small in my drybag (especially the short sleeve) They breath better then my wind breaker above but still not as good as Goretex.

Good stuff... I mostly have used the short sleeve version in the summer:http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/c...t2010004-1.jpg

That is midsummer in mid-seventy degree weather, without a shirt underneath. A little clammy but doable. Once again they are now discontinued..

Looked around and I found a long sleeve here on ebay for $65:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Extrasport-X-Pel...item870adb5633

Here's a better deal on the short sleeve $24:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,...e-For-Men.html

I'd say that is about the minimum I'd get... but of course there is better stuff out there....

So in the same line but better is the Kokatat Goretex Paclite Paddling jacket.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

It has the same features as the Extrasportl H20 (sealed cuffs waist, neck) but has a few noticeable differences.

One is the collar is some kind of silky lycra material rather then neoprene that is amazingly nice on your neck. Another is that the goretex breaths, is super lite weight and is almost as comfortable as a cotton long sleeve shirt. I kid you not these things are the bomb, though in all fairness it roughly three times as expensive as the Extrasport above.

I got mine on sale for something like eighty bucks on a closeout, but your looking at $175 to $185 for these. In the summer unless it's really warm I can wear it even if necessary straight on my skin, and it's actually amazingly comfortable. In winter I layer poly underneath it and it's great. If really cold I then throw the windbreaker over it and I'm set. It can do everything that H2O can do but it's more comfortable. A better piece of gear but you have to pay for it.

I love the thing. In fact I have a Expel long sleeve I should just sell because It's new, I never used it, and I'm now I'm never going to use it since I have my Kokatat.

So that's my gear. Unless you want to talk drysuits, flotation jackets etc.. :D...LOL.

What I'm suggesting by posting all this it is there are a lot of levels of gear and you should think about what your going to use it for. Choose the right gear the first time and you won't end up like me with too much gear you don't use that's just sitting around.


For instance for me if I look at this post or specifically at Andy's suggestions I'd say the kokatat is the way to go if you want to spend the money.

I never see those on sale, don't own one, but it's just like my paclite with a hood, so I know it's gotta be damn nice.

Since I carry my windbreaker, and I have a hood on it, and I can for now combine that with my kokatat Paclite when it get's cold, so I'm not going to run out and buy one at $185 just yet. That said if I saw one on sale for 100 bucks that would be very tempting, and if you got that one right off the bat I have no doubt you'd be very happy.

As to the Stohlquist Splashdown. I like the look but it does not look like it seals at the waist or neck. Bunji-waist with cord-lock adjustment only.
For me that is a deal breaker in the winter.

That means it's not really sealed, and if I roll my yak in the surf on the way out off Malibu in February I'm going to end up wet, cold, with water in my waders, and have a miserable trip.

For surf launching I want something that seals up tight. I've had some pretty bad wipeouts in the morning at Malibu at both Leo and county line, but sealed up, gear stowed, I stayed dry, did not loose anything, so I just tried again and fished all day.

For me would be fine for a second top, like my windbreaker to use with a top that seals, or for summer, or just non surf use, but I'd just go straight for the Kokatat between the two.

So that's my take..... at least for now...lol

Jim

PS...

All that said I may be interested in the Stohlquist Splashdown short sleeve version

http://seakayakcarolina.com/img/jack...ist-shorty.jpg
Anyone own one?

I might get one just to wear with my waist high breathable hodgies freshwater fishing in the summer. The idea is to keep the splashing out of my low rise waders.

It looks like with the open collar they would be pretty cool in warm weather, but I don't know anything about the micro denier fabric, or how comfortable it is as it could be warm or cool, so if anyone has any info on that I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the info Andy. Allot of the XXL's I've tried on are to tight. I'll have to try some on.

look into oxny water proof and built in floatation for around $100.00

http://www.onyxoutdoor.com/product/2...otation_Jacket
Attachment 3364

I like that the jacket doubles as a class III life jacket!

Anybody have this and can report on the flotation abilities...especially for us 'larger types'?

Great info as always, thx for sharing.

Mine works great in the winter, I can say I float well in it mid chest above the water, but I'm a buck 85 wet with gear.:D

I've got a few Mustang Flotation jackets which I use on boats, both a bomber style and full length one. They have been making these things for a long time and flotation wise they are great. Just as good or better then a good vest, and unlike a vest they keep you warmer when actually in the water.

The issue for kayaking is that the foam they use is thick about one inch and it cuts down on your arm mobility and interferes with paddling to some extent. You can get used to them but they defiantly do cut down on your freedom of movement.

The shorter bomber styles have the thicker foam so they are the stiffest.

The full sized mustangs are better.
http://www.saltysmarine.com/images/27426.gif

Though they have the same amount of flotation it's spread out and thinner so it's more flexible.

Another issue is that the foam is rubbery and does not breath at all. So they do not breath well in general, and you can get pretty sweaty and damp in them when paddling. They shed water great but the are not sealed at the waist so they are not going to keep water out of your waders if you roll. It would be great if Mustang made one specifically for kayaking.

Fantastic on a boat though, can't beat them, but for now I stick to kayak gear when paddling.

Jim

As always Jim, fantastic information. Thanks again for your time spent with all the great pics/links!!

Mike

Hey my pleasure, just hope it's of use to somebody.

Jim