Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
Hot for 2016 is the new Palm Atom Drysuit. We saw one of these at Paddle Expo back in September 2015 so are very pleased to get hold of one for review on Unsponsored.
It’s been a few years since we last tried a Palm suit here at Unsponsored HQ which gives us the opportunity to take a fresh look at what Palm Equipment have been doing to develop their suits.
There is always a chance that every time you put on piece of gear that has latex gaskets that the gasket could split. This recently happened to Dave Kersey. The choice of not paddling, getting wet/cold or carrying out an emergency latex gasket repair was an easy one to make.
Dave managed to use some woven medical tape to quickly and effectively repair the split.
Yak are part of the Survitec Group, who provide high quality rescue and safety gear for the marine, offshore, defence and aviation sectors. As a result they have a huge wealth of knowledge on how to design and create highly effective gear.
I spent a fair bit of time with the guys from Yak at Paddle Expo this year. The number of well executed designs blew me away. If you still associate Yak with the lower end of the market or canoe clubs then you need to take another look.
Palm have significantly updated their line of drysuits for 2016. Fabric is tougher and the velcro flaps used to cover zips have been completely removed.
The cut has been improved with less panels and as a result less seams.
The PeakUK guys have released a couple of new dry suits. They have retained the zipped leg system within the range but have also introduced a pair of Dry Suits with a rear shoulder entry zip. This one being the Deluxe One Piece Drysuit.
The Crux drysuit by Idaho based NRS is a front entry drysuit meaning that using the zip is far easier to do by yourself compared to a zip positioned on the rear of a suit.
This review looks at the new Mens NRS Crux. Thankfully for the female paddling population NRS also have a womens version with a drop seat for comfort breaks.
Continue readingNatty Cordon takes a look at the new Kokatat Idol drysuit/drytop.
Is it really possible to kill two birds with one stone? Well Kokatat have finally achieved it! Thanks to their innovative waist entry system, the new Kokatat Idol drysuit can be split in half and used as a dry cag for the summer months!
Having faced some fairly intense scepticism, with even my closest friends believing that I would drown, I have gathered a few FAQs which I will now attempt to answer:
What’s the waist entry system all about?
In stark contrast to the traditional front or rear entry drysuits, the Kokatat Idol has a flexible plastic zip which runs around the waist, separating the trousers from the top.
Team Unsponsored used Bomber Gear equipment for a number of years until they became very difficult to get hold of in the UK. It’s great to see Bomber Gear launching a new line of what looks like a range of very interesting gear.
The Palguin Series is the most innovative line of dry wear in paddlesports history. Featuring Polartec Neoshell fabric, the Palguin series from Bomber Gear keeps you Dry 365.
The Palm Equipment Fuse jacket has had an upgrade for 2015. The jacket is constructed from a new light weight three layer fabric and the Glideskin neoprene neck gasket has also been improved. Gone are the harlequin colours of 2014 and in is a very smart Jet grey colour scheme with aqua detailing.
The Fuse jacket is a fairly light weight number and from the couch test has excellent freedom of movement.
The days are starting to get a little longer and the sun seems to be out that little more. It won’t be long until it’s time to be out on the water with a short sleeved cag. For many years I have been using an Immersion Research cag which is simply awesome but is now getting a little long in the tooth. Last summer I decided to get a Palm Equipment Zenith short sleeved top but was simply far too late. No dealer within the UK or Palm themselves had a top left in my size. Roll on just under a year and Palm have released the 2015 version of the Zenith.
Yak are the kayaking/canoeing side of the Crewsaver company. In the past Yak have catered for the middle to lower end of the market with some fantastic hardwearing kit for centre and club use. Although functional and hardwearing they didn’t have the same appeal as some of the more well known brands. Over the last few months I have been testing a few pieces of Yak gear including the Riwaka dry top, Chinook dry trousers and Hallertau PFD.
Some of the colours used will put some off, there is no denying that the GREEN of the dry tops and PFD takes a little bit of getting used to.
Yak Riwaka Dry Top
The Yak Riwaka in a very loud GREEN has arrived at Unsponsored HQ. Now this is the third bit of gear from Yak that has landed here the HQ in as many weeks and once again Yak have made a really good impression (I need to find out who is designing this stuff!) – here’s why.
I bought myself an IR (Immersion Research) Arch Rival drysuit for a trip to South America, and it got some pretty heavy use over the 6 months I was there as it’s not always as warm as it looks!
It’s had some long multi-days and endless hikes through forests full of spikes, been in strong sunlight pretty much the entire time and all the abuse you’d expect from a long paddling trip. I’d guess I used it around 3-4 times a week (as my cag had no neck seal) and the river water is usually really cold!
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