Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Sweet Intergalactic Drysuit – Review

I’m very fortunate to be in the position of getting hold of new kit well before it is released. This now includes the Intergalactic dry suit from Norwegian company Sweet Protection.

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Sweet Intergalactic Drysuit – Review

Sweet have been in the whitewater game for years but the Intergalactic marks their first and long awaited move into the dry suit arena. The Intergalactic is built from Gore-Tex Pro material and is backed onto a fabric that is both supple and tough. The Gore-Tex used is the 3 – layer Performance variety that is designed for extreme and extended use. I have a number of bits of kit, including a Sweet Shadrach made out of the same material and although it feels quite soft I know that it will take a beating and come back for more.

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Good quality latex gaskets provide water protection at the neck and wrists. To protect the latex the neck seal also has non-adjustable neoprene gaskets. and the wrists have hook and loop adjustable neoprene protection. I am not a big fan of such adjustment on the wrists as it can create quite a lot of bulk that I simply do not like. However I soon forgot about this feature, which must mean that the design is low profile enough to make it un-noticeable.

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The construction of the suit is superb. Looking at the inside of the Intergalactic you will find a very neat and solid finish to the fabric/latex joints all of which have been glued and taped. Both the neck and wrist seals feel pretty substantial. A pair of shaped fabric socks provides foot protection. On first looking at the suit prior to trying it on the socks looked far too small and I thought that I may have an issue trying the Intergalactic out. However I have found that they are great for my size 10 feet (UK) whilst wearing a pair of hiking socks. Paddlers with feet a little large or smaller than mine will also find that there is plenty of room in the socks without a huge mass of excess material that needs to be dealt with when you put your footwear on.

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Unlike many paddle sport dry suits the Intergalactic is a front zip entry dry suit. This means that the zip lies at the front of the suit and runs across the chest area. This means that the suit is really easy to put on and take off without the assistance of any one else to help with the zip. Sweet have chosen to use a TiZip which is a plastic zip rather than the brass zips that are often found on dry suits. I have a couple of suits that use TiZips and have found them to be incredibly well designed as they have a chunky feel that gives confidence, yet lay flat and are unrestrictive. But most importantly provide really good protection against water. The chest entry zip runs from underneath the right arm, across the chest and over the bicep area of the left arm. The zip is protected by a hook and loop fastened flap to give that little bit of additional protection.

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What is really nice is the fact that there is a pull tab at each end of the zip attached to the suit. This gives you something to pull against when opening or closing the zip. The zip sits high enough so that it doesn’t impact upon the effectiveness of the body tube for the spray skirt. The body tube is of a good size and allows the tube of the spray skirt to be fully protected. The hook and loop adjustable body tube is snug when done up to give a good seal against your deck, but opens up wide enough that the Intergalactic is super easy to get off. The relief zip is also a TiZip but this time does not get any additional protection. This seems to make sense as the inclusion of a sewn flap would create a greater need for stitching and taping. From a kayakers point of view the relief zip sits below the spray deck so will get protection from the deck in all situations other than during a swim.

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Sweet have included two pockets on the Intergalactic. One can be found on the left arm and the other on the left leg. Although not fully waterproof the seal provided by the brightly coloured orange zips do keep the majority of water out. Whenever I use pockets of this type for my keys etc I tend to use an Aloksak zip lock bag to make sure that water ever I do put in the pocket does stay dry. If I was storing item that didn’t have to stay dry fro example a set of ear plugs then this would not a be a concern.

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For the record I have a large Intergalactic. I’m 6ft 1″ and 210lbs and the suit fits really well without any excess/flapping fabric and without any feeling of restriction. In the past I have worn suits that have been a little short in the leg. This is not the case with the Intergalactic. The leg length is superb and allows me to seal the top of my boots off to help prevent grit and stones getting in and potentially damaging the fabric Gore-Tex socks.

All key areas that are prone to heavy impact and potential damage are made from a much heavier Cordura black ripstop material. These areas include the elbows, knees, thighs, ankles and seat.

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On the water the suit feels just like wearing a dry top. I was concerned that I would not like the front entry zip and although I did notice its presence, particularly over my left arm the zip does not feel restrictive at all and the suit performs really well. Range of movement is never compromised by the cut or design. It just feels right. The Intergalactic will be available in two colours the Gun Metal Blue shown here and a Scorch Orange. Various other bits of Sweet kit will also be available in the same colours including the Sweet Strutter white water helmet.

In the water the suit performed well. Whilst wearing the suit and moving around the bank the socks were pretty much in and out of the water. They work well. There was no sign of any leak or dampness. Whilst swimming I had the usual “blowing up” effect experienced with all suits but all remained watertight. No issues with the seams, gaskets, zip or the fabric itself.

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What is clear is the cut and fit of the Intergalactic is superb, it has to be one of the best suits that I have worn. For those paddlers looking for a top end fully featured high performance dry suit and thought they had made their final choice may well have to think again. The Intergalatic dry suit may be the most sort after piece of white water kit over the next year.

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Specification:

  • Diagonal zipper for easy self supported entry and exit
  • Super elastic Yamamoto neoprene, lycra on both sides
  • Thick latex bottleneck neck gasket inside
  • Engineered for unsurpassed freedom of movement in GORE-TEX® Pro
  • Neck tube drain
  • Articulated arms for unrestricted movement
  • Thick latex bottleneck wrist gaskets inside
  • Wrist cuff and gaskets with molded cuff grab made of unnapped velcro Yamamoto neoprene
  • All-new Hypalon Velcro waist adjustment for a tight and secure fit
  • Waist seal tube of unnapped Yamamoto neoprene with grippy rubber inside
  • Arm pocket with zipper access
  • Extra wide and secure TIZIP relief zippers
  • Seat area engineered for unsurpassed freedom of movement in waterproof Cordura® laminate
  • Handy thigh pocket ensures easy access even while seated, with drain mesh
  • Waterproof Cordura® laminate reinforcement in critical areas
  • ¾ length Yamamoto neoprene ankle cuffs ensures a snug fit from ankle to mid calf . Double layer shin protection area in neoprene.
  • Extra wide ankle cuffs with unmapped velcro flat-lock adjustment to give you the exact secure fit you need
  • Sealed GORE-TEX® Pro socks

6 Comments

  1. Alan

    What do you do with all this free stuff you get sent? You must have enough to open a shop! If you have any dry suits going spare you can throw one in my direction! 😉

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      Very little of what I review on the site is free. Most I buy or borrow for periods of time. Today was a sad day on two accounts 1. This drysuit was sent to its next tester. 2. It cost me £25 to send it on.

  2. Klim

    So why would someone buy a top-dollar drysuit from Sweet, Kokatat et al. when companies like DamX and Rubberman make them to order for half of the price or less? I myself have a DamX cag that I bought based on your recommendation and I’m so happy with it I’m planning to add a whole drysuit but I can’t imagine spending so much for what seems to be a breathable membrane (which there are good arguments against), front entry (is it that big a deal?) and cool styling (which is debatable, there’s a certain kind of no-muss no-fuss that I like about DamX 😉 …).

    Cheers!

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      That is a good question. Front entry isn’t a deal breaker for me but as it turns out is a damn fine idea. I can see how it makes sense to have that configuration.

      For me it’s about fit and function. I knew that that the Sweet suit fitted me well, I didn’t fully appreciate how well until I wore my Palm Spark last night. It too fits me well but just not as good as the Sweet. I also like the fact that the fabric isn’t stiff, protection in the form of Cordura is in all the right places etc.

      I haven’t tried DamXs new drysuits so can’t comment on the function but feedback on the net is always good and I believe you can have them made to measure which can’t be anything other than a good thing. They are also available with a breathable top half which also makes sense.

  3. Ricky

    Klim,
    I’ve been a whitewater kayaker for about 14 years now. My Kokatat drysuit is now about 9 years old. When the gaskets wear out , about every 3 years or so, I send it back to kokatat for new gaskets and leak repair. The cost is about $135.00 as I recall.
    My drysuit is still holding up fine, I expect that it’s good for at least another 5 years. Over the years a lot of people in my local paddling community ( Northern California) have purchased other brands of drysuits because of initial cost savings. None of the other brands last as long as Kokatat, talking to a lot of boaters it seems that most last from 2-4 years, with the last year or two the garment is leaking substantially but the owner just not yet ready to spend the money on a new one.
    For me as well as 90% of paddlers here in N. Cali Kokatat is more expensive and damned well worth it.

  4. James Ratchford

    Thanks for this review! I saw the suit on display at Gauley Fest in West Virginia and it seemed like the best suit in its price class, but there isn’t a lot of info out there on it. Sweet’s gear has yet to disappoint me, even though it does generally seem a bit more expensive than the American brands.

    There’s another comment in here about other suits not lasting as long as Kokatat… having compared the two products, I don’t see much difference in construction between the two. The kokatat rep I spoke to recently got very defensive about the Sweet product. It’s a credible threat. I don’t think anyone else is making a suit with the combination of comfort and durability features that this suit seems to offer; the top offerings from Confluence look at least as comfortable, but less durable. Kokatat is apparently planning to switch over to this new zipper style next year, but otherwise Sweet is using the same materials. Supposedly, Sweet and Kokatat are the only ones using Gore Tex.

    Anyway, thanks for this detailed review. I can’t wait for my new suit to come in!

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