dry pants advice

hey guys, i m looking at buying my first pair of dry pants to keep me cosy this winter. i saw a pair of kotabat ones on i canoe with integrated socks for around 100 euros. does anyone has experiences with the brand or these pants.
regards
anthony

Hi Anthony,
Kokatat Dry suits have a very good reputation. Their gear can be pricey normally. I think there are a few people in the club who have their suits, cant think of any with the dry pants.

I take it its the Tempest dry pants your talking about. I prefer the Salopette style dry pants like the Palm Bib and the Peak Storm or Explorers. I find if you swim with the low waist type dry pant you are more likely to get wet than with the Salopette style. I got a set of the Peak Storm Pants myself last week.

Anthony,
I agree with Sean.
While Kokatat gear has a great name, I have found that dry pants always leave in water while swimming, and believe me, I've done lots of swimming.
I've had two pairs of Dry Pants, both crappy Hiko ones and right from the start, long before the waterproofing gave up, the water pissed in at the waist. This even happened on flat water trying out different ways of overlapping the waist seals on the pants and cag.

If you don't fancy splashing out on a dry suit or salopettes just yet, a "good" long john wetsuit, good quality neoprene river booties, and a good dry cag with thermal layers underneath are probably the best option for staying warm this winter.
If you want to stay dry you will need at the minimum salopetts (I've just ordered a pair of Peak Explorer Salopetts) and a good dry cag, or ideally a good quality dry suit.

thanks guys for the replies, it looks like i m going to have to spend a bit more than expected.
can you tell me michael where did you order your bib from ?
thanks
anthony

I have a kokatat dry suit which i cant fault i also have nookie dry pants and i find the leave very little water in and i have tested these ALOT

I'm using those pants at the moment I think.

http://www.i-canoe.com/Unisex+Water-wear/Drypants%25252FBibs/T3+Tempest+Dry+Pant.html

Is it these ones you are looking at?

They are pretty good except if I'm either swimming or playboating. I tend to come off the water pretty wet on my legs if I decide to go swimming, a bit wet just around the waist if I'm just playboating and then on rivers I either stay dry or get the around the waist of my thermals damp. But they work well if I can keep water below the waist but if it gets above that level the water does come in pretty fast. If you think you might swim more than once a session in the cold a wetsuit-dry cag combo would work better than these.

I haven't used salopettes so I can't comment on how effective they are. But they should keep out the water better.

anthonyD wrote:

thanks guys for the replies, it looks like i m going to have to spend a bit more than expected.
can you tell me michael where did you order your bib from ?
thanks
anthony

Bantry Bay Canoes. €285.