I was one of those people who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming the whole way before I bought a drysuit. Because I was cheap and living in denial, I opted for a suit without a hood. Everything seemed okay until this fall when I decided to paddle into winter. By mid November, I knew I had not made the best possible choice. I was going to require a warmer neck and hood arrangement if I was to be successful in my quest to paddle 100 days before the year's end.
I started looking around for hooded paddling jackets. I finally decided on the jacket seen here, a Palm designed Aleutian Ocean EXP. What I liked about this jacket was its waterproof cuffs, yet adjustable neck closure. Given I planned to wear it over my drysuit, it didn't have to have a fully dry neck seal. It will serve me well during the times I want a weather tight paddling jacket, yet don't require a full drysuit.
Thanks to this jacket, I have been paddling in some fairly nasty weather, yet have stayed warm and dry, head to toes. I purchased it through Scott Canoe, the Canadian supplier of Palm gear. I found their service and pricing to be excellent should anyone be interested in their equipment at any time.
95/100 Temp:-1°C; cloudy; winds moderate
4 comments:
Oooh, I've had my eye on that - keep us posted on likeability factor. you didn't consider Reed's Aquatherm Touring Cag?
Kristen - I did actually. I have a Reed Stealth jacket with spray deck which has a hood. I like it a lot, but it's open at the waist underneath. This Palm jacket allows me to wear some dry pants I have and get a fairly good seal at the waist when I don't wear my full drysuit. The other factor was this jacket was readily available and they were willing to dicker over the price on the phone. I had it a couple days after seeing it online. Reed takes at least 2 weeks to deliver to me...
You sound like my dad, Michael; is that your best price? Even to the woman in the chemist ;)
Kristen, what do you need with that thing down south?
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