Tinkerntom wrote:

Tom, I don't want you to think that I was being hard on you personally.
I just get a bit annoyed with people/companies like Bare that publish
erroneous information for self-serving reasons. It's particularly
harmful to people who are new to this game and may not possess the
knowledge to be able to separate fact from fiction. It raises
unnecessary concerns

Brian, I always appreciate your come back reply, since they are
informative, and represent your paddling expertise. I would clarify
that I am not opposed to the use of drysuits by properly prepared and
thoughtful paddlers. My main concern would be someone buying a drysuit
and heading out on a paddle trip thinking they have done all they need
to do to prepare because now they have the magic drysuit.

I have to say that I consider that a baseless concern, since it
essentially doesn't happen. Most paddlers have to be convinced to spend
the money for a dry suit, since for most, it's a substantial investment.
This is especially true of beginners, since a dry suit would cost
approximately as much as the rest of their initial gear combined. At a
minimum, it would increase their gear investment substantially.

Perhaps it's just the crowd I paddle with, but I have yet to meet anyone
who thought that a dry suit MADE them safe. Everyone I know regards a
dry suit as a necessary piece of safety gear and understands that
equipment is only a backup in case skill and judgment are not enough.

I would
personally hope someday to get a drysuit, but for the meantime I need
to know the limits of my wetsuit, and if it means not paddling, then I
don't belong on the water. It appears that Sparks made the same
decision back on the 11th. Does this deprive us of the paddling
experience? Maybe, but we will live to paddle again under more
favorable conditions, with out the memory of a bad experience for us,
or worse yet, our survivors.

Not only am I not questioning your decisions, I think you both made the
right ones considering your circumstances. Unlike many people, you two
are at least smart enough to understand that you're probably not ready
for the risks of cold water paddling. That mindset alone will go farther
toward keeping you safe than any piece of gear.

I also have no doubt that the Bare white sheet is a CYA . That there
are other manufactures and that there are difference in the various
types is understood. The fact that maybe they have not been sued yet,
may just be a matter of time in our litentious society. I work in a
field frought with liability issues, so maybe a little sensitive, but
remember, you got to CYA as well. TnT

Bare has every right to cover themselves. However, all they needed to do
was to state that they don't recommend or condone the use of their
products for sea kayaking. If they felt the need, they could have used
stronger language and simply said "Do not use our dry suits for
kayaking". They didn't need to pollute the air with all that other
nonsense disguised as legitimate safety concerns.

The truth is that dry suits work exceptionally well for paddling and
they offer a substantial increase in safety for cold water paddlers (sea
kayakers in particular) vs. the alternatives. I've seen this
demonstrated many times and have experienced it personally, so I feel
comfortable making that statement.