In rec.boats.paddle.touring Timo Noko wrote:
In article , Timo Noko wrote:
I thought this page of mine would the ultimate End-Of-Discussion,
but in vain.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/timo.noko/puku/INDEX.HTM

Read it again, and elaborate more. Sleeping in the suit, (because
of storm) and peeing while swimming are also interesting issues.

Very nice design! Makes me wonder what the Eskimos used: sealskins
with whale-blubber inner insulation?

I really do not want to get into this wet/dry-discussion, because I
just cannot afford the cost of maintaining myself as a Dry. But my
nylon overall and hands are full of bleeding scratches from
barnacles. How-in-the-hell one can maintain the integrity of a
drysuit, except sending it weekly back to the factory?

Brian Nystrom should disclose whether he earns the bulk of his money
as a drysuit repairperson. (Just kidding.)

A friend of mine once spent two nights, in Alaska, in the cold rain,
with only a self-bailing inflatable kayak (with holes) as shelter.*
He was happy to have been wearing a goretext drysuit.

* While concentrating on fishing, he got separated from his party.

My ultimate hobo dream has been a suit, which is comfortable to wear
all the time and which protects you from any kind of environment. You
wont need a tent or a home.

William Gibson has a novel about two agents in the Gobi desert
wearing just that kind of nanotechonological suit. My suit is
becoming close to that, it even has the important built-in-shower
feature, because you can flush the insides and your body with water
any time.

I was experiencing the drift-ice month on a deserted island near
Helsinki last spring and soon found out that it did not make any
sense to wear anything else at anytime. The sleeping bag was rated for
-10C and the wetsuit was most appropriate nightie, when the
temperature sometimes dropped far below.

You wont be getting Noko-style wetsuits from the shops any time soon,
because they just have to be custom cut. Matter-of-fact my suit
constitutes a *dry-suit*, the water cannot get in or out. Some water
is however more comfortable than swimming in your own sweat, probably
because the skin is sensitive to PH-values.

Bill Tuthill wrote:

In rec.boats.paddle.touring Timo Noko wrote:
In article , Timo Noko wrote:
I thought this page of mine would the ultimate End-Of-Discussion,
but in vain.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/timo.noko/puku/INDEX.HTM

Read it again, and elaborate more. Sleeping in the suit, (because
of storm) and peeing while swimming are also interesting issues.

Very nice design! Makes me wonder what the Eskimos used: sealskins
with whale-blubber inner insulation?

It depends on which Eskimos you're referring to. The most common solution
was a water proof jacket sealed to the kayak at the coaming (a "tuiliq" in
Greenland). They were made from sealskin (Greenland) or walrus intestines
(waterproof and somewhat breathable!). Greenlanders also had sealskin dry
suits, though they weren't used in kayaks, but rather in whale hunting
Umiaks. The dry suited hunter would actually jump onto the back of
harpooned whales with a spear to finish them off. It makes what we do seem
rather tame by comparison.

I really do not want to get into this wet/dry-discussion, because I
just cannot afford the cost of maintaining myself as a Dry. But my
nylon overall and hands are full of bleeding scratches from
barnacles. How-in-the-hell one can maintain the integrity of a
drysuit, except sending it weekly back to the factory?

Brian Nystrom should disclose whether he earns the bulk of his money
as a drysuit repairperson. (Just kidding.)

Uh...no. ;-)

A friend of mine once spent two nights, in Alaska, in the cold rain,
with only a self-bailing inflatable kayak (with holes) as shelter.*
He was happy to have been wearing a goretext drysuit.

* While concentrating on fishing, he got separated from his party.

I don't consider Gore-Tex dry suits to be a panacea, but they are one of
the most versatile paddling garments available. I do consider mine to be
one of the best equipment investments I've made.

--
Regards

Brian