i bought a kayak top at #^&#^&#^&#^&S SPORTING GOODS at the end of the season for 25 bucks last year works great.

I fooled around with "dry tops" for years and always come back to Grundens or Helly Hanson products. They work and are cheap. A lite model for the summer and the heavier job for the spring and fall. And they last!

Bubba, you should be fine in waders and a top, I know where you fish, unless you trying to swim in it I cant see reason for a dry suit or wet suit, I would get the waders Tom got and a decent top and you should be all set, plus in the summer you can use just the waders and no top if you're not going deep, a dry suit is very single purposed imo

you should also know i've done much better there with out the restriction of waders. due to worrying about waves comin over the top of them i can lose anywhere between 25-100 yards depending on tide height and wave conditions. i do much better mid summer when i can shed the damn things and go out as far i as can with out losing my footing. which is pretty far. i also have my eyes on some other places where im not to sure if a set of waders would be above the water line. the price is right. worst case scenario, it doesn't work as planned. and i cut the gaskets and have a nice winter sports jump suit. (and i need a snow outfit badly)

too funny man, just get a wetsuit, half the price for a good one, and they are warm, just wet inside, I just picked up a NRS for $89 if you want to check it out sometime

Okay, let me try and clarify some of the confusion that seems to be taking place about dry and semi-dry first. A dry suit or top has seals that are self adjusting (Raptor Dry Top)- meaning the user does not necessarily have the option of opening or loosing the seal while in use. A semi-dry top (Phantom Semi-Dry Top) has the option of loosing or opening by way of numerous different methods, most commonly Velcro closures. The Phantom does in fact have a seal on the neck but it is not self adjusting and must be sealed by the user, for this reason it cannot be called a "Dry Top".

It is also not accurate that the use of neoprene as a sealing material makes a garment semi-dry. Please see above. Many dry suits, even today, use neoprene for this purpose (sealing). Some manufacturers do not use the rubber side (sealing side) at all and this does not help in sealing against the skin. This is more common in fishing and paddling apparel - not in diving since the seal dictates life or death. Ideally, one side of the neoprene should be laminated with material and the other side should be left to bare the rubber. This will seal against the skin. Another common practice is some manufactures make the neoprene cuffs or neck gasket too large (more common in fishing apparel) and this too will not seal. Just like the latex seals, neoprene has to be tight against the skin to perform as a seal (Hurricane Dry Top & EVOII Dry Top). Now, silicone latex gaskets have come a long way in the last 5 years and have been around for about 20-25 years overall. In the past they would not hold up very well and become brittle very quickly and fall apart. The technology today adds longevity to them and for this reason they are becoming more and more common in these types of garments. They are actually less expensive overall due to mass production with machinery, offer more flexibility, are thinner and are more appealing (look wise) than neoprene because they can be finished cleaner.

Irregardless of what top you might decide on, the above factors are important in defining what is a dry top or semi-dry top. Some other factors you should look into are whether or not the seems are taped for waterproofing and whether or not the material has any treatment for wicking water away on the outside (like Teflon coating). Our tops offer both these features.

As far as all the "bell & whistles" are concerned, there are features that one person may not need or use but another will. At Aquaskinz we build into the products all the features that we think will be of benefit to the user and there really are no bells and whistles built in for the sake of adding on to a product we offer if we see no benefit from it for the user.

GonnaCatchABig1: Based on what I read and your needs or concerns, the Phantom (or similar) would be the ideal jacket for you. It offers everything you would need and would provide waterproofing based on how much you wanted to seal the neck up.

A quick story:

Yesterday a very well know & respected guide here on Long Island came into the office and told me about his trip of the night before. He explained he had a customer that wanted to fish in the South Side of Montauk - very rough terrain - he said he took him there and the guy could not stand on the rock for more than 2-3 minutes at a time due to waves washing him off. He said he actually had to jump off his rock twice to help the guy get up on his feet because the waves kept rolling over him and he couldn't stand up. Once they were done, the guide said you must be soaking wet....the customer said I don't think so...when they got back to the car (3/4 mile walk), the customer took the jacket off and the guide said he couldn't believe that the customer only had a small wet spot on his chest and everything else was dry.....he was wearing the Phantom Semi-Dry top that was sealed tight around the neck. This is a true story told just yesterday.

I hope the above information is helpful in making your decision. If you need any other information feel free to call in or e-mail us, we will help you as best as we can.

Have a great fall fishing season everyone.

Kadir Akturk
aka: Rock Hopper
AquaSkinz

dry top
 

i use a grunden raincoat ,which works fine. it is a pullover and there is
a tight elastic neoprene type clinch around the wrists. this helps with any of the water getting in. it is very light. there also is a heavier jacket that is good for the fall. check them out and see if you like them.

Don't expect these "dry tops" to last much longer than a season of hard use. I have found they all leak. The fabric does not keep you dry forever. You need wash them off and spray them with a water repellent often for them to keep there dryness.Even then the seams leak and the inner membrane stops working for some reason.

But, they are comfortable when they work. But for the money, and longevity, get the grundens pullover top. That thing is rugged, will last for decades and has neck and sleeve cuffs and cost like 79 bucks. However it is not nearly as comfortable as the "breathable" tops but they are a hell of a lot dryer when a wave hits you in the chest IMO.

I bought a simms a couple of years ago for the same reason
(keeping the rollers out) It has worked great and is very durable.
The only thing I would change, would be to get one with a hood:1poke:

I agree and have had the same results. I like my Simms. However... no hoods for me. They are great when water is coming down at you. But, wheit is hitting you in the face a hood because a funnel that just directs water right where I don't want it. Not a big fan of the hood when I'm being hit by waves. Nope.

SIMMS
 

I received today a simms jacket however I still like my grundens 763

I've got both the Simms and Rampage for colder weather...while neither are true dry tops they're both dry enough in the conditions I fish which can be pretty wet. I think they're both great tops.

When it's warm I like to breath.

When it's cold you need to stay dry.

-spence

Comercial fisherman's splashtops are the most durible
I have been using one for over twenty years.

The new Aqua Skin dry top-- Bayman is very good for warm weather and long walks in waders.