dry tops.. dunno what to do..
 

so let's say IN THEORY, i was planning on getting some new breathables and a dry top. in theory. the waders i can figure out. since i've destroyed a pair already, thus knowing which areas and feature to look out for this time around. but dry tops have me a bit confused, since i've never had one.
what should be lookin for? non of them are exactly cheap. but what type of bells and whistles justify the prices? (other than the obvious keeping you dry) what are the specific MUST HAVE features. as well the can make do with out features.
also is there any difference between the terms "dry top" and "wading jacket" or "slash top"?
kind of confused.
take two aquaskinz products for instance. the new raptor dry top... it looks and sounds like you could go scuba diving in the thing and not get wet. where as the nor easter looks and sounds more like a jacket that just happens to do a good job at keeping water out.

are these more water resistant than water proof? or do they seal up tighter than a (insert yer own ending)?

just wondering if the benefits are worth the hefty price tags. cause i did fairly well keeping warm in doubled up sweat shirts tucked into my waders last fall. didn't stay very dry. but stayed warm just the same.

Just get a $15.00 rain coat Chris.....its what I have been using for years!

yeah thats my view on it too. unless these things seal up tight and i can take some waves and not get drenched. but if they are just glorified rain jackets i'm all set.

They are definitely not glorified raincoats. They are dry tops! I am just saying I saved a bundle and went with a raincoat! Some guys like to have a cadillac......I like the chevy!:kewl:

i'll take a dodge or chevy any day. just as long as it has 450+ hp a shiny new coat of paint and purrs like a lion.

still need to figure out exactly what all these fancy things they talk about actually do. (like triple lined this, double sealed that. etc.) cause im having trouble figuring out what actually will keep me bone dry in the waves and what will just keep me reasonably dry.

I stayed in Holiday Inn Express last night

:hidin:

I think buying a "dry-top" is way overrated. Getting a bit of water up a sleeve has never bothered me.
I rather do that then try to squeeze my gigantic head through the head gasket and THEN be miserable all night because the thing is choking me.
You worry about rough water ? Wear a wetsuit.

I think the best way to approach of what kind of fishing do you do and what kind of clothes you like to wear.
Give me a double sweatshirt and an open neck jacket any day instead of heavy neoprene jacket and gasket that makes me look like a seal.That's me. You might like short sleeves in November in which case you might want a thicker jacket. Word of warning on "breathables" and dry-top's..... the better they seal ,the more I sweat. Consequently,the wetter I am when I get out of it
what was the point of a dry-top again?:huh::tooth:

:rolleyes::tooth:

ok ok ok... beyond all the fancy stuff.. i'll just go with my gut instinct on whats necessary and whats just there to woo people into buying.

my basic over all question (after collecting my original thoughts and reprocessing them into coherency).. and the only thing that really matters.

what does it take to fill these things up? or do they get filled up?

i plan on spending most the time in it (if i get one) above the waist seal. i'm always pushin it to the edge of the waders. and if a wave thats a little to big comes rollin on in at about shoulder height, i would like to not get drenched. do things tend to ballon up and lose the integrity of the waist seal? i've just had no experience with them at all. so i am trying to figure out the limitations. especially since i'd have breathables and not worry free neoprenes. my main concern is keeping water out of the waders should waves arise really. i dont plan on being ridiculous and being out past a reasonable height on the waders. but it only takes one wave to get them nice and sloshy inside. (a belt cant keep all the water out of the feet.)

GonnaCatchaBigOne -

Just like you, a few sweatshirts and a nice raincoat for the fall. Works for me.

Ice

I at times use a my kayaking drytop when I'm out on the rocks. To be honest, I have yet once been in the position where I think it has kept me from being submerged. I do like being able to dunk my arms and not worry about being soaked. But 95% of the time a good waterproof shell might do you as well.

NRS Kayak Top. Try one on at EMS or somewhere that carries them. A little more than a raincoat but much cheaper than a skinz.

does that actually keep the water out? cause i managed to get wet alot last year. and the problem with that is it generates alot of laundry. and im a laundromat guy with a small wardrobe. i try to keep it to one fishing outfit per week. sea soaked sweat shirts are fine... till the next time you hafta wear them. so im thinking i should probably get one.

soo to zenos comment about thickness. do they generally share the same characteristics of waders? (i dont have a car so i cant go shopping and touching at will. i hate internet shopping...) i've seen some that look like they are all neoprene. i'm pretty sure i saw a gortex one.
what other materials are there and what are their characteristics?

id want something really light. basically a water proof windbreaker. that i could use "comfortably" in spring and bad summer weather. but also bundle up under it on the cold fall nights .

some of the nicer ones look like winter coats. but the lighter ones dont look very water proof.

Ive,d been using a rain jacket for yrs. and no problem. i have the stearns breathable with velcro cuffs and like it very much. stumbled a few times and still was dry.

what kind of rain jackets are you guys talking about? the rubber/pvc type stuff ones? cause every rain jacket i have ever had would soak through after being in the rain for an hour. let alone under water.

I been wearing same Helly Hanson top for years,Its nothing fancy ,just a rubber rain jacket. I also use Aquaskinz on occasion.
So I am not one of those people that have to have a top for every condition and in every color. HH top cost me probably $70 at local tackle store and served me for years. I have no desire to buy another top...........until I've seen new Lamiglas top over the weekend. Call me silly but sometimes I just lose my head. Its everything I wanted in a top. Light, breathable, waterproof, no latex cuffs to kill my wrists and the best part ,a separable neck neoprene cuff to unzip when i am hot. Granted ,I only put it on in the store but I am buying a darn thing. I am not an impulse guy but that I had to have. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was a big logo on the sleeve. Something I can live with.

ya gotta think of the time of year it is those top keep you some what dry they also don't let any air in there for you sweat I bought a good HD Grunden top for 140.00 collar opened only wear it in early spring and the fall or when its raining it's the hood that make a difference for me .


my.02

I also wear the Helly Hanson Raincoat - its like $25 and works fine, I use it with a grundens bib when on boats and as a rainjacket in the surf. I did however buy a drytop on whim for the kayak from Sierra trading post, the Simms one and I don't have any complaints.

glad to hear that
sometimes i feel "underdressed" :jump:

ok so afer now having looked at probably 50 or 60 tops. i think im seeing a pattern.

when it comes to "dry" top vs. "splash" top - appears that while the dry is fully water proof. the splash can soak through after prolonged periods of time in water.

and

dry vs. semi dry - it appears to be they are almost the same thing. except there are no tight cuffs to form seams on the semi drys.

are those two observations correct? or am i still missing something?



as far as the rain jackets go. i reallly want to hop on board that train. but i cant see any way they would protect me from a wave. a crashing wave while in waste high. i can see. but im usually with in 6inches of being chest deep. and do take rollers over my waders. (its about a 50 yrd distance difference. from waste high to chest high which i would love to not have to give up.)basically i would like to be able to switch to chest high breathables and use the top as way to keep waves out of the waders. which i am now under the impression is possible with a dry top and all the seals they have. (at first i didnt under stand how the waist seals were set up, but the NRS site explained them better than any other site. thanks tynan)

can any one deny that a full dry top they will keep the rollers out? cause if so it negates the whole point and i can go the rain jacket route and lose the 50 yrds.

check out the LL Bean emerger wading jacket. Its 75 bucks and is an awesome jacket.. i even wear it when I am not fishing :hihi:

I have 3 set-ups. For days on the breachway when the waves are blowing spray everywhere - Grundens fowl weather gear, knee high rubber boots that commercial dragger hands wear and Korkers. Simms dry top ( I paid $100 for it almost new) and breathable waders. I also have a Helly Hansen breathable semi dry top that I bought new for $35 (because it's pink and no-one else had the balls to wear it). Not a issue for me. It's a bit lighter than the Simms and it was cheap. I don't own or ever wear anything with a hood.

how effective is the dry top at keeping water out if submerged for any period of time? is basically what im trying to decipher here. (not completely submerged but half of its got be spending time in the water right?)

in that case go dry top or consider wet suit.

ok so they do work like that! thank you. i thought that but then thought perhaps the allowed water in after extended amounts of time. acting more like a a heavy duty rain coat. but if not cool.

now i will go back to my original headache. trying to figure out which bells and whistles are all flash. and which have actually applications. and trying to find one thats light and roomy. they are so much money, i will hate myself if i skimp out on an option figuring.. i wont need that. only to realize later that i do. i think i will just focus on the snuggest waist seam. as it seems to be the most suspect area of water entry.

thanks guys. i better sleep before i drive my self(and you all) batty tonight. too late..:rollem:

z, what's the name of the new aquaskinz top you ended up getting?

I usually stand waist deep. I wear a wader belt over the drytop if I'm going in that deep. The waders are another 18 inches up inside so no water gets in them at all. Where the Simms does fail a bit id around the neck and wrists. The gaskets on me are snug but not uncomfortably tight. So it's more comfortable but when water is all around a small amount goes down my arms or neck. I can live with it. I have had waves break over head and staked 98% dry... but that a wave or two... consistently under water... not sure I'd be that dry. But I am too old to fish that way...

To me a "dry" top is going to have latex gaskets at the neck and wrists. Effectively waterproof. Same style gaskets a survival suit would have, no water will pass (assuming they are tight enough), even underwater.

A "splash" top will have neoprene gaskets at the wrists and neck, and can and will allow seepage in regards to water getting by but will fend off most of a wave. Definitely not waterproof, but far more water resistant then just a jacket.

Drytops are dry, but they are a wrestling match to get in and out of and if the gaskets are to work properly they need to be tight around the wrists and neck. Too much work for me and uncomfortable for some, I just assume get wet. But if you go this route, you will be dry.

Assuming the manufacturer is describing them properly, they'll function as I listed above.

see pete's note above.

I use a kayaking dry top I got a couple years ago-latex(rubber) gaskets around the wrists and neck, a gasket around the waist and an additional velcro strap that kind of acts like a belt to tighten it around my waist (I still use an additional belt) It is breathable (though hot on warm nights) and keeps me dry. Black with some reflective piping at the seams. No great big logo either.

One big chest pocket (wet) and one smaller arm pocket (also wet) No Hood though.

$100 at an online discounter.

well since i dont plan ever being submerged past my neck i dont think i'd need the full latex. plus im sure that would drive me nuts. i think i will go with the neoprene . i can deal with seepage just so long as i dont come out with a gallon of water sloshing around in my waders after a wave comes that if not for the dry top would have filled them.

are there any major differences between the kayaking tops and ones geared towards wading? (other than pocket and the like) or are they same thing in a different package? cause there are some really nice lookin kayak tops. and they seem to be about $100 cheaper in most cases.

actually i just found the "dry suits" which seem more promising for what i'd want. but probably would be a tad bit uncomfortable in the summer, when i just want waders.

how ever just when i think i have found the solution. a water proof suit that wont make me look like a beached seal. i see waaaaay down the bottom that there's drainage mesh. that's not very dry if you hafta drain them. but for roughly the same prices as decent waders and a top or a wetsuit. it seems like a feasible solution. anyone know of any that are basically a full suit of waders?

(some have relief zipper which could be VERY handy.)

The material on my Simms is a heavier grade and I think that the fishing dry tops are heavier because they are likely (hopefully) to have live fish, blood and slime, occasional plugs with hooks and barnacles on rocks rubbing against them. The HH I have which I think was actually intended as a sailing splash top is lighter weight material because the abrasion and abuse would normally be less in sailing and Kayaking. I would advise trying on the ones with gaskets to see how the gaskets feel. They have to be tight to seal completely. I know I have sacrificed a bit of seal for comfort. But I don't often get dunked and that works for me. I just am looking to stay dry enough to be warm and not have to leave the rocks to get a dry change of clothes.

thank you. i'm getting a much better idea of their practicality. and i think i have finally found the solution.

Stearns Rapid Rescue Extreme Dry Suit. i'm just trying to figure out its 100% dry like waders. if so it's mine. cause it's only about $400 which is actually cheaper then a top and waders. and fully breathable. even has an air purge valve. seems like a great solution. as long as it keeps me dry. its got latex seems with neoprene over them. so i could cut down the gaskets to a more comfortable fit. while having the protection of two seals.

# Waterproof/breathable fabric
# Internal suspeners provide optimum fit
# Latex waterproof seals around neck, and wrist
# Relief zipper
# Built-in waterproof sock
# Built-in air purge valve
# Relief tape around wrists for added visbility
# Neoprene seal protector around wrist and neck
# Cordura knees and elbows for durability

sounds like a big suit of waders right?

yup i'm gonna try that out.. if it doesnt work.. i'll just pawn it off some where. they also make some really nice boots for cheap. all i'd need is korkers and i'd be all set. and if it works i can just a get chit pair of summer time waders.

Try wearing it before you buy it... looks like a bit overkill from the website. Might be heavy... good luck.

fishing "dry" tops (AS, simms, etc.) have very little practicle purpose IMO. they work somewhere between that "i want to stay dry" and "i want to get wet" type of wading. to me, if i'm going deep, i'm wearing a wetsuit and not worrying about it. if not, i'm wearing waders and a pullover jacket like a grunden's or this kokatat that I found for like $50 and love.

the only application that I still like a dry top, is the AS hurricane when its very cold old, like BI in early November, where getting wet will literally ruin your night.

but ya gotta admit.. it's sexy as hell.there sizing past 2xl is a bit off though. appearently fat guys cant wear them. if you weigh 230 you better be almost 7 ft tall. lol.

if its a bit heavy thats fine. i just wont hafta bundle up under it in the fall. last year was the first time i fished past august. and with waders. i couldnt have been more miserable (past the start of october) if i got wet. it even snowed a few times late at night. it was pretty awkward catching the last fish in flurries) and if it was raining..even more miserable. i dont have a decent jacket. so this thing could like 3 birds with one stone. for less money. its obviously not very practical for warm weather. but could come in hand in early spring in the colder water temps. i had to thrown on long johns under the waders until about mid june anyway. so that wasnt very comfortable out of the water either.

Careful Josh, the Simms is a splash top on account of neoprene gaskets. So is the Hurricane. Sorry, the naming conventions for 'tops is pet peeve of mine. :hee: They are sometimes used interchangably and I think it causes confusion.

I feel it sets expectations too high when jackets with neoprene cuffs are called in any way dry since they are not waterproof like latex.

And on the opposite end when you have a true drytop with latex gaskets people who have had a splashtop think they operate the same as that, with water seeping by, and they definitely don't.

My favorite Aquaskinz top these days is the Phantom due to the simple logic of waterproof wrists with latex gaskets and an easy to use neck with no gasket. "Semi-dry top" is what he calls it and that's exactly what it is. 100% waterproof at the wrists and water resistant but comfortable at the neck. It's replaced my Grundens Windjammer for the cold weather November fishing.

Other then that, I completely agree. Going deep, get a wetsuit. And then put a top over it if it's cold.

this is EXACTLY the problem i was/am having. factored in with other things they call "waterproof". i have no idea what is and isnt. right now i am giving them the benefit of a doubt and assuming if it meant to be in water and called water proof. (fabric wise) it keeps 100% of the water out. but i've had things in life called waterproof before in which the definition just meant water wont wreck it. i dont know what to believe any more.. :rolleyes:

but that begs the question.. if only the latex seals are water tight, then arnt the bottom seals leaky? since i have yet to see one with a latex bottom. (though i suppose it wouldnt do well on fabric any way)

[QUOTE=Zeno;613658]I think buying a "dry-top" is way overrated. Getting a bit of water up a sleeve has never bothered me.
I rather do that then try to squeeze my gigantic head through the head gasket and THEN be miserable all night because the thing is choking me.]

I have that problem too. Does that mean I have a huge head?????

I love my Simms.....

But, my first choice would be the wetsuit

IMO if you wade waist deep with waves crashing on you it is worth it to spend the money on a quality dry top. When I first started fishing I used a Grundens jacket and the water would go right up my sleeves. Not that bad in the summer when the water is warmer but it really sucks in the fall when the water is colder. I have the EVO2 from Aquaskinz that I have been happy with. The sleeves and neck are designed to keep water out. Definetly try one on before you decide to buy because you need the perfect fit for it to work properly. Too tight and you will be uncomfortable and too loose water will get in.