Dry / semi-dry / touring cag

[BristolLes]

As its getting a bit nippy for my shortie wet suit I'm looking to get some more appropriate gear

 

I realise that the drysuit is the favoured option but due to I'll not be fishing during coldest sea times (also the price ) I'm looking at cags

 

My question is - how dry is a semi-dry cag compared to a touring cag , or a semi-dry to a dry ?

 

i.e. for survival purposes is the dry best or is there no real difference ?

 

I'm a little confused so any help appreciated !

[YakDiver]

how dry is a semi-dry cag compared to a touring cag , or a semi-dry to a dry ?

 

etfor survival purposes is the dry best or is there no real difference ?

I have a touring cag the wrist cuffs are watertight, but the neck is not 100%

A dry cag is 100% waterproof

survival purposes :- it all depends how long your in the water for i.e say you fell out and got back straight away semi dry should be OK, but what if you couldn't body temp goes down very quickly, always dress as if your going in the water.

What are you going to wear on the bottom half legs get very cold as well ?

[BristolLes]

Thanks for info YakDiver - I'm thinking of pairing a touring cag with semi- dry trousers (Palm Cobra or similar )

 

Is the leaky neckseal a fault or just the something inherent with most touring cags ? (Which one do you use ? & do you recommend it ?! ) Thanks

Edited October 18, 2007 by BristolLes

[YakDiver]

Is the leaky neckseal a fault or just the something inherent with most touring cags ? (Which one do you use ? & do you recommend it ?! ) Thanks

I use a Palm Cobra (bought in 1995) cag the neck seal is baggie and closes with velcro, I had a thing about tight things around my neck at the time I bought it, but now I don't mind.

If you can try before you buy

hope this helps

YD

Edited October 19, 2007 by YakDiver

[Hake]

Les,

 

A dry cag will almost certainly have latex wrist and neck seals. These will prevent water entering the cag via wrists and neck. A semi-dry cag should have latex wrists and a "baggy" neck as YakDiver says, which you can close farily tight with the velcro seal. This won't be watertight in the same way as a latex seal, but is much more comfortable.

 

A semi-dry cag is what I went for....didn't like the latex neck seal. I have yet to put it to the test properly, but I would expect that in the event of a dunking the time that your head/neck is under water will be very brief (assuming you're wearing a PFD of course), so a closed up neck seal on a semi-dry cag should allow virtually no water ingress..at least not enough to cause a issue.

 

The one I've got is a Yak ????.....can't remember the name, but it's breathable, well made and I like it (was also a bargain at last year's Outdoors show )

 

Of course no cag, whether dry or semi-dry, will keep water out around your waist unless paired with matching dry trousers.

 

Palm Cobra pants are good (stepson has some), but they won't keep the water out if you go for a swim. If you're going to fish through the winter I'd recommend that you go for a full drysuit or 2 piece dry outfit (I've got the Palm sidewinder bib and brace matched to the Yak Cag, and it works very well as a virtual 2 piece dry suit).

 

Hope this helps.

[BristolLes]

Thanks Hake/YakDiver for the replies and for clarifying this issue.

 

I think its time to go shopping !