event NRS Drusuit?
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Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6616
Printed Date: 21 Jun 2025 at 9:01am
Topic: event NRS Drusuit?
Posted By: slickhorn
Subject: event NRS Drusuit?
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 12:52pm
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I see NRS is now offering an eVent drysuit. Anyone used it? Comments? How does this stack up to Kokatat's goretex suits? |
Replies:
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 3:10pm
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This is a question for the Fabric Fanatic!
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Posted By: slickhorn
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 3:12pm
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That's who I'm tryin' to suss out. tradguy -- help!! --B ------------- |
Posted By: tradguy2
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 3:45pm
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I'm here for you B.
I can tell you that eVent is much more breathable and just as waterproof as Goretex.
What I can't tell you is how durable the NRS Drysuit is since that depends on the quality of construction and the durabilty of the face fabric that the laminate (eVent) is bonded to. Odds are that if you are happy with older NRS stuff you will be happy with this.
Finally, IMHO beathability, while nice, has only a short term value for whitewater kayakers. The primary reason is that once the DWR wears out and the face fabric wets out (i.e. the water soaks in rather than beading up) breathability drops significantly regardless of the laminate because that layer of water is now the limiting factor. Because whitewater kayaking tends to break down DWR treatments after only a few times out the breathability of the laminate is only important for the first few uses. Washing and drying most garments helps restore DWR treatments but the latex gaskets on drysuits preclude this.
Basically, if you trust the quality of NRS products and the price is good go ahead and get the drysuit. ------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Posted By: slickhorn
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 4:27pm
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Thanks Tom! That's very helpful. Backs up a bit of what I've felt about switching from my old nylon to goretex drysuit. It is nice, but not sure it's 2x the price nice. I hear REI is moving to eVent fabric. Is that more because you find eVent superior, or a licensing issue? Ha! Bet that's tough to answer in public, but I thought I'd try to ask anyway. ------------- |
Posted By: Will
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 7:52pm
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From someone who hates to admit that I have spent more than my fair share of time in outdoor retail......
eVent should be more breathable than Gore. Durability will depend on whatever outerlayer they laminate to the eVent. The waterproof layer itself should be similar in terms of durability. Historically, NRS has done pretty well with the durability of their drysuits. Also, their warranty program is solid. I think it will probably not be quite as nice as a Kokatat but still a worthy option. Is it cheaper?
The best thing about Gore-tex is that it is warrantied by both the product manufacturer and Gore. So if your suit fails and Kokatat won't fix it. Gore guarantees it for life so you can send it back to them. Most likely eVent won't have that type of warranty.
I still think the eVent is worth a shot. Way before Stohli, Palm and IR.
------------- What could possibly go wrong? |
Posted By: tradguy2
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2008 at 10:14pm
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Bryan, REI is making the move to eVent because it is better than Goretex. The other guys in the lab and I have been pushing for it for years but it took a while for 2 reasons:
1. eVent is more expensive and it is tough to justify the price to the consumers who, for the most part have not heard of eVent.
2. Gortex has been strongly discouraging companies from using eVent. I don't think I should elaborate on this part ![]("http://professorpaddle.com/forum/smileys/smiley2.gif") .------------- ... preparing for a river beating! |
Posted By: slickhorn
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2008 at 10:44am
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I understand some of DuPont's licensing threats ... Nice to hear that you have such a high opinion of eVent. I'll look forward to trying out one of these new suits. Thanks Tom! --B ------------- |