Upside: The low, low price for high, high quality.
Downside: Neoprene waist may be a bit snug for rounder paddlers.
Rating: ^^^^^ (5 out of 5 peaks)
Ideal User: The average dirt-bag kayaker (this means you) looking for an affordable, heavy-duty dry suit to stay warm and dry in the chilly months.

So you're finally ready to buy a drysuit. After years of soul-wrenching torment, you've reconciled yourself to the fact that paddling isn't really about getting wet. It's about staying dry, no matter what your friends say.

Don't worry. They're just miffed they couldn't scrounge the cash together to buy this ultimate piece of paddler's plushness. (Smirking toward them at the put-in won't help, though.) But maybe now, they can afford one too.

In the Stikine, newcomer Palm offers a burly drysuit for the as-yet uncovered kayaking masses, a piece of body-armor that's tough enough for the nastiest patch of manzanita, yet cheap enough for the, well, cheapest dirt-bag kayaker.

At a suggested retail price of $650, this 4-ply, breathable, expedition-weight drysuit comes with a standard relief zipper, and for $100 more, breathable feet, leaving everything comparable all wet. For instance, the 3-ply Kokatat Meridian Gore-Tex drysuit outfitted with relief zipper and socks sells for a suggested retail price of $910. For the price, and head-to-head, the Palm can't be beat.

I put my Stikine through the trials of a particularly sick play session last week, and it passed with flying colors. Now, I know what you're thinking. Play boating? How is that a good test of the bomberness of this suit? Well, for me, there are few times kayaking when I get as wet as play boating. Think about it: how often are you upside down on your friendly, neighborhood Class V compared to the myriad rolls you pull off at your favorite play spot? In my book, it's the acrobatics of play boating that push gear to its limits.

"How is play boating a good test of a drysuit? How often are you upsidedown on your friendly, neighborhood Class V?"

On the Chamberlain Falls section of the North Fork of the American, I had plenty of chances to see how dry this drysuit really is. I found it did its job remarkably well, even when I didn't.

One of the nicest things you encounter about this suit, right off the bat, is getting into it. Palm has installed a rear-entry, industrial-strength, metal zipper across the upper back of the suit, which allows you avoid the contortions—and near shoulder dislocations— that come with front-entry suits. You simply climb in feet first, sort of like your favorite, latex-sealed sleeping bag, and then pull it over your head.

Getting the zipper closed by myself was a cinch. I did need help from a buddy to get the zipper open at the end of the day, but hey, you're not supposed to be paddling alone anyway, right? (If you are alone, attaching a short piece of cord to the rubber grab loop will get the job done, too, but detach it while paddling.)

Having the beefy zipper right across the back of your shoulders feels a bit odd at first, but I soon got used to it. This design also has huge advantages for kayakers over front-entry dry suits, whose across-the-chest zippers like to pinch and squirm and otherwise hinder torso movement.