dry suits for extended coastal and offshore passages in winter

I bought a Cosalt two piece floatation suit from the Crewsaver shop a couple of years ago (Cosalt is/was Crewsaver's parent company). The jacket and salopettes have 50N buoyancy each making a total of 100N before you add a life jacket.

They are not very bulky and replaced the old leaky waterproofs I used to have. They are very warm and even in quite cool conditions, I only need a T-shirt underneath. The down side is that in sunny weather, there is a danger that you can overheat without realising it but if it is sunny I don't normally need to wear waterproofs. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

They are well worth having and weren't any more expensive that a standard jacket and salopettes. With the addition of a lifejacket you have 250N buoyancy and the added benefit of additional heat insulation if you did happen to end up in the water.

Don't wear the salopettes on their own or your legs will float higher than your body! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Unfortunately, Cosalt don't seem to make this suit anymore.
 
Thanks for the info. I did wonder about floatation suits not being all that breathable for all day comfort but it sounds like it might be ideal for my needs.

Cheers
 
I've been thinking about buying one of these as I'm migrating to a day sailer. If a Musto costs £350 and a Crewsaver £250 then why is a Fladen £69.95? If buying for a whole family it certainly makes them a more affordable propositin but is there a down side, do they last as long? I guess any of them help you last a bit longer in the ultimate down side.
 
As stated above, I wear a Fladen suit at work when the weather is bad (£58 from Caley Fisheries) and have found it to be well up to the job. Probably it would rip more easily than Musto etc if snagged on something sharp, but it is reinforced in the right areas.
Possibly part of the reason for the price difference is that these suits are worn as work wear and not in any way as a fashion statement.
I know what I would like to have on if I went over the side or was abandoning ship.............
CJ
 
I like the Fladen suit but from what I can see from the adverts there's a big difference between that and a dry suit.

A dry suit will keep you completely dry in the water (I've regularly fallen in off my dinghy and never got a drop inside); a Fladen suit looks like it will only slow down the rate at which you get wet - it doesn't have a neck seal - in fact it's open at the neck, and there are seals at the feet rather than your feet being fully enclosed in latex boots.

One tip with wearing a dry suit - when you put it on you need to hold the neck open and squat down to vent the air, then when you stand up you're vacuum-packed! - less bulky and no trapped air.
 
I've just been and checked my Fladen suits - there are neoprene "seals" on the arms but no leg or neck seals, there is velcro on the legs to tighten them to reduce water input. The seals on the arms are a bit like a proper drysuit seal but are split and fastened by velcro. They would not stop water just slow it down.
They are sold as flotation suits rather than drysuits and would be much more comfortable to wear than either a sailing drysuit or diving drysuit (I have and use all three).
The reminer about making sure you empty the drysuit is a good one - I remember forgetting to do this and as soon as you sit down your top half blows up like the michelin man and you cannot move your arms /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
The fladen are about 3/4" thick and definitely keep you warm.
 
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