New England (CT) Water... What do you wear?

[FooserPaul]

Hello ALL!

I've got my new PI machine... Bill @ ProScoops is making me a new scoop... I plan on getting into the water soon...

Do I order waders, a wet suit, a dry suit ??

Yeah yeah I know I'm noob sauce! Its not a 20$ decision so I want to move in the right direction :-)

Thank you for any input !

Paul

 

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[Sandman]

Hello Paul,
A dry suit is the warmest but I could never get used to the tight neck closure and I used it for diving too. It is a pain to pay for and a two piece wet suit with farmer john pants and a jacket is more versitable for various weather conditions. You can wear the jacket only during the summer in the water and still be able to pee. Don't forget the footwear too.

Waders are much cheaper and dangerous to wear in the surf.

 

[artyfacts]

I wear a tee shirt and shorts, 5mm waders, 5mm jacket, and 5 mm dive gloves, and belt. This is how I hunt right through the winter. The most important if going in the water is a heavy duty work belt that you cinch around your midsection outside of the jacket keeping the waves from jumping up under your 5mm neoprene jacket and depositing itself in your waders where the sun don't shine. Waist deep is a dangerous proposition and you will not find me there, knee deep to hip deep facing the oncoming waves. About every sixth to tenth wave will be a little bit bigger so heads up. Another hazard along the shore line in the water is deeper holes (over my head). I use a five foot section of a old surf rod to feel my way along and it also gives me support. I loose from 1 to 3 pounds after a 4 hour outing. You have to wash your jacket, waders, and gloves inside and out to avoid fungus and smelly neoprene. I know the winters and waters there, hunt with a friend if water hunting. Arty

 

[erikk]

Go with a good name farmer john 7 mil wet suit, 5 mil dive socks & gloves & you are set for winter. When I lived in Mass and hunted & dove in winter I had a 1/4 inch neoprene wet suit 2 piece, pants & jacket With a beaver tail
Remember them Sandman!

 

[Frank in NH]

I use a 7MM one piece wet suit with attached hood.

 

[captain ack1]

dress warm...get some waders[easy on and easy off] and follow the low tide ...go out knee deep and no more...if you go in the dark follow aryfacts suggestion in my post of hunting in the dark...hh

 

[Sandman]

Go with a good name farmer john 7 mil wet suit, 5 mil dive socks & gloves & you are set for winter. When I lived in Mass and hunted & dove in winter I had a 1/4 inch neoprene wet suit 2 piece, pants & jacket With a beaver tail
Remember them Sandman!

I wish they still made the beaver tail jacket as I thought it was more versatile. I wore mine till it fell off me.

 

[OBN]

{If your getting a wetsuit} Henderson Hyperstretch but I would try and go Drysuit, I'm some what near you and the water temps are near the same. And seems like the hunting season here is just not long enough, And if your working like me my time line for hunting is very narrow, so to extend the season way beyond a wetsuits abilitys, nothing better then getting out of the water on a cool windy day, and being dry. If the weather is not to bad I can hunt till December {Low 40's AT mid 40's WT} and be back in the water come early April...Give it a shot, your temps are around 40 at night, take a shower and go for a short walk with your swim trunks on....Dry is the only way to go. If your worried about the neck go adjustable, with front entry, pee zipper and a good pair of Neoprene Gloves...good Luck ..joe

 

[erikk]

{If your getting a wetsuit} Henderson Hyperstretch but I would try and go Drysuit, I'm some what near you and the water temps are near the same. And seems like the hunting season here is just not long enough, And if your working like me my time line for hunting is very narrow, so to extend the season way beyond a wetsuits abilitys, nothing better then getting out of the water on a cool windy day, and being dry. If the weather is not to bad I can hunt till December {Low 40's AT mid 40's WT} and be back in the water come early April...Give it a shot, your temps are around 40 at night, take a shower and go for a short walk with your swim trunks on....Dry is the only way to go. If your worried about the neck go adjustable, with front entry, pee zipper and a good pair of Neoprene Gloves...good Luck ..joe
[/quot
Maybe the water is colder on MD than MA but I did quite nicely with the above mentioned wet suit & I managed to hunt all winter. Been in fresh water with skim ice & was plenty warm and like Sandman says & I concur, pretty hard to pee in a dry suit even with an adjustable neck. If U can do that how about a video

 

[OBN]

I buy the Very Best my friend.......I hunt many places not just MD, and when the water is in the 40's I take no chances. It's very easy to stay in to long, and a few places I hunt I have to walk a few miles to get back to my car. So, it's not just in the water that one needs the protection................joe

 

[erikk]

So do I but 40's is a literal heat wave! I hunt/have hunted Lake Ontario NY to Keys, Atlantic and Pacific and many places in between above and below and never needed a dry suit. Still waiting for the video

 

[lidigger]

Right now I have Hodgson neoprene waders. They are extremely comfortable, durable and have padded knees. Underneath I wear long johns and warm socks. For the top I wear layers. Long-sleeve t-shirt, warm flannel-type l/s shirt and/or a fleece pullover. I then have a jacket to cover all this and dive gloves.

Now waders are only meant for calm days - no waves, and I stay close to shore, no more than thigh-high. I wear a diver's weight-belt fit snugly around my waist, cause it will buy you some extra time if for whatever reason I loose my balance and take a fall. The problem with waders is that they'll act like a bucket and hold all the water. Very dangerous.

With the above in mind, know your beaches. There's one beach near me where you can walk out some distance into the LI sound without it dropping and you getting in over waist-high water. I like that beach. Whenever I am at another beach, I just wear the waders for warmth and so I can work in the water, but I am not even in knee-high water.

Still learning myself and will probably go with a thicker suit for the winter. I also surf, so I have a full-body wetsuit by Hyperflex with hood that is great for the late fall and early winter. Beyond this, I will probably look for a dry suit.

Chris / LI Digger

 

[kaptainkosmic]

i have neopreme waders and and a 7 mil farmer john wetsuit.

if the water is 70 i usually wear just the wetsuit top, once the water temp goes below 60 i put on the waders then the wetsuit top so the waders are under the wetsuit top. if you step off into water thats deeper than the top of the waders and step right back usually no water gets into the waders. so its kind of like a dry suit in that most probably won't be working deeper than chest high any way. if you do go deeper than the tops of the waders and stay there some water will get into the waders but then its like a wetsuit with boots attached. if you really tried to could end up looking like the michilin man when you left the water. and while on the subject i have intentionally flooded my waders with absolutely no adverse effects other than you get wet, neopreme floats whether its in waders or a wetsuit. rubber baggy waders are what earned waders such a bad reputation.

when the water temp gets below 50 i put the wetsuit bottoms & soft booties on then the waders, then the wetsuit top. so now the bottom part of my body has 15 mil of neopreme covering it. it does tend to make you feel like the tin man without quite enough oil. i have hunted in late december in a snow storm and stayed quite comfortable. but it sure turns out to be work!!!!

be very careful in water temps 50 & below, hypothermia happens very quickly if you're not protected and signs & symptoms don't jump out and bite you they lull you into la la land. if you think you have it you do! get out and get warmed up!

steve :-)

 

[JMW]

I hunt New England waters year round and am usually out for 6 hrs or more (Boston to Cape Cod). In the winter months I wear thermal underwear (both top and bottoms) under normal clothes. Over that, my Cabela's 5mm neoprene chest waders with 1000 gram Thinsulate boots and heavy duty, thick socks. Top that off with a Polaris snowmobile jacket and I'm good to go. Many times I find myself opening the jacket because I'm actually too warm (and that's in the water with ice floating by). As long as my feet, hands and ears are warm, I'm comfortable. My biggest problem is finding and keeping waterproof, warm gloves. Doubly important when that aluminum scoop sucks the cold out of the air/water and doubles as an icicle, although wrapping pipe insulation around it in the winter months helps some. I also use the disposal hand warmers in my gloves to keep my fingers warm (only thing that's cut any hunts short were ice cold fingers). Still looking for that perfect pair of gloves. Also, best to keep any exposed skin to a minimum to prevent frostbite.

 

[Bobbie]

To invest in a dry suit for CT waters, it is not worth it. That Long Island Sound chop will beat the crap out of you during the winter months. There are very few days when the waters are still enough to get out there. Many guys I know just wear waders and go waist deep. I just hunt the wet sands until the waters warm up and then I am out there neck deep. These guys are long time avid hunters with the waders and go almost daily. They are not coming up with much of anything lately. Think about it and the cost of a dry suit.