ThePADDLER
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REVIEWS
TYPHOON HENDRA women ’ s specific drysuit https :// typhoon-int . co . uk Sylvie Vandepoele NORTHSEAKAYAK
I was used to wearing ‘ unisex ’ ( read : man specific ) dry suits before this one . Too tight or too bulky at the wrong places . And all the man specific suits are so good looking . So , I was eager to see what TYPHOON have in the pipeline for female paddlers . There are many women in TYPHOON ’ s development team , which I find an advantage for designing femalespecific equipment . I crossed my fingers that they didn ’ t come up with a completely pink suit … They did not !
THE LOOKS When unboxing the package , I was pleasantly surprised about the suit ’ s colour combination ! Dark blue with black inserts and orange arms ! We are always advocating for highly visible equipment for sea kayakers in general . The upper body is mainly covered by your PFD , leaves only the arms for some extra flashy fabric . This is an important detail when paddling during the short and dark winter days . And it looks good and fashionable . Cuffs are with Velcro closures , so no loose fabric when paddling .
FIT When donning the suit , I immediately felt the difference from what I wore before the HENDRA . I always wear a base layer with a few thin but warm extra layers . I could move comfortably and still had a little extra room to wear an extra layer underneath . And it didn ’ t look bulky .
The HENDRA has the typical internal braces . There is a buckle on the back that is easily detachable . This is important as the hinge zipper is also the relief zipper . When the buckle is released , one can easily go to the toilet without too much fuss . It does not work too well with a PFD and spray deck , so I still have to remove those to get more comfortable .
The advantage of using the hinge zipper as a relief zipper is its placing . It is not scraping between your body and the seat in your kayak as a female-specific zipper could do . The hinge zipper is neatly tucked away underneath the tunnel of my spray deck , and the HENDRA can be pulled on and off without help from somebody else . Another advantage of the hinge zipper !