Cold Weather Suits!!!

[Pete D.]

Hey fellas,

Gearing up for the cold weather season. Wife has been pregnant all spring/summer, finally had our baby girl three weeks ago. Needless to say, I havent been on the water much this year, which is DAUNTING!!!

Anyways I plan on fishing pretty heavily this summer. I have some gander bibs that are great for fall/spring, but not during the darkness of winter!!

I am ready to pull the trigger on some Arctic Armor, but I have heard that Striker Ice is also a good choice. I want to stay warm on the water, but not sweat my @$$ off either. Which suits do you guys recommend here in the Commonwealth of VA?

[Gator]

Congrats Pete!! I have neither. I wear a pair of Columbia camo bibs/coat I bought for hunting in Alaska and Montana paired with a inflatable Cabelas life jacket and I am perfectly comfortable.

[Brian]

I personally wear uninsulated gore-tex bibs and parka year round. (I like guidewear) In the winter I add layers as needed and add a layer of fleece when it's cold enough to freeze my beard solid.

Inflateable pfd on top.

I have friends who use artic armor and while they are very warm, I have observed that if they get hot, they can't shed insulation without losing the waterproof top layer...

[archenemy]

Pete guide wear uninsulated bids and parka with under armor and fleece. To me feet are most important. Have the gorilla insulated boots and sometimes the foot warmers.
Rather stay cool than hot

Sent from my XT1080 using proboards

[R22]

I have both Arctic Armour and Striker Ice. Both companies now have a "lite" variety of their suit and these are much better suited for the Virginia winters. I would tell you that although they are slightly different, they are largely the same. The Striker Ice is a little better fit for a smaller guy while the Arctic Armour gives more room for a bigger guy. Make sure you size yourself just as each website says. The size for striker Ice is probably the size you wear in most other clothes while the Arctic Armour is much larger. If you typically wear Xl in most clothes, you will like wear a large or less in Arctic Armour.

One big advantage for Striker Ice is the opportunity to find a sale. korkys.com out of Minnesota is a great source for Striker Ice. You may go to Arctic Armour's website, idigear.com for a list of their suits and retailers. They commonly refer customers to Fleece Corner, which I believe is located in Delaware. They will work hard for your business but it only gets but so good.

You may want to look back at a thread under the "other misc fishing gear" category. There is a decent discussion on these suits.

[Pete D.]

Thanks R22 this is what I needed to know. Also Im a smaller guy so I was wondering about sizing so thanks for that. Do you still later up under the lite suits?

[R22]

Oct 10, 2014 8:45:36 GMT -5 Pete D. said:

Thanks R22 this is what I needed to know. Also Im a smaller guy so I was wondering about sizing so thanks for that. Do you still later up under the lite suits?

Sorry, but I don't understand the question but I will assume you are referring to sweating. Yes, you do still sweat some. Even the lite jackets and bibs are quite heavy. We just live in that part of the country where cold is not quite what it is elsewhere. The manufacturer told me I would not want to be in a regular suit for anything above 40 degrees. From my use, I definitely think that is accurate.

If the day is warm enough to remove the bibs, I don't seem to find the need for anything unless I have to throw the net or a long move from spot to spot. I keep another very light, uninsulated pair of Gore-Tex bibs for that purpose in the boat for those purposes.

Being cold is bad enough but being wet and cold or wet and hot is even worse.

[Pete D.]

Sorry I mis-typed. I meant do you layer up underneath the light suits.

[R22]

Not really. I can almost promise you that you will not want or need it. If I am wearing both pieces, I just keep something under for absorption of perspiration. Otherwise, you will need nothing unless you just wear the bibs. These suits are made for areas much colder than Virginia. Their lite is pretty darn heavy.

[Pete D.]

Cool brother thanks for the input! I have a gander mountain outer shell (uninsulated) and layer up pretty well underneath it, but its a pain. Id like to have jeans and a t-shirt on, and then just toss on the bibs and jacket and be good to go. Plus Id like to get on the water before daylight in the winter to hang lights (whether or not they will pull bait in the winter depends on the year) and stay warm. The setup I use now just doesn't cut it.........

[Pete D.]

How about a merino wool base layer?

[mytoyzfishing]

I have the striker ice and would not want to wear anything heavy under it. Its plenty warm in this area through the winter. Ive worn just a t-shirt and shorts under it and been plenty warm.