Hi all,

I need to get a few clothing items for a Hobie i9s Mirage Drive Kayak I'll be getting. I know I need a life jacket and gloves.

I'm looking for suggestions on the right products to try on. In terms of life jackets, the good ones I know of are the:

1. Stohlquist Fisherman
2. NRS Chinook
3. Kokatat Leviathan

Any other life jackets I should consider?

I also tried on a few different kinds of gloves at a local store. The Gill ones seemed pretty good. In addition to some other brands, I tried on the: Gill 3 Seasons, Gill Deckhand - Long & Short Finger Types, and Gill Helmsman Gloves. Any suggestions for other good gloves to try? And if I end up getting Gill gloves, would the Helmsman Gloves be the kind to get?

I may also need waterproof bibs, a jacket, and foot booties for kayaking in cold weather. Any thoughts of if I need bibs, a jacket, and booties? And if so, any suggestions on specific products?

Thanks.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried on several life jackets at a local store the other day, and the Stohlquist Fisherman and the Astral Ronny Fisher seemed to be the best fit for me, primarily due to how they interacted with the back of the Hobie Seat.

I'm not sure of all the activities I'll be doing when kayaking, so I've been trying to find different forums to post on for advice. The main other forum I've found so far is: https://www.mountainbuzz.com If anybody knows of some other good forums, please let me know.

I'll probably skip the bibs, but any thoughts on jacket and/or bootie makes and models to consider?

Thanks again.

I have an older(10yr+?) model stohlquist fisherman but i believe they are essentially the same.  I find the pockets to be fairly spacious and the hardcovers useful in protecting items inside.

I recently did some self rescue practice, and while i had thought that the fit was a nice snug... once in the water, the pfd's buoyancy lifted it high up around my head and neck area.  A more snug fit around the torso would help in water maneuverability and better control in my opinion.  There are adjustment straps on the stohlquist that allow adjustments.  For me, tightening the lower straps around the rib-cage area helped.  So while not as initially comfortable out of the water, it was fine after getting used to it. 

I really like these shoes for walking on rocky ground:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D0T4CN4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the replies. This is useful information.

The NRS booties seem interesting, and I had to get the wide size when I bought boots, so I do have wide feet.

If anybody else has suggestions for other booties, life jackets, gloves, or anything else, to try, let me know, thanks.