Colorado is home to many rivers that rafters, kayakers, other outdoor lovers flock to for both the amazing rapids and beautiful views.  Rivers like the Arkansas, Colorado, Clear Creek, & Dolores bring water enthusiast from all over the world!

From nice scenic floats, to intense class V whitewater, Colorado has a river trip for every skill-level. But there is another limiting factor, other than skill, to what trips one can participate in. And that other factor is gear. The gear you own can limit where and when you can make a trip down the river. One major upgrade you can make to your gear collection is a drysuit. 

We’re going to go over some of the benefits that a drysuit will add! 

1.) Warmth.

This is the major benefit of a dry suit. A drysuit allows all the layers you are wearing under the suit to stay dry, therefore your insulation never loses its heat by getting wet. The warmth of a drysuit opens new doors to water activities and new benefits as well!

2.) Comfort of Changing.

This isn’t the biggest advantage of drysuits, but is definitely a nice one. Traditional wetsuits retain moisture. If you get to your put-in and change into a wetsuit on a chilly day, that wetsuit, especially if used recently, will feel quite cold for a while until your body heats it back up. Also taking a wetsuit off on colder days can be a little unpleasant with the layers under the suit being wet. When you take a drysuit off your layers are nice and dry and you can hop right into your vehicle without further changing!

3.) Extended Seasons.

This is the most important benefit of a drysuit! With a dry suit you get to hit the water outside of the normal summer time frames. Ice on the banks or snow starting to fall, have no fear its still rafting season for you! Drysuits let you start your season in March and only finish your season when the river is completely frozen over!

4.) More Diversity in the Trips you Take!

When you get yourself a drysuit many new adventures open up for you! Most river water flow is from snow melt, which means the water is quite cold, in some areas just above freezing. With a drysuit you can take on those frigid rivers that you wouldn’t dare take on with only a wet suit. It also opens doors to more exotic trips for you! Have you always dreamed of rafting the beautiful rivers of Alaska, or other areas closer to the Artic Circle? Well, once you get yourself a drysuit those locations will seem a whole lot more reasonable! 

If you feel you’ve hit a plateau in your river experiences it’s probably time to invest in a drysuit! While rafting and kayaking are amazing activities in the summer, doing these activities in the winter is a new and wonderful adventure!