Drop Seat
Now to my favorite feature of this dry suit: the drop seat. The drop seat is a zipper that runs in a broad arc from outer thigh to outer thigh over the top of your rear. In my humble opinion, it is more than worth it to make the extra investment for this feature. I have gone through the aggravating routine of peeling off my helmet, elbow pads, life jacket, spray skirt, upper half of dry suit, and finally under layers just to pop a squat, because I decided to hydrate earlier. I am happy to say that I no longer have to control my liquid intake or dread the moments when I don’t.
Other women’s dry suits I have seen have a front relief zip similar to the men’s dry suits and are designed to be compatible with a “feminine funnel relief system.” From the accounts I have heard of this setup, it was somewhat of a challenge, and, if nothing else, required a bit of practice and patience. While some may favor the idea of less zipper or no zipper to squish under or behind you in your boat, I have never found the drop seat zipper to be uncomfortable, or noticeable for that matter, when I sit in my boats, playboat or creeker. I am going to stick with my drop seat.
Zippers
I had been a fan of the metal Optiseal zippers on the Gore Tex Meridian (they are easy to zip, sturdy, and very solidly integrated into the dry suit)—until just a few weeks ago. Shortly before then, the first few inches of zipper began to stick a little bit, and after a flip and quick roll, I felt a definite wetness seeping down my shoulder. I pulled into an eddy, asked my friend to take a look, and she found that the zipper had split open right at the very top where it had been sticking. In other words, the zipper teeth were not locking together up there.
Needless to say, this discovery was quite a disappointment given that this dry suit is billed as top of the line and not something that I am able to fix with a quick re-zip like a Ziploc bag. As I said, I was quite happy with this zipper. It had survived the elements of 18 days in the Grand Canyon easily (which was not to be said for all of the dry suit zippers on our trip—one plastic zipper fully broke in half just before Lava Falls), glided open and closed with ease on both the drop seat and front zippers, and, above all, kept me dry.
It is very possible, however, that this zipper is an outlying case, as I have been unable to find any evidence of others having such problems with this dry suit. What’s more, Kokatat has a lifetime warranty on their products, which I think is always a great sign of a company’s faith in its product. A broken or malfunctioning piece of gear will either be replaced or repaired—for free if it’s a defect, for a small fee if it’s a repair.
When I spoke to them regarding my Meridian, their customer service department was very friendly and understanding of my predicament, given the timing in the season. While they did not guarantee the problem would be covered under warranty, they did promise to check it out, report back, then fix it as quickly as possible.
Three days after receiving my suit, they reported that not only had they fully replaced the zipper, they were also patching some pin holes they had discovered while pressure testing the suit, holes I was unaware of. Furthermore, they noticed my gaskets were starting to wear. Because the suit is so new and they do not want me to have to send it back again in the near future, they are replacing those as well. And all of this was free of charge. Two days later, they sent the suit back.
That issue aside, I do like having the zipper in the front so that I don’t have to depend on others to zip me in and out, as is sometimes the case with models such as the IR Double D and Supermodel. I have had friends get stuck in these and had to drive home in their full get up.
Other Features
A chest pocket near the left shoulder provides a small place to store an extra car key via a little plastic D-ring. There is not room for much else in there other than perhaps a granola bar, but make sure it is well sealed because this pocket is not waterproof.
There is reflective piping that runs around the bicep, along the shoulders, and down the back of the Meridian, which would help in being seen should your adventures last later than anticipated or, God forbid, a nighttime rescue need take place. The custom version of this suit (which mine is not, but which is available to order on the Kokatat website) is available with more reflective tape, along with the option of a hood or suspenders and a plethora of size and color choices.
Fit
Cut specifically for a woman, with wider hips than the male version, the Meridian dry suit is super comfortable. The large fits me well, though I think this is primarily because of my height (5’10”). When I tried on a friend’s medium, the body fit me fine, but there was no way that neck gasket was making it over the crown of my head. (As such, I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to see how well the arm length of the medium fit me.) So if you are tall (5’6″ to 6’0”, according to the Kokatat sizing chart), I definitely recommend the large.
I certainly have plenty of room in the upper body and the legs now, but, that said, it fits a lot of layers under it, and I have plenty of room to move. My only complaint about the excess material of the large size (beyond that it is not totally necessary—I have been able to easily fit three fleece layers under the top) is that it makes the zipper stick out a bit from my right shoulder, and when I wear a full-face helmet (Shred Ready Standard), the two collide when I look to the right.
The waist fits well and, between the elastic drawstring cord and the neoprene bottom of the tunnel, holds easily in place before you put the top of the dry suit on, even without suspenders.
Dry(?) Suit
So given all the features of the Kokatat Meridian women’s dry suit, it comes down to the simple question: does this dry suit keep you comfortable and dry?
This dry suit has kept me dry in all circumstances, other than those when I repeatedly and rapidly take quick visits to the wetter side of the surface. On these occasions, inevitably some water has slipped down my neck gasket; I have never found that I am able to stay totally dry when playboating or even if I flip over once the wrong way. Perhaps my neck is a funny shape, perhaps it has just yet to meet its perfect gasket match, but in general and when you are playing and repeatedly flipping over I think you are bound to get damp, dry suit or no.
Bottom Line
Overall, I have liked the Kokatat Meridian dry suit very much. It is comfortable, durable, trustworthy and dry.
That said, it is a huge investment that I think is only really worth it if you are going to be spending quite a bit of time in it. Most other dry suits in its price range do not have all of the features of the Meridian (drop seat, overcuffs and Gore Tex booties). Otherwise, there are perfectly functional drysuits out there at a lower price, and ones that might even be comparable just without the premium Gore Tex name, like the Hydrus 3L Meridian. As I noted, to me the drop seat is definitely worth putting down a little extra cash because of the long hours I spend in the suit with regularity. I also trust its durability and like not feeling like I have to be über careful and worried I’m going to tear the leg open while bushwhacking or clambering around on a scout or hike in.
Given the zipper issue seemed to be a fluke, and that Kokatat’s customer service and repairs have gone above and beyond what I expected, I think this is a really great dry suit from a really great company. For the serious paddler who wants to stay warm and dry while they put their days in on the river the Kokatat Meridian Women’s Dry Suit is an excellent choice.