Durability
I have only used the pants for 15 days, but they were 15 hard days of testing. The jungles of Mexico are muddy, thorny, damp places. Portaging involved a lot of slogging through deep mud, bushwhacking, and sliding on my butt over rough volcanic rocks. And the climate in Veracruz is so humid that gear typically takes 2 or more days to dry completely, even in the sun.
After all this abuse in the Mexican jungle, the pants still look virtually new. Plowing my way through thorny underbrush failed to produce any tears in the neoprene, and the pants don’t seem to have been affected by being wet all the time; all the stitching is still intact, and after one good washing, they don’t smell.
The durability and relatively low price tag of the HydroSkin (vs. a $1000 drysuit), means that I can slide around on rocks or hack through thorn bushes without worrying about wrecking expensive gear. This often makes things significantly easier while navigating portages, scouts, and hikes in rough terrain. Sometimes I would wear the HydroSkin even when temperature didn’t demand it, simply because I knew the the pants would save my legs from getting scraped up.
I’ll update this section on durability if anything changes over the course of the season, but so far, these pants have held up very well in some pretty adverse conditions.
Bottom Line
Overall the 0.5mm HydroSkin pants are extremely versatile, and well worth the $99 price tag. Unlike a full wet suit, these pants allow you to layer your upper body (underneath your drytop) with fleece/wool thermals, while keeping your legs wrapped in warm, wind resistant, durable, and comfortable neoprene.
If you’re looking for an alternative to dry pants or a drysuit for chilly temps but still need some extra warmth on your legs, the HydroSkin should be on your list. For $99, it is an extremely well made, versatile and durable piece of gear.
Dear David,
Thanks for the review. I wonder if I can wear this as a protection when (shortly!) falling into 50 degree cold water during kajaking in spring/autumn. I am sure it is superbe to wear against cold air temperatures. But what nobody writes about is how good it is when falling into cold water for a short period of time.
Can you give any recommendation there?
Many thanks,
Benjamin
I do a lot of ocean swimming and I am looking for jelly fish protection. I do not like ankle to wrist wet suits because they are too bulky. I thought the .5mm would be a perfect fit. Any thoughts to see if this could be beneficial. Thanks