This is one drytop you’re going to be “stoked” about.
Kokatat’s new Stoke Hydrus Custom Drytop, available in both men’s and women’s sizing, lets you choose the colorways. While they also offer the service for select drysuits, this is the first time they’ve rolled it out for drytops, and the custom rollout is, well, something to get stoked about.
In all, while you can also choose from the different Gore-tex Pro drysuits with 11 different colors, you can now do the same for their new Hydrus Stoke Dry Top with nine different colors, for as many combinations as there are waterways to paddle.
For drysits and tops, Kokatat’s simple sizing app determines your size for a custom fit. For suits, it includes sleeve and pant adjustments, torso lengthening, gasket, and waterproof sock size for drysuits (note: follow the measuring instructions carefully as they can’t replace misfits; and don’t add additional length to actual measurements as their garments are sized with ample room for ventilation and to be comfortable over an insulating layer). Kokatat can lengthen or shorten sleeves and legs, lengthen the torso, and change sock and gasket sizes to accommodate customer measurements.
Those same customizations are now also available for their Stoke Drytop. When I went through the process on their website, it was as seamless as their garments. I chose the colors (and saw them appear on the screen for a sneak peak), matched my sizing (which was easy at Large, with standard sleeves since I’m pure averageville), and then went straight to the cart. Voila! A custom dry top, with pure Kokaktat performance.
Built one-at-a-time in their factory in Arcata, Calif., each suit and top is individually tested and guaranteed to be dry out of the box for the reasonable life of the garment. And orders ship 2-5 weeks from order date.
Kokatat Customization: How It Works
For the drytop, this is how it works. First, you go to their site and choose a color between stock (tiger) or custom (tangerine top, lichen, black) for top, bottom and accent. Then you move onto sizing (small to XXL), including sleeve (3 inches below/above standard) and neck and wrist gaskets (small or large). But get your selection right; Kokatat doesn’t accept returns or exchanges on customized suits or tops, and orders can’t be modified once submitted.
Since we got ours early in the game for testing, we went with the stock “tiger” color, which seemed fitting since we took it to the Peruvian jungle with Apumayo Expeditions. But it’s awesome that they let you match your own colors.
On our trip, a seven-day jaunt down the Class III-IV Paucartambo River, I used it the first three days, when it was still slightly chilly at 3,500 feet and we were in the main whitewater section. As much as I like the colors (save for when bees liked the vibrant orange), more than that, I appreciated its time-proven Kokatat performance. The Hydrus fabric was lightweight and pliable, without restricting my movement at all, and the sizing was spot-on — even moreso than my line through the first Class IV. And the gaskets — the bane of all drytops and suits — was supple, smooth and non-restricting, straight out of the box. And when we got a sudden rainstorm that sent other party members to their rain jackets, I was more than stoked to just keep the Stoke on and ride it out.
I switched to a paddle jacket by day four, once we dropped into the warmer Amazon Basin proper, but loved every uninhibited torso-swinging minute of it. And I know it’ll make a great addition to the colder climate paddling back home (once we get water).
Info: Kokatat.com