The weather will get colder soon and many of the best paddling adventures will take place as the weather gets crisp.  Spray skirts are essential to enjoying your cold weather kayaking, as the right skirt will keep that frigid water off your body and extend your trip.  We recently expanded our inventory of spray skirts by adding Seals brand.  Seals has been making quality spray skirts for almost 25 years and has supplied every US Olympic Kayak Team since 1984 with their competition skirts.  We are very happy to expand this line of products and felt it was a great time to talk about spray skirts

Spray Skirts are designed for sit inside kayaks.  They are worn around the waist of a kayaker and connects to the cockpit of the kayak to create a watertight seal. This prevents the cockpit from filling up with water and, at the same time, keeps the paddler dry.

Spray skirts are made from neoprene, nylon or a combination of neoprene and nylon. Your standard sit insides will use a nylon or nylon/neoprene hybrid while a whitewater kayaker will always use a neoprene skirt.  The type of skirt you use will be based on the type of kayaking you are doing and the temperature.
 
Neoprene: These Spray Skirts are meant to create a tight seal around the rim of the kayak.  This tight seal will keep the cockpit dry and allow for the paddler to be submerged without capsizing the kayak.  They can get warm during days when the temperature is elevated.
(Seals designs each spray skirt to fit specific kayak.  Because of this your spray skirt will fit snugly. When the skirt is new, it may be difficult to stretch onto the cockpit rim. With a new neoprene spray skirt, it is recommend that you place the spray skirt on the cockpit of your kayak for about 48 hours. If it is still too tight, wet the skirt before you put it on the cockpit.)

Nylon: Nylon Spray Skirts are easy to get on and off your kayak.  Higher quality skirts will come with a tensioned deck stay which will raise the deck area so water will run off the sides instead of pooling in your lap.  This will not keep larger waves from capsizing your vessel but will provide protection from gentle lapping waves.  Many of the nylon style skirts will come with zippered pockets for storage.  These skirts are very nice on warmer days, as they are somewhat breathable.  Seals also make half skirts or splash decks that leave the cockpit open and help keep the splash off you.
    
Nylon/Neoprene: This style of spray skirt will have a nylon torso usually with Velcro or suspenders to hold the tube up and a neoprene base. The neoprene will grip the rim of the kayak nylon brings added mobility to the paddler. This style of spray skirt is not 100% waterproof but will do the tricks on moderately rough water. 

Your Spray Skirt should be easy to remove but no so easy that it will slip off at the slightest tug. If it is extremely hard to get off, it will even be harder to do so upside down in the water. You should feel confident that you can get out of any situation that may arise. 

To keep your Spray Skirt in good condition you should follow these simple guidelines.  Always rinse your skirt thoroughly after every use in salt or chlorinated water. Hang your skirt to dry wrinkle-free and store your spray skirt out of the sunlight.

Seals provides a handy fit guide with every sprayskirt or follow the link on our product pages.  Click here to see our entire assortment of Seals Products.