Tour du Jour Paddle Skirt

If you paddle in northern waters, you'll need a skirt that retains body heat, is flexible, easy to remove and re-install, feature rich, and, above all, dependable. The Tour du Jour happens to be my kayak's first skirt and qualifies on all counts.

About me: novice kayaker with a light touring kayak in Southern Michigan. Want to go out May-November and am carefully selecting gear to safely do that. I also want to learn to roll and have already done, first time out, fully skirted wet exits with this skirt 100% successfully, left and righthanded. This skirt will really help me advance as I learn the foundation skills for rolling.

It's so easy to use. The release strap is not some flimsy ribbon but a large, strong triangular strap with two five inch sides made of the same tough materials as tie downs. The actual grab loop is a full six inches of notched hard rubber. Very easy to see and feel for this, gloved or not. (I prefer gloves).

You won't need to be drilling golf balls to attach to the pull strap, or otherlitter tricks to compensate for bad design. The Tour du Jour is correctly designed right out of the gate with an excellent choice of materials and top quality small stitching in addition to being glued and seam taped. The stitching is precise, consistent, well finished.

The sticky neoprene combing is reinforced with Kevlar to assure a good strong fit yet goes on and off swiftly. With 4mm neoprene fabric & durable Cordura nylon decking you will have the best of both worlds in waterproof performance and breathability.

This is a bungee system w. a 3/8" bungee knotted at the back, adjustable. The waist is the trademarked BomberGear Vault Water Lock Waistband on Toray (TM) breathable upper fabric. The tunnel comes one size (Large) but fear not slender ones - the nice thick velco waist adjustment pads will accomodate waists as small as 26". Below there is a Bombrella baffling to hold the skirt taut enough to avoid pooling, and yes, it does. Above is a generous, zippered dry pocket, very handy, nice perk.

The skirt weighs in at 1 lb 2 oz and is worth every ounce. BomberGear is, sadly, out of business but if you know where to look you can find this high quality keyhole style touring skirt.

It's clear that a real designer and kayaker created this skirt. Every detail is well thought out and relates to performance. It's vastly superior to the mass marketed Walmart styled corporate offerings from the big guys.

It's one damn good lookin' skirt and happily, there's a lot more to it than looks. Get Bombed and happy paddlin'.