Hi all,
My wife and I are just getting into Sea Kayaking. Weve been kayking on rivers for a few years now but wanna hit the Great Lakes too since we live so close to them. I'm looking for a spray skirt for my Tempest 170. I/we want to learn all the Sea kayaking ins and outs such as edging/rolls etc. I want a spray skirt that will allow me to practice these and still stay relatively dry My wife has a Seals brand Mariner with the bilge pump door on her Tempest 165 pro and seems to like it alot BUT she was doing a half roll the other day and it was coming off of the combing and she was getting wet? It's the right size for her boat so not sure if this happens alot or what? Anyway, what do you experienced Sea kayakers suggest for me?

The Mariner is made of a non-stretch material (they don't seem to say what it is, but looks like nylon). I used to use a different seals (coastal tour, IO think) that was nylon, and it would pop off on rolls. The fact that it doesn't stretch means it will get pulled a lot during the body motion required for a roll. A neoprene skirt may do better, as the stretchy material allows for motion more.

There also may be slight issue of skirt size versus combing size. All sprayskirt manufacturers make skirts in set sizes, and these don't always match the cockpit combing sizes. Not saying I have heard of this being an issue with Tempest and seals, but it is possible.

For anything other than splash protection I prefer a neoprene deck skirt. The don't seem to be any more steamy than the supposed 'breathable' ones but they stay on much better. The ones with a grippy rubber edge hold onto plastic boats better than the nylon faced neoprene. Just make sure you can remove it with ONE hand. A nylon body tube with velcro combined with a neoprene deck like the Seals Extremetour or Snapdragon Glaciertrek is a little cooler than all neoprene but not as good a seal.

You'll need wetsuits or drysuits to paddle on the Great Lakes in summer.
Moulton Avery

Yeah,
I'm looking at a full neoprene style skirt deck and tube.

Check the body fit on the neoprene spray deck.
The neoprene deck may fit your kayak, but the tube needs to fit you when you dress with your cold water gear.
There's nothing worse than having a tube that's too tight around your mid section.
In the Summer I dress with a Snapdragon full tube, in the winter a Snapdragon expandable waist(nylon, velcroe) full neoprene deck.
This fits over my drysuit and fleece with comfort.
Tobermoray to Manitoulin were great trips.