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I had a similar situation last season, the year (several years actually) before I was in an XL at 5'10" and 225-230lb. I lost some weight over a few months during the spring so at 185lb I shopped for and bought a size L suit. I also wear 34 or 35 size jeans, so I'd think you at 220lbs would be right at a size L, but then again if you run cold and like to layer a lot (I don't), an XL would be a little more roomy. I'm in Iowa, so like you, don't really need the heaviest as far as insulation goes. I personally have an Ascent suit now, but only because I got such a deal on it, the Rise would have been fine for me. My last suit was one of the older Eskimos, from when Striker was making them, so I have experience with those. I would agree the Striker Predator is going to be pretty equivalent to the Rise. You could go lower with the Trekker, I see a lot of those locally, would just have to have some decent base layers if you get that yearly -20 cold snap for a week like we do here.If it were me, and this is just based on the suits I've owned, those of buddies, and with the research I did shopping last season around this time, this would be my short list, and all of these would be float suits (not in order):Eskimo Legend (100g) - new last season, a little more $$Eskimo Roughneck ("sherpa" insulated, guessing less than 100g equivalent) this one looks good for the $$, not the warmestNorfin Element (unkown insulation - would guess 80-100g) - these look good, good prices tooClam Rise (100g) - been restyled a few times, not for the better - my opinionWindrider suit (150g) - pretty good price on thisStriker Predator (100g) - see lots of these on the ice, a little more $$$Ice runner (100g) - budget optionAs far as quality goes, I haven't had any problems, and don't know anyone who has had any problems with any of their suits. The one advantage my ice armor has over the striker I had previous, is that segmented insulation in the clam makes it really easy to move around in. I walk a lot, up and down embankments, through the woods, fish on my knees, so I do give these suits a pretty good workout, have not had any issues with wear and tear on either. If I had to narrow that list down I think it would be between the Predator and Eskimo Legend, and at that point I think I'd just watch prices and look for the best deal. I really don't think any of them would be a bad choice.Don't know anything about the Strikemasters, or the new suits coming out from Huk or Nordic Legend
Im also not a fan of strikers stitching.frays and starts to unravel on every suit i have.check out ice runner suits they are very affordable for a float suit.i have one and a couple other buds been wearing them with no complaints.not as warm as a striker hardwater suit but thats good because the hardwater is too warm imo.the ice runner suit is form fitting and not bulky too.
As a new sponsor here, I figured I would jump in on the thread as well. I will start off saying, things have come along ways in the past 15 years and everyone makes a pretty good suit. A few reasons why I think we are a touch better:1. Lifetime warranty - For most people these suits are a fairly substantial investment, not something you want to have to replace every 3-4 years because a seam rips or a zipper breaks. We back ours up with a lifetime warranty so if those seams do rip for some reason we will repair or replace it. This doesn't cover things like you stain it with fish blood or cut it with a fillet, but we are confident on how we manufacture our items.2. Attention to the small things - Part of the reason we are comfortable offering the warranty is we pay attention to the smaller details. We use YKK zippers, 3M insulation, double stich in areas etc. 3. Customer Service - We pride ourselves on our customer service, we do free exchanges (we ship you the new item with a return label for the old one so you have less time waiting), free returns and of course are available here to answer questions. 4. We use it ourselves - Check out our Why We Fish series on Youtube of Robert fishing, mainly with his son Isaac. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEVvLNecL2tApc_jy5f-J7g
WindRider,I checked out the Boreas ice suit on the website. I didn't see any numbers on your insulation and floatation material. How many grams of insulation (100g?)? How many grams of floatation (150g?)Either way I am very interested in this suit.Thanks!
WindRiderGear Your Ice suit Looks like a kissing cousin to my Pre Frabil Arctic sport Sno Suit. My 2009 Sno suit has held up well through pure torture over the years. My only complaint is that the Sno Suit does not have flotation capabilities. How does your suit stack up against the sno suit.? I saw some Striker stuff in the store and was not so impressed. Is your suit water prof like the snosuit?
Thats my problem with my icerunner suit.i wear 3x in all my suits with room but the 3x in the Icerunner bibs are too tight and cant zip them up all the way.coat fits fine tho.see they came out with 4x is probably the size i need.stuff made in china runs real small!!
Bought a windrider suit last year and have had the Predator suit from Stryker before, the daughter is wearing that suit now. But love my windrider suit so far did not get to use it much last year but held up nice and kept me warm and dry. Just was looking the suit over and need to ask them a question because I found a tear on the suit and just want to fix it before it gets worse but like the suit and the price and the personal note that came with it, plus made right here in the US which I like a bunch. Here is the tear and as you can see the suit is nice.
Manning, thanks for your question. Yes 150g of flotation and 120g of insulation.