which suit to get?

[OnAFly]

I have Ice Armor. I spent a day drilling holes and kneeling in snow/slush. By the end of the day, my shins were wet. Not soaked, but definitely damp. I guess I assumed this stuff was completely waterproof. I was wrong.

It's warm, I like it. But my idea of using it as raingear in the spring/fall is coming into question right now.

[amateurfishing]

Does anyone know where any of it is on sale right now?

[Northlander]

I have a AA suit and love it. Most days its the perfect mix of warmth and comfort. Its not big, heavy and bulky.

I will say Im looking at a Sno Suit now that they are almost at a reasonable price. Im going to wear it when its really cold and Im just sitting in 1 spot for long periods (like last weekends ice fishing contest in 13 below weather) and for them long cold snowmobile rides.

All suits are good these days. I went with the AA because of the floatation and they have been worth every cent I spent on them.

[bikeoutback]

I've got the Strike Master suite due to the price I paid for it, got it on the winter deal last year.

Upside:

Fits me very well. Was able to get different size parka and bibs to fit me correctly.

WARM - To warm at times. Day like today at 30 degrees and sunny I'd probably wear shorts under the bibs and not even touch the jacket. But I fished in it in single degrees last saturday with fleece pants, bibs, T shirt, hooded sweat shirt and the jacket and was fine.

Waterproof - never had a leak yet and I've gotten them pretty wet in sluch.

Downs:

Wish the pants had velcro further around the bottom to cinch them tighter.

No inside pockets - this was a bit of a downer for me, I like to keep my phone and camera inside so they stay warm and batteries last longer.

Too warm once it's in the 30s and up, not sure this is a downside or not, it's just meant for colder weather.

Never owned any others, know guys who have them and they like them. Can only comment on the one I know. Price point was my driving factor but I love my suit even if I do get [PoorWordUsage] being in carhart country.

[Iambjm]

I have a men's Strikemaster jacket and bibs, as I am a larger woman. I love the jacket, but I wish I had bought the womens pants. The men's bibs are way too long on me. I have had the jacket 4 years and the bibs since December, the jacket is very warm and my jacket has pockets inside and out and I too am always losing track of things in them. The bibs are extremely warm and I find myself only wearing them when it is really cold. I have a set of camo bibs I stole from the hubby that are lighter weight and very comfortable and a camo 4 way jacket set, that makes it ideal for warmer weather fishing. A friend of mine has the blue/black Ice armour set and she says that they don't seem that warm.

[TravP]

My thoughts on my snosuit...

Positives

-No need to layer

-Waterproof

-Tons of pockets

-Side Vents in the coat

Negatives-

-Expensive, but I paid like $275 for the jacket, bibs, and mittens when I was home on leave in July

-On the heavier side

-No flotation

If you drill a lot of holes like me, plan on taking the jacket off or you will overheat. I owned an ice armor blue suit prior to this. In my eyes its more of an early/late season combo. It wasn't near warm enough without a lot of layering, which became way bulkier then the snosuit. In my opinion the snosuit is the leader.

[Ed Carlson]

I respectfully disagree on layering with the Frabill FXE SnoSuit, or any other suit for that matter. You should layer to eliminate moisture against your skin.

With the Frabill FXE SnoSuit, the selection of layers and the weight of the layering materials required will be far less bulky to achieve the maximum benefit. Yet it is still well advised to do so.

[Zenit]

Anybody have any thoughts about the Frabill IceSuit vs. the FXE SnoSuit? I'm going to buy a new suit in the next 24-48 hours...There's some really good deals on both around the metro, the IceSuit sells for a significant amount less than the SnoSuit combo (and one store in town has them at 30% off right now.)

The only suit I have is the original ice Armor 'Blue Suit' which has served me very well, and held up well- but it is not a suit for really cold weather, especially the parka. Early/late ice season, and even some spring stream fishing it gets used a lot, but I want something that will better stand up to below zero weather, and that suit just ain't it.

[FISHINGURU]

Well if you notice, not one staff member has even commented on this thread……until now, so there goes that theory.

I think it comes down to the honesty and integrity of the person giving reviews. Hard to trust a guy that every year says, “this is the best widget I’ve ever used” until the next year and then THAT is the best widget. Well, wait, what about last years widget?

Far from theory, you don't have to be on the staff to be a minion.

What your saying is exactly what I'm talking about.

[Ed Carlson]

We have Minions amongst us....Uh-Oh?

[TravP]

I respectfully disagree on layering with the Frabill FXE SnoSuit, or any other suit for that matter. You should layer to eliminate moisture against your skin.

With the Frabill FXE SnoSuit, the selection of layers and the weight of the layering materials required will be far less bulky to achieve the maximum benefit. Yet it is still well advised to do so.

Its so warm I don't need to layer. If I was to layer, I'd sweat to death.

[Ed Carlson]

So you go "Commando" then?

OK...nuff said on that...we can move on now.

[TravP]

Haha, it would almost be doable.

[Ed Carlson]

LOL..Ya I'm pick'n on ya a bit bud.

I understand. I wear a fleece wader bottom and a base skin on top, and maybe a light fleece top over that..plenty warm and easy to move in.