Hydrus 3L Mythic Shorty Dry Top Review

Let me tell you when the guys from WeStroke came to me and asked me if I wanted to demo this product for them, I was like are you guys sure you want me for this?  The reason I say that is because I'm not a huge Jackson fan (I paddle Pyranha boats), and I knew this was part of the new Kokatat/Jackson collection.  Mike however was convinced I would love the jacket, and you know what, he was right!

This past weekend was my birthday weekend so we all packed up the truck and headed down to this season's second release of the Pigen River.  The Pigeon aka "Dirty Bird" gets a alot of flack because of the river's history.  Regardless though, this is one of my favorite paddles.  It is great fun plus we heard from a little birdie tell us that the NOC wave was fixed.

Mike tosses me the Hydrus 3L Mythic Shorty Dry Top that morning shortly after breakfest.  My first thought, "holy crap. I'm going to look like a traffic cone rolling down this river."  The two bright colors, tangerine and yellow, are like BAM! Look at me! I know the Jackson's love bright colors because of the danger involved in the sport, but come on a girl needs some options. Especially when it comes to fashion.

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Soon as I put the Jacket on I started to realize how nice the Kokatat jacket is.  The jacket is really light and very breathable.  I wasn't accustom to shortys with latex gaskets so it took me a moment to get used to.  I started to understand the logic to this after i flipped in my first hole as I was playing in the "Powerhouse Rapid".  No water was forced into my sleeve, and I didn't get that water dripping down my back feeling that I was accustom to feeling in other non latex gastet tops.  The dual adjustable overskirt on the Mythic kept my boat dry all day.  Even after playing in every rapid down the river, and spending an hour playing in "Superglue" my boat had very little water in it.

We were all excited to get to spend some serious time in the NOC wave.  The hole was prime for the picking that day so we stayed in it for hours.  As I threw some moves I really started to realize how versatitle and non restricting the Mythic really is.  This is what people really look for in a shorty, cause let's face it, when playboating who wants to feel constricted and tight?  The jacket just flowed with my body.

When taking off the Mythic I didn't get that extra dumping of water that you get with other dry tops.  This is probably due to how the drain pocket is placed well below the neckline and doesn't retain much water.

All in all, the Kokatat Hydrus 3L Mythic Shorty Dry top is great.  I loved it.  Whether you are river running or playing in a world class feature, it will keep you dry, your boat dry, and the material breaths so well, that even on a 85 degree day you can wear it for hours.  I had a great experience with wearing this jacket, and I feel that you will too.