In 2013 we first released the Arch Rival garments and the idea was simple- a basic, heavy duty breathable product that was affordable and could stand up to the horrible abuses suffered by whitewater drywear for many, many seasons.

We love the laminate that we developed for these garments- we called it “WhiteOut”- and we’re still using it today across our entire drywear line. Its breathable, seemingly impervious to damage caused by the sweaty, twisting, flexing bacteria-filled environment inside a paddler’s drysuit or dry top, and it sticks to a wide variety of shell fabrics like gum on a shag carpet.

The shell fabric we chose for the original Arch Rivals was a 200 denier nylon oxford that was inexpensive, strong and bonded really well with laminates. These simple suits developed a bit of a cult following- even amongst our team athletes. Dave Fusilli used an Arch Rival suit for 2 years and called it the driest suit he ever had. Chris Gragtmans go-to suit continues to be the Arch Rival, and most recently Graham Seiler has been putting his Arch Rival OX suit to the test in Hood River and is loving it.

So why change it? Well, oxford fabric has a stiff hand when new, and some customers like a supple hand feel on their garments. We get it- we like that too- so we introduced the 2015 Arch Rival- the same suit but with a softer nylon shell that is just as strong, just a bit more expensive. But still, we love the oxford. It breaks in like a leather jacket, absorbs very little water, and it looks like you mean business. Best of all, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better value in paddlesports. The result? We kept it on board with the moniker “OX”. A great suit for anyone tough on gear or looking for a great value, or both.

It has the same feature set as the 2015 Arch Rival suits:

Front entry TiZip brand zipper with a smaller YKK semi dry zip on the outer flap (instead of velcro).
Latex neck, wrists and booties are all glued- not sewn and taped
TiZip relief Zipper
All cross-seams are hot-pressed for extra dryness.
Webbing outer belt

Sizing- Small ; Medium; Large; Xlarge;XXLarge
Height - 5’ 4”- 5’ 7”; 5’ 8”- 5’ 10”; 5’ 11”- 6’ 1”; 6’ 2”- 6’ 4”; 6’ 4”- 6’ 6”
Weight - 135-150; 150-165; 165-180; 180-210; 210-230
Chest - 36”-38”; 39”-41”; 42”-44”; 45”-48”; 49”-53”
Inseam - 31”-32”; 31”-32”; 33”-34”; 34”-35”; 34”-35”
Foot Size - 7-8; 9-10; 11-12; 12-13; 13-14

A few notes on drysuit sizing:

1) Inseams on drysuits are typically a bit longer than pants- this is to accomodate a sitting position and socks. Having an inch or two extra in the inseam is not necessarily a bad thing.

2) The feet on your drysuit will most likely be a bit baggy- this is not only to accomodate all feet in a size range, but also because bigger feet are easier to seam tape and keep dry.

3) Because drysuits encompass so many measurements (feet, inseam, chest) you many not fall perfectly into one size. But in many cases, if you are close the suit will work just fine. You can always call us for specific fit advice.

We can also do many basic alterations to a drysuit, like shorten/ lengthen arms and legs, as well as replace fabric socks with latex booties. Please call us for details.