Some of my most memorable and exciting sailing, rowing, and paddling outings have been in the “off season” when the water is cold and the spray is flying. What has made those outings thrilling—rather than worrisome and risky—has been a dry suit. After 35 years of enjoying the comfort and margin of safety they provide, I’m now on my third suit, a Quadra by Mustang Survival.

The Quadra is made of MarineSpec BP, a three-layer fabric that is both waterproof and breathable. The outer layer, which is tightly woven and abrasion-resistant, is of UV-resistant 70D nylon; the middle layer is a polyurethane membrane that keeps liquid water out and lets water vapor generated by the wearer pass through; and the inner layer is a nylon tricot. (I did some homespun testing of the fabric’s characteristics in my review of Mustang’s Taku jacket.) On the outer layer of the suit, added patches of 500D Cordura protect high-wear areas: on the back from waist to knees and on the front from just above the knees to above the ankles. The seams are all centered on and flattened by nylon tricot seam tape that is fused on the inside of the suit. There are no gaps in the edges of the tape anywhere. The sewing is flawless, and with the use of a 12× magnifying glass, I counted 16 stitches per inch.

A man standing at the water's edge in a red Mustang Quadra drysuitPhotographs by the author

The Quadra, by Mustang Survival, is a well-made dry suit with all the essentials needed to extend the boating season into the colder months.

The Quadra has integral socks that keep the feet warm and dry, while latex gaskets seal the suit at the wrists and neck. The wrist gaskets are protected by cuffs. While many of the Quadra’s features are familiar and common to other dry suits I’ve owned, there are several that are new to me. The waist belt is a real belt—1 1⁄2″ webbing with a ladder-lock buckle—which is a great improvement on the bungee and spring-loaded toggle of my previous suits. I’ll often take off the top of a dry suit to cool down or take a break from the gaskets, but a bungee drawstring isn’t enough to hold the suit around my waist; I’ve had to resort to tying the sleeves tightly together to keep the suit in place. The Quadra’s belt, set in a sleeve sewn into the suit, can be cinched tight to do that job by itself. Another new feature is the addition of Velcro straps to cinch the legs tight at the knees. They fasten just above the calves and keep the suit from feeling sloppy around the legs.

Close up of the waist belt and zipper on a Mustang Quadra dry suit.

The entry zipper’s slider has a toggle that makes it easy to operate even with cold hands. The webbing belt can be cinched up tight to keep the Quadra in place whether it is fully on or with the top pulled down to cool off.

The zipper, too, is different from the metal-toothed zippers on my previous suits. The Quadra has a YKK Aquaseal zipper with plastic teeth and a different way of sealing. While a metal zipper presses its tapes together face to face outside of the teeth, the Aquaseal butts its tapes together edge to edge within the teeth. Metal zippers are protected by storm flaps, but the Aquaseal zipper, evidently, doesn’t need the extra layer of protection. The Aquaseal slider has a T-grip on the toggle making it easier to operate. I’m confident that the plastic teeth won’t react badly to saltwater exposure making the slider harder to pull over time, and because I always have a hard time keeping track of the zipper lube that the metal teeth require, the Quadra will save me time while suiting up for an outing.

It’s good practice to wear a dry suit for a while before trimming the gaskets to get a more comfortable fit. They’ll stretch a bit with use, and trimming them early will result in a too-loose fit later. However, during the breaking-in phase, it can be difficult to get in and out of the untrimmed gaskets and usually they come to rest folded back or rolled up, making them even tighter. A tip I picked up from sea kayakers in the San Francisco Bay area solves the problem: personal lubricant, formulated to be compatible with latex, makes getting into the gaskets much easier. A bit applied to the skin is all it takes.

Close up of the cinching tabs below the knees of a Mustang Quadra dry suit.

Velcro straps below the knees can be cinched up to keep the legs of the suit from feeling sloppy and to keep the Cordura knee patches in the right locations.

In my December and January sea trials—rowing, sailing, paddling, and stand-up paddling—the Quadra kept me comfortable and dry. I like to remove the air trapped in the suit to reduce its bulk, so I wade into the water and crouch down to shoulder level while holding the neck gasket slightly open. This is also a good way to check for leaks before embarking on an outing. The Quadra gave me a full range of motion and stayed where it should whether I was scrambling aboard a SUP or paddling it.

With wool and fleece insulating layers under the dry suit and a neoprene hood to keep me warm, I could float on my back, fully supported by the air remaining in the suit—it’s more comfortable than any bed.

Mustang promotes the Quadra in an unusual way: “Heading out for a good time, not a long time?” I asked their PR representative about the emphasis on “shorter-duration adventures” and learned that it was the company’s way of addressing the absence of a relief zipper. Those zippers would add to the cost of the Quadra, so they’ve been left out for economy’s sake, not for a lack of ambition on the part of Mustang’s customers. I’d be content using the Quadra for “a long time.”

The Quadra is a beautifully made dry suit that does its job faultlessly. Used wisely, it can add a measure of comfort and safety to boating when the water and weather get cold.

 Christopher Cunningham is Small Boats’ editor-at-large.

The Men’s Quadra Dry Suit is available from Mustang Survival for $849.99. A Women’s model is also available at the same price.

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