Immersion Research is doing something different with their dry tops this year.
Max Blackburn spoke to Rapid at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2016 about their new dye sublimated dry tops, a first for the whitewater kayaking company. The dry tops have a vast galaxy print, making them stand out as many dry tops on the market are a solid block of one color.
This dry top print comes in a variety of styles. The full dry top called the Archrival and a semi-dry top with no neck gasket is called the Rival. The Rival also comes in a short-sleeved version. Blackburn says Immersion Research staff are most partial to the Nano, a dry top with the galaxy print that has short sleeves and stretchy neoprene at the waist instead of a skirt tunnel.
The Nano dry top with galaxy print from Immersion Research.
“It was quite a leap. We were a little bit nervous,” says Blackburn about the new dye sublimated design. He explains that two years ago they came out with a more colorful line of dry wear which was very popular. They saw a void in the market and wanted to bring more style and color to the dry wear world.
Moving forward, Blackburn sees Immersion Research “continuing to put a lot of focus on style.” In addition to innovation in style, Blackburn says their core customers often tend to be the folks who are toughest on their gear, and they hope to continue providing and developing durable gear for them.
The Archrival is $399, the Nano is $170, the short Rival is $225 and the long-sleeve Rival is $275.
The dry tops will be available January 1.
Stay tuned to Rapid and our social media channels as we bring you all the newest gear and products from the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market August 2-5 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
