Gear Review: Immersion Research Royale Rand Spray Skirt

Value Rating: 8 Durability Rating: 9 Overall Rating: 9 Location of Test: North Carolina, California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, British Columbia. Duration: 2 years Product Name: The Royale Rand Spray Skirt Product Brand: Immersion Research Best Use: Creeking Sizes Available/ Specs: Cockpit - L-XXL Tunnel - S-XXL The Full Review Right out the gate, I’ll go ahead and say it. This is the best spray skirt I’ve ever owned. There are three factors that have led me to this conclusion. First, this is by far the most durable skirt that I’ve owned. I’m pretty tough on gear, especially spray skirts for some reason. In the past I’ve been able to squeeze 10-12 months of heavy use out of a spray skirt before it starts leaking to the point of needing a replacement. Right now I’m just past the two year mark with the Royale and she’s still going strong. I don’t mean to imply that it still looks the same as the day I bought it. The Kevlar weave that sits of the rim of the cockpit is starting to wear out and some of the tape covering seams has started to peel off. All in all though, it’s pretty close to being just as dry as the day I bought it. Second, I touched on it a little in my first point but this is one of the driest spray skirts I’ve used. The extra bit of neoprene that extends past the rand of the skirt does wonders for keeping water out. The first day I used it, I had also just purchased a new boat, I popped my skirt open and the inside of my kayak was completely dry. Third, this spray skirt stays on your boat. The combination of the rubber rand with the sticky silicon pads on the inside of the skirt really make this thing bomb proof. I’ve used this skirt for multiple big waterfalls (Tomata 1, Twisted Pleasure, Silencio, and Desoto) and it has served me well for all of them. The Good: I really view this as the ultimate skirt. It performs just as well as the Lucky Charm but is much more durable with the Kevlar weave. If you’re debating about whether or not it’s worth the extra bucks for the Royale, pull the trigger. I think you will definitely get your money back in how long the skirt will last you. The Bad: Obviously I love this skirt so there’s not much to complain about. That being said, if I had to pick one thing, it would be that the tape covering some of the seams pealed off while the rest of the skirt was still trucking along. It’s a pretty easy fix, just use a little Aquaseal to glue back in place. The Bottom Line: This skirt is a little pricey but well worth the money in my opinion.