Level Six Emperor Drysuit Review

At the beginning of the cold season I got the Level Six Emperor Drysuit and wanted to share my thoughts on this suit design. The Emperor is made to be the most durable suit on the market, with Cordura reinforcements on the seat, shoulders, knees and elbows. This suit also has two built-in pockets, a pass-through fleece lined hand warming pocket on the belly and a zipper chest pocket which also has a whistle built into it. All the gaskets have Velcro cuffs over them, which some people love and others hate, my personal favorite is having Velcro on the wrist and a punch through the neck.

Talking about the construction of the suit, the seam taping that Level Six does is next level, absolutely amazing! There are a lot of pre-curved or rounded parts of the suit to make it more comfortable when sitting and paddling, the seams are perfect, no lips, creases or flaps, as smooth as you can get. With all the reinforcements in this suit it is a bit heavier, stiffer and warmer than my old Icon. Which is a trade off for the extra durability, the warmth factor has actually been kind of nice, I don’t have to layer up as much as I used to for the same amount of warmth. Which also means the stiffness of the suit is mitigated from the restriction of layers underneath that I used to have to wear. The Cordura seems to be in the perfect spots and just the right size, when I kneel down the Cordura is the only thing that touches the rocks, when I shoulder a boat the Cordura is there, when I smack my elbow it’s there. And the reinforcement on the seat doesn’t bunch or is noticeable when paddling.

I went from my trusted Kokatat Icon to this suit and was a bit worried about the fit. Both are mediums and I’m 5’11” and weigh about 170lbs. The Kokatat was a bit tighter in the thighs and felt shorter in the torso than my new Level Six. The Level Six feels shorter in the arms and has bigger socks built into it which is good and bad. I think if my arms were any longer I would have had to go up in size, or if my feet were smaller I would have too much space. A good thing about the built-in socks is that they are cut and shaped to be more of a foot shape and rounded compared to other companies’ socks. I have pretty short legs and don’t have any issues with the ankle cuff riding up or not covering the top of my boots, as in my Icon I was worried about dragging them on the ground.

The Emperor and actual all of Level Six’s dry wear come with sized gaskets that correspond with the suit size, so for my suit, I have medium gaskets all around, unlike my Icon, where I had a large neck and small wrist gaskets, making this suit a lot dryer around the neck and more comfortable around the wrists right out of the box. I will say though after a few uses I noticed my neck gasket already needed replacement, I assume its due to the suit sitting in a warehouse for a while as shipping to the states was held off for a bit. I also got the limited edition black-out suit, which was how they announced switching to fully recycled materials in all their dry wear.

Lets mention the elephant in the room or suit per say, if this material is recycled it means its not Gore-Tex. Level Six uses their own in house waterproofing they call eXhaust 3.0 on this suit. I have been using their eXhaust 2.0 in their dry tops during the summer months, check out my review of the Duke Dry Top and Kenora Semi-Dry Top. All of their eXhaust fabrics are PFC/PFAS/PFOS free nylon and are 100% recycled. In simple terms, this drysuit is made from the most eco-friendly waterproofing in the paddle sport industry. While this is amazing and something I love, Gore-Tex is a material that has solidified itself with performance and breathability. I think the eXhaust 3.0 is not as breathable as Gore-Tex especially with the Cordura outer, but still breathes well enough that I haven’t noticed a big difference or felt soggy after paddling. But also in late 2025 Gore-Tex is changing to be PFAS free and had to update their fabric, which I haven’t gotten my hands on yet and can’t speak to if this changes breathability and waterproofing.

For me the Cordura reinforcements and recycled fabrics plus the fit and design features have made this suit a home run. If having a suit that can take a beating and keep asking for more the Emperor is the way to go, but if the stiffness and/or the warmth of the suit is a turn off for you, there are other options on the market that might suit your needs better. If Level Six or the Emperor drysuit wasn’t on your radar, I think you should keep an eye out and watch for what’s coming next.