Just because someone owns a boat of some sort, doesn’t mean they are automatically familiar with the terms of the drysuit wearing world. This page serves as a sort of generalized glossary of drysuit terms and general drygear know how to help you figure out what you need.
Drysuit: Think of a full body raincoat and you are getting close. A raincoat with these neat-o rubber gaskets, sometimes called seals, at the end of each arm, each leg and one for your head. So, when you fall into the water, the only thing that is supposed to get wet is your head, hands and feet (unless your suit has socks in it).
Drytop: Imagine a long sleeved or short sleeved waterproof shirt with wrist and neck seals. Only for kayakers. Also, for folks who don’t like, don’t need or can’t afford a drysuit. As long as you don’t come out of your boat, this will keep you nice and dry.
Double Tunnel: This is only practical for kayakers as well. It comes on selected suits and tops. Basically it creates a layered sandwich around the spray skirt. One layer of the suit is against your body. Then on goes the skirt. Then the outer layer of the “tunnel” covers the skirt. This makes it so that water will have double the obstacles in reaching the inside of your kayak. Stand Up Paddler’s also can take benefit of the DT suits. Because of the way the tunnel is attached to the suit, it ends up covering the zippered portion of the drysuit, which means boards won’t get scratched.
Relief Zipper/Drop Seat: Allows the wearer to be able to use the bathroom without needing to remove the suit.
Dry Socks/Latex Socks/Booties: These are integrated into the suit, sewn or glued in. With any of these items you will need to own a type of shoe or sandal to protect them from becoming torn or scratched on the ground. These come in Gore-Tex and Latex.