Re: [Paddlewise] Pogies --- counterpoint

Joq wrote;

(SNIP)
>
>     However, I've always thought pogies work best for WW scenarios, where
>     a blown roll can be followed by a short swim to a nearby shoreline,
>     worst case.  In sea kayaking, where the nearby shoreline can be miles
>     away, your hands are not going to be protected much at all by pogies
>     if you wind up swimming for some reason.  Very cold water will make
>     your unprotected hands non-functional within a minute or less, and
>     your ability to effect a self- or group-recovery is going to be
>     limited if not non-existent.  The longer it takes, the less likely
>     your hands will work.  For open water situations in a cold
>     environment, I'd choose neoprene gloves in a heartbeat, and accept
the
>     fact that my ability to finesse a chart is going to be limited.  Even
>     the lightweight neoprene gloves faces with manmade "leather" give
some
>     protection, and are easier to work charts.  The idea of having
>     neoprene gloves in a pocket is a nice idea, but try putting them on
in
>     a canned situation --- cold water (under 50 degrees F, but try it in
a
>     big bucket of icewater!) before you need to see if it will work for
>     real.  They're very hard to put on once you're swimming, especially
>     after several minutes in cold water.


I had not thought of it this way but this seems to be a good reason for
gloves over pogies.

I have always used gloves rather than pogies (although I did not think it
through like Joq) since it seemed sensible to have something you could use
even if you didn't have a paddle in your hand. The gloves made for paddling
that I have tried were disappointing and now I use cold weather sailing
gloves. The West Model 175936S is good for really cold stuff but I like the
Ronstan Offshore model for marginal conditions. The sailing gloves are more
flexible, really last, dry quickly,  and give a good grip.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/

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