There are a lot of new-design pogies available these days. NRS has a new neoprene pogie with titanium flecks which purport to be even warmer than standard neoprene, and several manufacturers are using some of the high tech Malden Mills fleece products to make a good pogie. 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. Just a thought. Personally, I like "fisherman" lighweight neoprene gloves with one of the Malden Thermal Stretch ("Polartec 2000S", at one time) pogies over them. But I also like redundancy in a safety situation. Jack *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-05-29 07:13:32 EDT, Jack_Martin_at_jtif.webfld.navy.mil writes: << 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. >> This is a good point. However, it has been my experencie that wearing gloves while touring tend to make most people grip the paddle more firmly which frequently contributes to wrist, forearm and elbow problems. So now the question; protect against the possibility of a cold swim or protect against tendonitis. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-05-29 08:15:24 EDT, KiAyker_at_aol.com writes: << ... it has been my experencie that wearing gloves while touring tend to make most people grip the paddle more firmly which frequently contributes to wrist, forearm and elbow problems. >> Agreed, Scott, particularly with the high tech "pre-curved" heavier neoprene gloves. I've got a pair of Otter Paws that I can't wear just for that reason. I'm constantly fighting the bungee effect they have on my hands. With the cheapie neoprene ($9.95 at K-Mart) lighweights I use --- or with the nice ones John Winters uses --- that bungee effect is essentially non-existent, and I personally don't have a problem with tendonitis as a result of the gloves. Given the option, I'll give up a little "paddle sensitivity" for cold water "functionality" any time. Jack *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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