Kayakers, I have read that for safety reasons you should be dressed for water temperature, not air temperature, when kayaking. As a result, the authors say you should wear a wetsuit when paddling in cold water. I wear a wetsuit when I know I am going to be in the water, such as when I am surfing and practicing rolling, sculling and bracing; and when I am surfing, I find that I have to roll about every 5 minutes to cool off. I couldn't imagine wearing a wetsuit on a regular paddle, because it is too hot. Hasn't anyone considered the risk of heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even heat stoke from paddling while wearing a wetsuit? I saw a lot of guys suffer from overheating injuries when I was an airborne infantryman in the army, and it is as serious and deadly as hypothermia. As a result, when touring I think it is better to dress for air temperature and to be prepared for capsizes by developing good rolling and reentry skills to minimize time in the water. I would rather risk the rare occurrence of getting hypothermia from being in the water for a prolonged time than risk getting overheated everytime I paddled by wearing a wetsuit. For most touring paddling it is nonsense to be dressed for water temperature rather than air temperature. Your input is encouraged! Duane Strosaker Southern California *************************************************************************** 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 4/11/99 9:31:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Strosaker_at_aol.com writes: I guess you have never had hypo-thermia. It can only takes 20 minutes in the Pacific at this time of year to incapacitate you. It is a very weird and helpless feeling not to be able to make your fingers close enough to put them in your pocket, let alone put on a spray skirt or shoot off a flare. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Duane, I was a Boiler Technician in the Navy-14 years. During that time I was exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time. The solution seemed to be to "stay hydrated..." oh, and maybe "push a bit less..." When I was out paddling summer before last, I tried to let the water temp determine how I was dressed-and let the air temperature determine how large my stock of fluids should be... That meant dry-top and wet suit in the summer... This past fall and winter, well, It's been poly underwear and a dry-suit even though fortunately, I have not gotten more than my feet wet...<G> I believe that your concerns about "heat illness" are valid, but I also believe there are ways around that while limiting the risk potential... FWIW, Tom... in Renton, Wa. <gadfly_at_isomedia.com> homepage: www.isomedia.com/homes/gadfly *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Strosaker_at_aol.com wrote: > I have read that for safety reasons you should be dressed for water > temperature, not air temperature, when kayaking. As a result, the authors > say you should wear a wetsuit when paddling in cold water. [snip] > > Hasn't anyone considered the risk of heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even > heat stoke from paddling while wearing a wetsuit? [snip] > I think it is better to dress for air temperature and to be prepared for > capsizes by developing good rolling and reentry skills to minimize time in > the water. [snip] For most touring paddling it is > nonsense to be dressed for water temperature rather than air temperature. There are trade-offs, for sure. Your point about only needing a level of immersion protection to cover the probable time in the water to achieve reentry is well taken. One option is to adjust your wetsuit/dry top combination to fit the water temperature, rather than wearing a full-tilt heavy wetsuit all the time. If you wear a 3 mm farmer john as the basic immersion protection, ramp up with a dry top as the water gets colder, and add fleece as the water gets colder yet, you can generally avoid overheating problems, at least where I paddle. (Yesterday I paddled under a waterfall to cool off -- worked great!) In sunny SoCal, perhaps this would not work so well as up here. I will admit to having discarded the dry top on really hot days, when I might have needed it if I capsized. As another poster mentioned, hydrating yourself well will avoid most overheating problems. You have raised a good issue. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 12 Apr 1999 00:00:51 Strosaker wrote: >Hasn't anyone considered the risk of heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even >heat stoke from paddling while wearing a wetsuit? Besides staying well hydrated I had a chance to try a trick I had read somewhere a few weeks ago. I was floating down the Kansas River in air temps around 70 F while the water was probably around 45 F. Everytime I started to feel hot I would drag a hand through the water for a little while, basically using the hand as a small radiator to cool my blood and hence the rest of me. Worked wonderfully. I ended up with wet neoprene gloves but overall cooled off. :) Mel --- There are three types of people, those who can count and those who can't. -----== Sent via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/ Easy access to 50,000+ discussion forums *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
>On Mon, 12 Apr 1999 00:00:51 Strosaker wrote: >>Hasn't anyone considered the risk of heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even >>heat stoke from paddling while wearing a wetsuit? > >Besides staying well hydrated I had a chance to try a trick I had read >somewhere a few weeks ago. I was floating down the Kansas River in air >temps around 70 F while the water was probably around 45 F. Everytime I >started to feel hot I would drag a hand through the water for a little >while, basically using the hand as a small radiator to cool my blood and >hence the rest of me. Worked wonderfully. I ended up with wet neoprene >gloves but overall cooled off. :) > >Mel I have had the experience while participating in a SCUBA Instructor course. We were required to swim several miles at a "race pace" in full wetsuit in relatively warm water. The result was cramps which left our muscles, particularly the large muscles in the legs, sore for about a week. Robert rcline_at_onramp.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I tend to run hot, and have on more than one occasion suffered heat exhaustion (or was it heat stroke; I always mess them up). But never paddling. I just don't generate the same heat with paddling as I would using the much bigger muscles of the body. I've never paddled water anywhere in California, ocean or river, where I felt the water was so warm that a wetsuit was a threat, although I've gone without one many times. I could stay out in the SoCal water for hours, for example, in the summer without hypothermia, but I've also done some long swims in that same water with a wetsuit with no problems except for some discomfort. I use a farmer john, however, which definitely allows for more venting. I have diver friends who use those urethane/pile garments even in tropical water; they look like they might work for those that run real hot. -- Rob Gendreau Oakland, California gendreau_at_ccnet.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
From: Strosaker_at_aol.com Date sent: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 00:00:51 EDT Subject: [Paddlewise] Wetsuit Overheading Danger To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Send reply to: Strosaker_at_aol.com > I have read that for safety reasons you should be dressed for water > temperature, not air temperature, when kayaking. As a result, the authors > say you should wear a wetsuit when paddling in cold water. I wear a wetsuit > when I know I am going to be in the water, such as when I am surfing and > practicing rolling, sculling and bracing..... At first I thought you were trolling, Duane, but everyone else is taking your post seriously, so I will too. Sorta. Your logic is good: my limited experience in Southern California and the Baja says that the water is never very warm, and, "... when [you] know [you're] going to be in the water ..." a wetsuit is probably needed for comfort and probably for survival on any extended swim. So when you're going to be swimming, you wear a wetsuit and rotocool for to avoid hyperthermia. My question is this: how do you know when you are going to be in the water? Do you know for certain that you won't get wet on any given day? If you can always predict when you are or aren't going to swim --- and if your life might depend on this kind of accurace, which it might --- I'd like to know if you do any consulting on lottery tickets and at horse tracks. Seriously, you acknowledge needing a wetsuit when you're going to swim, but how do you know you aren't? Jack Martin *************************************************************************** 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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