<- Original Text -> ...snipped... Second question (and open to all): Should the paddling community define some "rules of thumb" for different types of clothing for varying water temps? Would this be safer for new paddlers to understand? (vice the "jump in and test it" advice) Thanks, Woody Hi Woody, There are rules of thumb floating around, and of course the reason they are so broad is that people have difference amounts of insulating lard about their core and elsewhere. ;-) (There are other reasons for variable heat and cold tolerance, too.) I am the first to put on a sweater, whereas others can go short-sleeved all winter (arrgh!). But at a certain point, **cold water wins**, no matter who you are. Your goal is to stay alive long enough to get out of it. Last year when this subject arose, someone suggested filling your tub with cold water (same temperature as you will paddle in), open your bathroom windows, put on what you will wear paddling, immerse yourself in the tub and see how long you last before you can't stand it and get out. This has two advantages; you know whether your outfit will keep you warm enough to function if you dump, and you are in a safe place if your guess was wrong. I think for those who have never had the pleasure of dumping in really cold water, this is a great way to see what keeps you warm without endangering your life. Besides, you can then take a hot shower right away and warm up. Regards, Leander leander_at_worldnet.att.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Nov 15 1999 - 07:15:31 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:16 PDT