[Paddlewise] Cold Hands

Arthur said: So my question is what do you cold weather paddlers use to
protect your hands in conditions I mentioned above? Obviously I needed more 
protection.


Arthur -

I paddle all winter unless the [new, revised] wind chill is -10F or colder.  
The river I go to for my regular paddles is too polluted to freeze most of 
the winter. I cannot, after 36 years of kayaking and trying everything to 
keep my hands warm, paddle unless the skin of my hands is touching the 
paddle shaft.

I use pogies. I use neoprene ones now, but was happy with nylon ones in the 
past. What works at rrrreally cold temps [usually about 20F or colder] is 
that the pogies get a nice layer of ice on them [so does my paddle jacket 
and balaclava  (or baklava if the thread recently running is to be 
honored)].  Anyway, the ice is a very effective insulator.  My hands are 
painfully cold when the temp is about 25 because the water flowing over the 
pogies on the strokes keeps them warm enough that they won't freeze up.  But 
with ice my hands are toasty.  And heavy!

At the in-between temps when ice does not form, I wear a warmer hat than I 
otherwise would and my general body temperature is warm enough that the pain 
in my hands isn't so annoying.  But pain and paddling are a fair trade-off 
when pain can't be avoided.  And since it hardly ever snows in Chicago 
anymore, paddling is my favorite winter sport.

This is probably no help to you.  Maybe invest in some chemical handwarmers 
and put them inside the pogies.

Good luck!

Jim Tibensky


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