Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands

It is my experience that individuals vary *significantly* with
respect to how warm their hands stay during cold weather
paddling, so what works for one may not necessarily be the best
solution for another.

I agree with Joe that pogies are surprisingly warm for
being of such light construction, but pogies also are made in
many different flavors - plain coated nylon, nylon with mylar
lining, fuzzy polyester lining in a nylon shell, neoprene, and
combinations thereof.

Having said that, my all-time favorite cold weather paddling hand
gear always included thin coated cloves that I'd wear all of the
time to provide a good grip on the paddle, and pogies that would
be put over the gloves when the hands got too cold.  The coated
gloves that were my favorites are not longer commercially
available, but were of thin construction - fabric impregnated
with some sort of material that provided a good grip on the
paddle shaft.  Since these gloves became unavailable, I've tried
a number of other paddling gloves, but all are lacking the
tactile sensitivity that I was used to....

I now use either a fuzzy polyester-lined nylon pogie or a
mylar-lined nylon pogie depending on how I feel any particular
day.  The polyester-lined pogie absorbs more water than does the
mylar-lined pogie, but is also warmer if the hands stay out of
the water.  (my hands are generally tolerant of cold water - the
exception being whitewater sidesurfing sans paddle in the winter)

The choice of hand wear also depends on the length of
the outing and whether one is dawdling or paddleing actively for
the duration.  It's not that much extra weight to carry a number
of different options in the boat.

Play Hard,
Erik Sprenne



Arthur Hebert wrote:
>>>> I was wearing 2mm neoprene gloves, not enough protection.  I
do own pogies but did not bring them (silly me).  I  typically do
not wear gloves due to the lack of control/feel of the paddle
shaft. I have a hard time thinking that the pogies  alone  would
have provided enough protection with the wind chill factor
possibly being in the 20's.  So my question is what do  you cold
weather paddlers use to protect your hands in conditions I
mentioned above? <<<<

Joe Pylka replied
>>> I stay constantly amazed in the winter to discover that
Pogies alone are more than adequate for keeping my hands warm...
When I do wear gloves alone I find that the looser they are the
warmer my hands will be.  I suspect that any restriction of
circulation is  not a good thing. My hands also go cold
immediately after lunch, but after a short while are warmer than
in the morning...<<<






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