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From: Arthur Hebert <seacajun_at_gs.net>
subject: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 13:13:17 -0600
I am sure you northern boys and girls can help out this southern boy on this
one.  I have paddled in some cold weather in the past but I guess today must
have been the coldest including the wind factor. I say that due to the fact
that I did not have enough protection for my hands. 


The conditions were air temp 34 degrees F, water temp 48 degrees F, wind speed
25-28 knots gusting to 32-35 knots.  This was in Lake Ponchartrain in the New
Orleans area.  Average water depth is eight feet, so the wind driven waves (24
mile fetch) can be interesting.  Today the wind driven waves were up to five
feet.


Ok, to my point I did have my Gore-Tex drysuit on with layers underneath and
two scull caps, no problem with the cold weather affecting the main part of my
body.  My problem was my hands partially the fingertips.  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? Obviously I needed more
protection.


Thanks in advance for any advise,


Southern boy looking forward to the 90 degree temp coming soon, dat I can
handle.


Arthur Hebert


New Orleans, Louisiana





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From: Joe Pylka <pylka_at_castle.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 16:26:57 -0500
  ----- Original Message ----- 


  From: Arthur Hebert 





>>>My problem was my hands partially the fingertips.  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? Obviously I needed more


protection.





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...





Joe P.








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From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 19:01:40 -0500
From: "Arthur Hebert" <seacajun_at_gs.net>

> 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.  

Are these pogies nylon or neoprene?  I find the neoprene (5mm) often too hot.
They certainly insulate and protect from the wind.  I've never used 
nylon, but they should be a good wind barrier; they'd need a liner glove
or mit to be warm though.  Fuzzy rubber pogies might be an intermediate
alternative - do such exist?

I think you'd have to experiment a bit.  Not everyone has the same circulation
in their hands.  What's too warm to me might be cold for you!

Also, you'd have to consider that with pogies, your hands won't be protected 
from water temps if you swim.  A light glove in a nylon pogie might be a 
good compromise.

Mike

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From: John <waddinj_at_recorder.ca>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2002 20:56:34 -0500
I have worn neoprene pogies over bare hands down to about 15 F
with no real problems, even though I usually have problems with
cold.  I use a wooden paddle shaft which doesn't conduct away the
heat as much as some shafts. I always take neoprene gloves with me
in the kayak in case I have to go into the water, since the pogies
would be attached to the paddle and would be pretty useless if I
were in the water even if I took them off the paddle.  The rest of
me is protected by a drysuit with fleece underneath.  Once at
about 0-5 F I tried the gloves under the pogies, but found it too
bulky.  It would have been better if my gloves were the kind with
the pre-curved fingers.

John

Arthur Hebert wrote:
> 
> I am sure you northern boys and girls can help out this southern boy on this
> one.  I have paddled in some cold weather in the past but I guess today must
> have been the coldest including the wind factor. I say that due to the fact
> that I did not have enough protection for my hands.
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From: Koenigs <gyst_at_cox.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 20:27:26 -0600
----- Original Message ----- 


From: "Arthur Hebert" <seacajun_at_gs.net>


To: <PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net>


Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 1:13 PM


Subject: [Paddlewise] cold hands








> I am sure you northern boys and girls can help out this southern boy on this

> one.  





> My problem was my hands partially the fingertips.  I was wearing 2mm


> neoprene gloves, not enough protection.  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? 


> Arthur Hebert


New Orleans, Louisiana





I can't address the question of what the regular cold water folk do, god bless
them, but......


I do know that short white water style neoprene pogies provide me with
sufficient wind protection when the Mississippi River temp is in the lower
30's and a howling wind issues forth from the northern parts to terrorize us
Southern gentlemen. The shortness of the device makes re-access easy when my
hands've slipped out for fine finger work apart from the paddle and then,
again, wish the respite of the gauntlet.


Larry Koenig


Baton Rouge,LA





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From: Erik Sprenne <sprenne_at_netnitco.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hands
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2002 23:28:05 -0600
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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