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From: Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 11:01:41 -0800 (PST)
Hi P'wisers--

I found a nifty table on the USCG website describing the survival times
at certain water temperatures.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/mse4/pfdcold.htm

I wanted to make a similar table for general kayaking use so novices
can have some idea of what clothing is appropriate at each water
temperature.

In addition, the original table only described time until [Exhaustion
or Unconsciousness] and [Expected Time of Survival].  What folks really
need to know isn't "how long will I live," or, "How soon will I die",
but "How soon will I lose the motor function required for a rescue".

I added a [Loss of Dexterity] column, and roughed in the numbers:

http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/guille/wiki.pl?Hypothermia_Table

I'd appreciate any feedback--do you think the numbers are appropriate,
or should some of them be revised up or down?

It probably needs a disclaimer that the numbers aren't absolute.  I'm
intending a good, general guide for novices who have no idea how to
dress for the water.  Another thing it says is "if you don't have a
drysuit, and the water is 40*F, don't go out".

Thanks,
Shawn

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From: <Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:25:59 -0500
>I'd appreciate any feedback--do you think the numbers are appropriate,
>or should some of them be revised up or down?

Shawn, I don't have the qualifications to do any editing for you, but I
have a request.  I'm sure you intend to do this, but just in case....
I'd like to request that once all the editing is complete, that you
re-publish the document so that we can look at a clean copy and learn
from it, and have it as a reference tool.

If Kirk permits, it would also be a handy thing to have on the web-site.

Thanks for doing that work!

Rick - Poquoson, VA  

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From: <jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 16:56:28 -0500
    We had a hefty female paddler begin to go hypothermic two weekends  ago
off Hunting Island, SC.  She was wearing a cotton t shirt and shorts on a 65
degree day with 59 degree water.  She was only in the water 2 minutes before
getting on the beach.  The paddler she was with didn't have any extra
clothes and the wind was 20 MPH.  We have a club that needs a LOT of help
with safety.  Only three wet suits that day out of 15 paddlers.  I cannot
seem to convince them of the need.  The woman told me she was perfectly fine
"until she got wet" and so a wetsuit isn't necessary.  There is no hope some
days.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Baker" <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com>
To: <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 2:01 PM
Subject: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table


> Hi P'wisers--
>
> I found a nifty table on the USCG website describing the survival times
> at certain water temperatures.
>
> http://www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/mse4/pfdcold.htm


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From: Peter Staehling <staehpj1_at_yahoo.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:57:22 -0800 (PST)
--- jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net wrote:
> The woman told
> me she was perfectly fine
> "until she got wet" and so a wetsuit isn't
> necessary.

Her statement may not be all that far off the mark if
she was close enough to shore to be on dry land in 2
minutes for the whole trip.

On the other hand, not having some warm dry clothes
along is a MAJOR mistake on all but the hottest days. 
Would having some pile and a paddling jacket in the
boat have been sufficient in this case? (It sounds
like it would have to me.)

If she got hypothermic I assume that it was from the
exposure to the air after being wet as much as or more
than the two minutes in the water.  Right?  How bad
was her hypothermia?  Not too bad I hope.

Pete

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From: Jim Holman <siguiriya_at_attbi.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 06:25:38 -0800
Shawn writes:
 Another thing it says is "if you don't have a drysuit, and the water is
40*F, don't go out".
------------------------------------------
It would be interesting to know how a wetsuit or drysuit affects the number.
For example, if no protection gets you exhaustion or unconsciousness within
30 to 60 minutes in 40 to 50 degree water, how would a wetsuit or drysuit
change those numbers?

jim holman
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From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 13:25:47 -0500
From: "Jim Holman" <siguiriya_at_attbi.com>

> if no protection gets you exhaustion or unconsciousness within
> 30 to 60 minutes in 40 to 50 degree water, how would a wetsuit or drysuit
> change those numbers?

Too many variable to determine easily.  A good dry suit will allow indefinite
exposure, as will a heavy wetsuit.  Ice diving is a popular activity for some.
They'll dive through a hole in the ice and stay relatively comfortable for the
duration of their dive.

A 3mm farmer john, on the other hand, will buy you time, but not a lot.

Fitness level is also a parameter, as is attitude and approach:

On the Discovery channel a few nights ago, they showed a program on immersion
hypothermia.  A doctor that specializes in the topic dropped into a hole in
the ice wearing winter clothes (GoreTex jacket, fleece, that sort of thing) 
and showed how to survive.  The first thing to do is control your breathing.
The initial reaction is to gasp or pant heavily and repeatedly.  If you go
under like this, you could ingest ice water and drown (he stated this 
emphatically, in spite of what others have debated here and on other forums).
Once your breathing is under control, you can proceed with trying to rescue
yourself.  This approach will extend your time in the water (he lasted an
hour - he let his sleeves freeze to the ice so as to prevent his slipping 
under if he became unconcious).  His dexterity was severely hampered
early on.

He also had a demonstration of what happens when snowmobilers go thru the ice
(a popular sport for the intelligence challenged.  Since the warm winter kept
ice off the lakes this year, fewer snowmobilers drowned.  OTOH, they died 
hitting stationary objects, like trees and telephone poles, in significant
numbers).

He wore a regular snowmobile suit, while another person wore a survival-type
snowmobile suit.  The latter features closed-cell foam insulation like a 
PFD, rather than fiber fill.  The combination of warmth with unsaturated
floatation and allowed the wearer to swim, IIRC, 100 meters or so and
get out, while the doc in the regular suit couldn't move after a while and
had trouble floating.

BTW, why "wear a flotation suit" is better than "stay off the thin ice and 
open water you idiot" is beyond me.  And yes, many snowmobilers think that 
crossing open water is cool.  

Mike

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From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 11:38:06 -0800
Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com> wrote:

> I found a nifty table on the USCG website describing the survival times
> at certain water temperatures.
> 
> http://www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/mse4/pfdcold.htm
> 
> I wanted to make a similar table for general kayaking use so novices
> can have some idea of what clothing is appropriate at each water
> temperature. [snip]
> 
> I added a [Loss of Dexterity] column, and roughed in the numbers:
> 
> http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/guille/wiki.pl?Hypothermia_Table
> 
> I'd appreciate any feedback--do you think the numbers are appropriate,
> or should some of them be revised up or down?


No big problems with the dexterity estimates except that I think you are too
conservative in the 70-80 F bracket.  I remember as a kid body surfing for
hours in 70F water and never suffering any loss of dexterity.  Admittedly, I
was working hard (and, I was 12-14 years old).

Of course, I would not wear any type of wet suit protection (not even a shorty)
on 70-80 F water.  That's balmy!

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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From: Ulli Hoeger <uhoeger_at_hotmail.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 18:05:30 -0400
>From: "Michael Daly" <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
>Too many variable to determine easily.  A good dry suit will allow 
>indefinite
>exposure, as will a heavy wetsuit.

Hi folks

I have a problem with this statement, and I assume we all still talking 
paddling clothing here. Don't get a wrong impression of safety. Wearing a 
dry suit while paddling will still leaves the possiblity of hypothermia. 
Don't get or give people a false sense of security.

A "good"(?) dry suit will definitley NOT give you indefinite exposure time!

Suits worn for ice diving or cold water diving are not comparable with the 
ones one would wear for recreational on the water sports.

A drysuit suitable for paddling is NOT a immersion or survival suit, like 
the ones you may find on ocean going vessels or drilling rigs as evacuation 
equipment (cold water diving suits are close to them).  Those are made from 
thick neoprene (still most of them are dry suits). They are heavy, bulky, 
and warm, but also the last thing you want to wear for going paddling. Even 
in those suits survival time in cold water is by no means indefinite, just a 
heck lot longer than with any other outfit.

A paddling, sailing, or surfing dry suit is nothing else than a jumpsuit 
made from waterproof fabric with latex gaskets around the 5 holes were 
various body parts stick out.
If it works, it will keep you dry, nothing else! That's it!

Warm keeps you whatever you wear underneath it. And yes, with such a dry 
suit you will still have to dress for water temperature and not for air 
temperature to be safe.

Most of use wear various layers of fleece and tech-fabric under it, looking 
for a solution somewhere between staying warm in the water for some time 
while swimming, but not to warm while being dry and paddling.

It's a compromise, most likely leaning towards the dry site of the equation. 
Therefore hypothermia can and will get to you also in such a outfit. Later 
than it would hit you when just wearing fleece or cotton, and maybe later 
than wearing a wet suit, but at one point it will get you.

No matter what you wear, you have to get out of the water as fast as 
possible, and out of the wet clothing and into dry stuff ASAP.

My 0.02$

Ulli

P.S. There are publications from a guy in England who tested some of the 
combinations(swim vs wet vs dry suit) for the Navy.  Don't remember his name 
right now, but he is big in hypothermia research.  However, his data shows 
that a drysuit is not that much better than a wetsuit, but as far as I 
remember it wasn't clear what people wore under it and what kind of wet suit 
it was (sure not a 3mm farmer john).
Run a medline database search with the keywords hpothermia, cold shock , 
immersion and his name will pop up several times.

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From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 19:00:00 -0500
From: "Ulli Hoeger" <uhoeger_at_hotmail.com>

> >From: "Michael Daly" <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
> >Too many variable to determine easily.  A good dry suit will allow 
> >indefinite exposure, as will a heavy wetsuit.
> 
> I have a problem with this statement, and I assume we all still talking 
> paddling clothing here. Don't get a wrong impression of safety. Wearing a 
> dry suit while paddling will still leaves the possiblity of hypothermia. 
> Don't get or give people a false sense of security.
> 
> A "good"(?) dry suit will definitley NOT give you indefinite exposure time!

I was talking in terms of scuba gear, but nonetheless, a good dry suit _will_
give you indefinite exposure time.  This assumes that you have the correct 
level of insulation under the dry suit.  Even the neoprene dry suits that
divers wear require insulation inside for ice diving.  A single layer
of 7mm neoprene will not keep you warm at 0C.

The big difference between a dry suit and a wet suit for a diver is comfort,
not warmth.  Both can be made to insulate sufficiently, but almost everyone
who tries a drysuit prefers them.  

It is true that there are fools out there that wear dry suits without
insulation even where it is warranted (and suffer the consequences - I 
believe someone on Paddlewise reported such an incedent off the US 
Atlantic coast a year or two ago).  I think that Shawn's table is trying
to stress the importance of insulation in dealing with water temperatures.

If we want to get picky about indefinite exposure times, the table that
Shawn presented (based on the source he gave) showed indefinite exposure
for water above 80F.  This is not correct, strictly speaking.  It assumes
that you are fit and fed enough to continue to generate heat.  In fact,
you can suffer from hypothermia at 80F - this is only 2F above the body
core temperature at which that vast majority of us would die.  I 
wouldn't want to be stuck in the water so long that that would happen -
we're talking days here (consider the time spent in water by tropical
shipwreck survivors - famous case of a US Navy WWII sinking).

Let's assume that we will be referring to reasonable uses of gear and 
temperature.  Shawn's table does show insulation requirements and 
the intent should be to be conservative.  Perhaps he could extend his
footnote to include comments that insulation levels are personal and
some may need more than others for the same level of comfort/survivability.

For example, unlike Dave, who is comfortable in 70-80F water, I wear a 
3mm FJ in the pool during the winter sessions.  I find it a tad cool for 
a couple of hours of rolling and rescue practice - YMMV.


Mike





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From: <Rcgibbert_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 18:01:07 EST
Ulli wrote:
A paddling, sailing, or surfing dry suit is nothing else than a jumpsuit 
made from waterproof fabric with latex gaskets around the 5 holes were 
various body parts stick out.
If it works, it will keep you dry, nothing else! That's it!

I remember well the bright, warm summer day I took an unsuspicious friend out 
for extended bracing and reentry practice. As he commonly paddled without PFD 
or skirt, let alone immersion apparrel, I wanted him not to be guiled by the 
warm summer sky's of Washington, but to face the realities of the 49 degree 
water just inches below his seat. After the third capsize I noted the 
increasing desperation of each reentry and called off the session. His skin 
chalk white and arms rattling like an ox running through bamboo reinforced 
his appetite for quality dry aparrel and the basic safety gear. Needing to 
reach him on the matter of safety, I was forced to do a live demo because my 
preaching was becoming a tiresome chant. 

I agree with Ulli that paddlers dry/wet aparrel are not meant for indefinite 
immersion. Rather, they enable the bottom dweller an extended time out of the 
cockpit prior to reentry. How much time is the subject at hand, however, 
lengthy immersion also requires quality hand, foot and headwear, as each 
digit needs to function well in an effort to assist one back into the boat.

Additionally, non breathable dry suits can be quite chilly in the water, as 
sweat soaked clothing vectors the ocean's cold straight to the skin where 
immediate contact is made with the skin and drysuit. The addition of layers 
helps with this but higher air temps can make that uncomfortable.

2 cents- Rob 

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From: <JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 01:07:51 EST
In a message dated 4/4/2002 9:49:35 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
siguiriya_at_attbi.com writes:


> It would be interesting to know how a wetsuit or drysuit affects the number.
> For example, if no protection gets you exhaustion or unconsciousness within
> 30 to 60 minutes in 40 to 50 degree water, how would a wetsuit or drysuit
> change those numbers?
> 
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard each received windfall money for cold water 
equipment studies in the mid-80s.  The Coasties did a nice job with a 
comparison between insulated coveralls (boat crew, "Mustang"-type suits), 
neoprene wet suits, and dry suits.  Very little has changed from the drysuits 
and wetsuits we had for flying (Navy) over cold water.  So the data should be 
good today.  Will try to get it posted in an easy to use manner, but it's 
'80s data: hard copy.

A Navy comparison of dry and wet suits is interesting because of some 
similarities to kayaking: the Navy judged in-aircraft performance as well as 
in-water performance in their evaluations.  The theory was that a good way to 
have to test the suit's in-water performance was by having heat stroke while 
flying.  Neither good, therefore compromises.  

A brief recap:

The conclusions of the USCG study are that

1.  loose fitting, "wet" , foam insulated protective garments (e.g., a float 
coat or suit similar to the Mustang) allow lower skin temperatures and faster 
rectal temperature cooling rates in rough seas than in calm seas because [of] 
flushing .....

2. tight fitting, "wet" foam insulated [wet suits] [offer the same protetion 
in rough or calm seas]

3. "dry" foam insulated garments provide the best protection .....

{and now it gets interesting/jcm}

4. in calm seas, where subjects [are motionless and there is no flushing], 
the coveralls and the wetsuits provide approximately the same protection; in 
rough seas, ... the full wetsuit provides significantly better protection 
than the coveralls.  

The "coverall" was a Stearns IFS-580, the grandfather of current Mustang 
suits, from the sound of it.  Coast Guard boat crews wore (and wear) them.

The Navy article is a study from Approach, the Naval Safety Center monthly.  
It talks about an operational requirement for a suit that would protect 
personnel immersed in 45 F water for two hours "without permanent 
physiological impairment."  Basically, a contest between a wet suit and a dry 
suit, but they have the same coveralls in there, too.  

A few points --- 

-  core cooling for a shorty wetsuit was one and one half times that of a 
full wet suit

- significantly, core cooling was not significantly different between wet and 
dry suits, but skin temps dropped faster from water contact, and made the 
subjects uncomfortable and stressed

I'm trying to construct a bar graph essentially as it was published.    Scale 
is 1-7, measuring cooling rate in calm vs. rough; this is data for rough seas

                                       0     1     2     3     4     5     6  
   7 

Standard flight suit (control) +++++++++++++++++++++ 6.46

Loose float coat                  ++++++++++++++ 4.32

Aviation coveralls                ++++++++++++ 3.24

Boatcrew coveralls              +++++++++++++ 3.53

Wet shorty                         ++++++++ 2.40

Full wet suit                        +++++++ 1.64

Dry suit                              +++  0.88

Survival suit                        ++ 0.74
  
Nothing absolute here, but some interesting comparisons.  And some numbers to 
factor.  Couple of notes: "survival" suits are carried for passengers to put 
on prior to ditching in cold areas.  "Boatcrew coveralls" and "aircrew 
coveralls" are similar to the Mustang insulated but loose suits.  Critical 
numbers for our discussion --- a full wet suit, the thick neoprene suits that 
are virtually impossible to paddle in, was roughly half of the protection 
offered by a dry suit.  Discount this for the farmer johns we tend to use, 
and the numbers were a lot more impressive for a drysuit.

Another interesting note --- the stress factor of skin discomfort caused by 
water flushing within a wet suit was actually measured and quantified.  It 
wasn't core (rectal) temp that dropped, but surface temps --- of far less 
importance in terms of challenge to survival.  (Scientific note: when doing 
these tests, most labs use "indoor-outdoor" thermometers that are actually 
just   instruments used indoors, but with a probe that is run to the outside 
to measure outdoor temps --- but read inside.  Whatever.  In these 
experiments, the probe is placed --- er, "indoors" as far as the tester is 
concerned, and the readout unit is strapped to his/her shoulder so that the 
lab people can keep a close eye on core.  Been there, done that: no tee 
shirt.)

This information is somewhat counterintuitive at first --- wet suits and dry 
suits protect the core at roughly equal levels?  Yes, the data show that they 
do.  At least for a while.  What the data don't show is the lower stress, far 
less pain and discomfort, and a more optimistic attitude with the test 
candidates in drysuits.  And that transfers to small motor coordination and 
other factors.

Hope this added some harder data to the discussion.  If I can get my act 
together, I'll put this data together in a usable soft copy with all the 
details and offer it as a service to anyone who wants to publish it in local 
newsgroups or newsletters.

Jack Martin


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From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hypothermia Table
Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 12:47:42 -0500
From: <JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com>

> [...] 

Lots of useful, interesting stuff, Jack.

> And that transfers to small motor coordination and 
> other factors.

Just a comment on this.  I hope no one reads into this that a drysuit
will significantly extend dexterity.  I've been reading stuff trying
to find quantification of dexterity info for Shawn's table (rather
than his estimates).  While I haven't found anything quantified in
terms of time, there are several articles that qualify dexterity
with temperature.

One key point is that even though the forearm is protected and warm in
a drysuit, and the key muscles for the hand are in the forearm, cold
hands still lose dexterity in water.  There are several factors that
contribute to ease of motion in the hand.  Joints become stiff, the
nerves are affected (loss of sense of touch and therefore ability to
sense position, grip etc) and so on.  This prevents you from using 
your hands even though the muscles are warm.

The key is - for cold water, you'd still need hand protection, like
gloves, to extend your degree of and time of dexterity.

Mike


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From: Nick Schade <schade_at_guillemot-kayaks.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] Gloves- was Hypothermia Table
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 09:51:51 -0400
At 12:47 PM -0500 4/6/02, Michael Daly wrote:
>The key is - for cold water, you'd still need hand protection, like
>gloves, to extend your degree of and time of dexterity.

Gloves vs Poggies. I was out paddling yesterday in fairly cold air 
and a stiff wind. My partner was wearing NRS gloves and I was wearing 
my old CKS pile line poggies.  He ended up dumping and we had to get 
him back in his boat. My hands got cold when I removed them from the 
poggies and he couldn't get his sprayskirt on with his gloves on. 
They fit too tight to reasonably take them off and put them back on. 
While my hands were cold they still functioned, while his were warm 
they were not that "handy".

Any thoughts/comments on appropriate hand protection? Pros/Cons etc.
Nick
-- 
Nick Schade
Guillemot Kayaks
824 Thompson St
Glastonbury, CT 06033
(860) 659-8847
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From: <Rcgibbert_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Gloves- was Hypothermia Table
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 15:46:22 EDT
Nick wrote: Any thoughts/comments on appropriate hand protection? Pros/Cons 
etc.

I stopped using pogies when I started using a Greenland style paddle. I then 
gravitated towards a myriad style dive gloves, and not having liked any of 
them due to glove surface texture, seam chafing, on/off ease, I settled on a 
pair of gloves from Kenai, Reno, NV. They are a 2mm neoprene/nylon liner 
glove with only a slightly grippy surface. Kenai-4890 aircenter cir., reno, 
nv 89502. They make an "Aleut" version which includes a velcro band on the 
wrist portion which tightens it to ones garments. I found the velcro too much 
of a bother, as the "Kenai" was tight enough to limit ingress. Additionally, 
the seams leak anyway so why bother?

The key to the "Kenai" gloves is that I can easily put my spray skirt on and 
maintain good dexterity for other tasks. I use a tight fitting Bushsport 
spray skirt on a Nordkapp Jubilee kayak. The stern portion of the cockpit rim 
is recessed and any loss of manual dexterity is immediately noticed. The 
waters of Puget Sound range from the high 40's to low 50's year round. The 
gloves are stretchy and as such, are easy enough to put on, that I did it in 
3-4 foot seas on a crossing from Anacortes to Friday Harbor a couple weeks 
ago.

The down side is that they will probably last a couple of seasons at most. 
They are thin and one spill on slick tidal rocks may tatter them. They cost 
me $25.00 USD. They also take in water and hands stay wet, though warm. They 
will fit over the gaskets of my dry suit or dry top, limiting ingress. Hands 
emerge prunish and soft enough to give a good "swiss army manicure" at the 
end of the day.

I like pogies only as long as I am staying dry and not rolling, sculling or 
bracing. Extended paddle grip sculling or Pawlata rolling are also mildly 
inhibited by pogies. (That is my take and paddlers such as Nick, with better 
technique than I, may report better results.) Of course pogies come in many 
styles and not just the cordura and pile "limo's" I like so much. I agree 
with Nick, in that a paddler using pogies, suddenly finding immersed hands 
will fare better because the hands were kept warm all the while until 
immersion; as opposed to the person carrying, but not using gloves until 
needed. My guess is an ungloved/pogied paddler loses dexterity quicker in 
cold waters because he/she started with hands quite cooler than they would 
have been were they using pogies/gloves. Therefore, pogies seem to me to be a 
very good choice in most conditions, especially if you do not like gloves. 

2 cents contributed humbly, Rob G






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From: gordin warner <hmgwarner_at_shaw.ca>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Gloves- Visiting Paddlers
Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 14:33:51 -0700
> Nick wrote: Any thoughts/comments on appropriate hand protection?
Pros/Cons
> etc.
>
>Rob wrote I stopped using pogies when I started using a Greenland style
paddle....

I'm just across the water from you Rob and I've gone the other way.  I've
carried two pairs of neoprene gloves for more then a year.  The first pair
would come off at lunch, to be replaced with the dry second pair.  This
worked fine until my recent five day trip up to Nanamio.  After both pairs
of gloves were wet they could not handle the cold.  Luckily for me one of my
Kiwi friends had an extra pair of Pogies.  Without them I don't think I'd
have made it.  As soon as I got back I bought a pair for myself.

Had an enjoyable trip out to Rum Island, only a quarter mile from the USA
(Stewart Island), on Sunday.  It was so warm I didn't need either Pogies or
gloves.  Maybe spring has finally arrived.

If you're in these waters, or the area, looking for places to paddle give me
a call.  I'm in the book.

Gordin Warner
Victoria BC

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