Re: [Paddlewise] Cold Hands

As a Reynaud's Syndrome sufferer -- constriction causes middle fingers to 
shut down completely, turning yellowish blue and losing all feeling -- I 
share the pain.  Have tried all the "best" of everyone's else's suggestion, 
but will strongly endorse a neoprene mitt with some light liner inside.  A 
lot better than neoprene gloves -- for the reasons earlier responders noted.

I also am fooling around with two pairs of dry gloves -- one a true diving 
glove that has a complicated set of rings that go into the drysuit cuffs and 
another that go into heavy latex gloves.  The other, much cheaper and easier 
to use in some ways, is basically the same glove that I bought from the dive 
shop -- heavy latex, beefier than a dry suit seal, but not by much -- with a 
seal that looks just like the cuff of the dry suit and mates over (or under) 
the suit's seal.  So far, so good, but this winter has been a disaster at 
work, and I haven't had enough time to really test them, or to see how long 
they'll survive.  Big dive shops for the first -- my source for the second 
was Annapolis Performance Sailing.  They have a web site, will sell by phone, 
and, for locals, they have a postbox contraption outside the store to allow 
you to pick up stuff you've bought by card when they're closed.  Which is a 
lot of the time.  These guys love to sail.  

Diver's rig is about $120 or more.  Not a great value for most kayakers, 
although they're set up to allow body heat/air to circulate to the hands.  
For me, in my extreme susceptibility to cold, there's value there.  The APS 
gloves were about $15.  There's a balance of getting a liner to provide 
warmth -- by themselves, they offer no warmth -- and having so much bulk that 
you can't handle the paddle.

One final potential solution: Magic Marine Dry Gloves product number is 
23001.  They're sailing gloves, and are made of two mm titanium layered 
neoprene with taped seams and a double cuff.  Your dry suit seal goes over 
the first cuff seal and under the second cuff seal, with an overlocking 
Velcro strap on the outside.  Can't wear liners, but the titanium-enhanced 
neoprene seems warm, and the glove is dry.  Period.  Assuming you follow the 
guidelines.  At about $35 at sailing shops, but these puppies sell out fast, 
and they're hard to find at this time of the year.  Again, there's a 
downside: makes it harder to feel the paddle, and there's sometimes a 
"bungee" effect where a thicker liner and a latex glove will make it hard to 
bend the fingers.

Recyclable hand warmers from REI are also a good source of heat --- but not 
for long.  

Good luck with those hands!

Joq

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