Re: [Paddlewise] Cold Water Clothing

Keith writes:
His official homepage is at:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/physed/research/people/giesbrecht.shtml
----------------------------------------------
Thanks for the reference.  I just sent him an email.  I'll let you know if
he responds.

By the way, I found the response that I received from the Kokatat company:

- - - - - - - -
Hi Jim,

Thanks for the inquiry.  Now this is a complex question.  I will try to hit
all the major points of your questions; if you still have more, you can
certainly
call us.

On the subject of "Quantitative Data": people have done some testing but
never
in such a way that it was not skewed to provide the outcome the researcher
wanted.
 There are just too many variables to account for; to try and recreate a
"real
world" (i.e. uncontrolled) situation in a scientifically measurable (i.e.
controlled)
environment is next to impossible.  Some of the variables are: air
temperature,
water temperature, activity level, insulating layers, personal heat
production
ability (which is affected by things like sleep and food eaten), body type
(do
you provide your own insulation?) and personal heat variance tolerance.  I
do
not know where to find the data that does exist.

The Bottom Line, both wetsuits and dry suits substantially improve chances
of
survival in extreme conditions as well as comfort in normal conditions.  As
to which is better, it seems to come down to personal opinion.  We believe
in
dry suits.

The main advantage of dry suits is their versatility.  A dry suit is only a
waterproof, windproof (and in the case of Gore-Tex, breathable) shell, that
in and of itself it has very little insulation value; its warmth retention
value
comes from its ability to keep your insulating layers dry and keeping the
wind
out.  On the warmest days you can wear very little underneath the suit, or
on
the coldest or most exposed days, you can layer on thick the insulation
(base
wicking layer, and then thicker insulating layers of fleece).  Remember to
be
as safe as possible, one should dress according to the water temperature,
not
the air temperature.

Please also check out our website, go to the section called "Dressing for
Paddle
Sports"
www.kokatat.com/dressing.htm

Happy Paddling
Kokatat
- - - - - - - - - - -

jim holman


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