Re: [Paddlewise] Cold Water

From: Gary J. MacDonald <garyj_at_rogers.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:40:54 -0500
James wrote:
> So it appears that there is no one who actually has any *data* on how
> much 
> longer a drysuit would let you tolerate cold water vs. a wetsuit.  I was
> very 
> surprised by this.   

Comparative data might be somewhat useful, although the range of 
conditions is such that no absolute data would be much use.

The other problem is who is tested.  All too often rigorous physical 
tests are done using volunteers from the military or university athletic 
teams.  I was once discussing this with a Warrant Officer of many years 
experience, and he agreed that a platoon of young soldiers just in from 
serious field training would likely find lab tests a lark, competing 
with each other to tough it out for great extremes that would be 
meaningless to ordinary mortals.  I suspect that even comparative tests 
on such a group would be hard to extrapolate.

Loving my gore-tex drysuit,
GaryJ
-- 
Director, Family Canoeing Centre
Recreational canoeing courses for the whole family.

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Received on Wed Mar 12 2003 - 14:40:32 PST

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