Re: [Paddlewise] numb leg syndrome

Support your lower legs (just in front of your buttocks.)  A quick fix is to
put a semi inflated paddle float there.  Works like a charm.  It's a bit of
a hassle.  You have to determine how much air to put in.  It's also a pain
to slide your feet into your boat without sliding the paddle float forward
with them.  But it's not that hard, and once you get it dialed in you'll be
very glad.  Leg pain and numbness goes away.  You can paddle for hours.

The latest Sea Kayaker had a review of a new product designed to take the
place of a semi-inflated paddle float.  It's called a "SealLine Kayak
Thigh-Support Cushion by Cascade Designs."
(www.cascadedesigns.com/sealline)  It looks like it does the same thing.  It
says it has Velcro tabs to keep it from sliding forward.  The article quotes
the price as $39.95.  It might be worth a look.

Another answer is to sculpt a seat from mini-cell foam.  If your seat is
long enough, with support in front for those lower legs, it would seem that
it would be another way to solve the numb leg problem, without having to use
an inflatable device that could slide out of position.  I'm building a
Guillemot for my wife, and I'm going to have to come up with some sort of
seat for her (she insists) so I'm thinking of trying that.  If it works for
her, I may sculpt one for my Chesapeake 17.  It would be nice not to have to
worry about getting the paddle float in the right place with the proper
amount of air.


> Can anyone point me to info on how to go about working out what causes leg
> numbness and how to go about preventing it?  I last about 25 minutes and
my
> left leg is 'asleep'.  I spend a couple of evenings creating a very nice
> seat and that only moved me from lasting about 20 minutes to 25.  What are
> some things that you found that contributed to numbness?
>
> Marvin


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