Cold water gear Gloves VS Mittens

[Kudzu]

Winter is my favorite time to paddle. The lakes are empty except for the few die hard fishermen and and of course duck hunters. But you must have proper gear of you can die VERY QUICKLY!

 

Dry-suits are not cheap but what is you life worth? But what I  wanted to talk about gloves. Yesterday was in the 40's but no wind so it felt quite comfortable. I paddle with a Greenland Paddle and they are quite wet. There isn't a really good way to put a drip rings on them without messing up the use of the paddle. So you have to wear something on your hands. I have two pair of neoprene gloves and I will never buy another!

 

The first pair was cheap and they leaked water like a sieve. Wets suits allow water in and then body quickly heats it up and you stay warm but wet. The problem with these gloves were they let water in and out and it was like having a cold stream running across you hands. As long as you were paddling they were miserable. They are great in dry conditions. I 'ass'sumed it was just bad gloves so I opted for the NRS Mystery Titanium gloves. Worked fine for 2 paddles and then they started doingthe same thing. Letting cold water run and out. The only thing they do is block the wind.

 

Someone loaned me a pair of neoprene mittens one day while we were paddling. My hands hurt bad  they were so cold from those stupid gloves. Within 10-15 minutes of wearing the mittens I was warm, dry and amazed. 30 minutes into the paddle in 40 degree weather and probably high 40 degree water my hands were sweating! I actually had to dip them in the water to cool them off.

 

Yesterday I was stupid and forgot how cold those gloves were and wore them. My hands were hurting by the time we got back. When I went to bed they were still hurting and cold. My hands might have been in the first stages of hypothermia? I don't know but the gloves will stay in the truck! I will change into them when we get back and use them loading and unloading. So if you looking.... HANDS DOWN! MITTENS WIN!

 

 

[Hirilonde]

I have done a good bit of winter backpacking.  I wear polypropylene glove liners as the first layer.  They wick moisture away very quickly, but add very little insulation.  My main layer is wool MITTENS.  My outer layer is GoreTex/nylon MITTEN shells for waterproofing.  There is no question in my mind that Neoprene mittens are the answer for paddling.  The key to mittens is that they contain all the fingers in the same space.  So they share the heat that the insulation preserves and reduces the surface area through which the heat is lost.

 

Your fingers were in the first stages of frostbite Jeff.  When you go through the pain phase into no feeling is when you are really in trouble.   Hypothermia is the whole body losing heat faster than it can generate it and thus affecting organs.

[uncleralph]

I have had the same problems with kayaking gloves.  This year I decided to try pogies and am a convert.  I have the Snap Dragon Hyper Hands - http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Hyper-Hands-Kayak-Pogies/dp/B002GJMIFI  They work very well. My only complaint is that they can be too warm in anything above about 45 degrees.  They have the same benefits as mittens, with the added feature of being able to slide your hand in and out easilly, if you need to do anything that requires your fingers (take pictures, adjust GPS, etc.).  Some pogies have a gauntlet that makes it more difficult to get your hands out - these do not.

[GPStick]

A friend came up with a design for some drip rings that we have been using for several years now. He used some material from a caulking job at the airport but I have had good luck with inner tube material. Cut in length about 31/2" by 1" and slit the center longways about 2", or what is needed to stay snug up past your hand position.Before or after the slit is done use a hole punch to make holes at the end of the slit. Helps with tear out. I can get a couple years out of a pair.I swear by Pogies, but since I prefer shouldered GP's I had a friend sew in some triangular gussets to allow them to fit over the shoulder on 1 side of the Pogies. My hands sweat so much they might as well be wet and that goes for mittens too. Plus mittens make it a bear to put on the spray deck.JoeSent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Kudzu]

The problem with drip rings is the get in the way of any sliding stroke. Something I don't use a lot but I do something extend the paddle all the way out.  I have long wanted to try tying a turks head but you know, GP's are just wet paddles.