In the past, I have worn kayaking gloves, but I got disappointed at all of them (5 different pairs). I stop wearing them, but I get a lot of blisters in my hand. I need gloves for protection, not to keep my hands warm.
Please don’t give me any tips on how to handle the paddle; I’m not looking for that.
Main problem with past gloves is that they were not smooth enough in the inside and still caused me blisters.
If you love your pair of gloves, I would like to know where to get them.
Thanks!
Louis
No help here
I love my gloves, but I’m no help. I use leather gloves from the hardware store when I canoe. Come in handy when climbing rocks and bushwacking, too. Double as pot holder when cooking.
Too much water on the hands when kayaking. Then I don’t use gloves.
~~Chip
"I need gloves for protection"
Why?
I heard about an alternative
I don’t use gloves, I’ve been working with my hands as long as I can remember, and simply do not get blisters anymore. But, I heard about this goop you can put on your hands that will build up an artificial callus. I don’t remember what it is called, I think Dennis Stuhaug mentioned it in his too (Kayaking Made Easy)
If your getting blisters…
Then your holding your paddle to tightly. The only time I wear gloves is when it’s cold.
for UV protection
Even the best sunscreen will wash off and does not totally block sun UV so gloves are good for me.
I use some cheap $5 garden/utility gloves that have stretch back and nitrile fingers and palm. They have a fantastic NON slip surface, are very thin so you lose no feel of the paddle, and the stretch back allows any water out of them so hands are cool but not full of water.
NRS Hydroskin Gloves
are nice, but they may have more grip than what you seem to want.
jim
I wear gloves
– Last Updated: Jul-07-09 3:58 AM EST –
for the same reason paddler_fl should: sun protection.
I understand Florida has a lot of sunshine and if it's anything like the Australian sun he should be very wise in wearing them.
Skin cancer caused by sun is extremely high here (I really mean it).
The cumulative damage that the sun does to paddlers' skin is often underestimated.
Anyway, as the OP, I found that some gloves give you blisters when new.
After a while the sewn ridges flatten and gloves become comfortable.
I use thin sailing gloves, they seem more durable then just Lycra ones.
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NRS Boater’s Gloves have
been my choice of glove for the past 12 years.
Mine aren’t as fancy as the new styles but are still holding up. The current ones have probably seen over six seasons. They’re just starting to show wear on the edges of the finger ends which are the ¾ size.
I usually lose one or both before they wear out.
I work in an office atmosphere and wear them to help keep the hands clean, prevent calluses, as a sun screen (without chemicals)and find them comfortable for my small hands. I don’t leave shore without them.
I wear gloves & I love them
when it’s cold
Glacier Gloves
a thought, if you are getting blisters
and don’t like gloves that worked for me.
Use a good grade electrical tape on the places where you normally get the blisters.
Quite a few years ago, I had the same problem as you, and at the start of a race, “Canunut” showed me that was what he did. - I tried it and it worked, but best of all, after a few years the places where you normally get the blisters will toughen up, and you can stop using the tape.
Cheers,
jackL
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I wear
SUGs from home depot.They don’t keep my hands dry but they do minimize blisters. Last 70 miler I had none after the race.
I use the same kind
Gardening gloves. Work great and they’re cheap. I think they’re $2 at Harbor Freight.
Have you tried Paddle Grips?
I haven’t…But thought I’d put it out there.
These are neo slip-ons that fit over the paddle shaft(provided you’re using a two-piece paddle.) They’re fairly inexpensive and often advertised here on
P-Net. Maybe a little more pleasing to the eye than electrical tape(–Although I myself have put camo-colored duct tape over one of my cheaper paddles to make it look more “redneck cool”).
I only use gloves in winter’s cold also, but obviously this is not an issue with you being in Florida…So I’d have to go along with maybe lightening up on the grip. And hey, if all else fails, try a pumice stone.
UV and blisters
I live in FL and always wear gloves to protect my hands from UV. The fingerless sungloves from Glacier Gloves Dr. Shade work well with the synthetic leather palm. I also use these in conjunction with the paddle grips mentioned above for blister protection. The grips work well with and without gloves.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416Y9E3KgNL.AA280.jpg
can you type in lower case?
I always had “good hands” when
rowing, sculling, and whitewater paddling.
Now, at age 66, I’m starting to have callus formation and skin cracking.
I strongly suspect that Lipitor is causing the change in skin response, but the Lipitor works well enough to continue.
I found a pair of really light fingerless summer gloves at REI that mostly prevent the skin cracking.
The only other thing to add is that I sometimes practice kayak paddling with loose fingers, to counteract unnecessary shear forces on the skin of my hands. A strong grip on a kayak paddle should be needed only for transient maneuvers. One should strive to make sure that both hands relax thoroughly during most of the paddling cycle.
All my life…
– Last Updated: Jul-07-09 11:02 AM EST –
Think we outta just concentrate on easing up on our grips...and/or check out the Stuhaug "goop" that paddle_dude mentioned, but it ISN'T that we're choking everything...I have some thin skin between my thumb & index that needs regular toughening up after ski season. Maybe that "goop" stuff might be an answer, OTHW...I've either been using gloves for very cold water(3mm(April) & 1-2mm(May-Oct).(fingerless sound good)..up here in No.Maine) or wrapping the area with cloth-tape(as far as tape is concerned...double-facing the adhesive thru the areas you don't want to stick on helps).
$.01
I wear the NRS fingerless gloves…
…I have a tendency to grip the paddle too tightly and it seems to help me. not sure why, it almost seems to be counter-productive.
what do you do for a living