Gloves vs. Pogies

Well…
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t wandered into the water with their relief zipper open at least once. It took me two times to really learn the lesson. (I use a lowered pzip.)



My personal dry suit advice - before launching walk into the water and immerse up to the neck. In addition for checking things like open zippers, it is also the easiest way to burp your suit and to figure out if you need to add or delete layers.

Ditto

– Last Updated: Jan-17-13 10:15 AM EST –

It's happened, we're human.
Burping the dry suit via walking/wading in a bit,
works great before heading out for the day.

A buddy check, similar to a climbing gear check;
also finds un-noticed vulnerabilities as the
group checks one another before launch.

Pogies
I prefer pogies. I like my hands on the paddle, and the pogies keep my hands plenty warm. On the other hand (so to speak), I have a friend that wears gloves under her pogies. I was recently with a larger group, and some of us had pogies, some neoprene gloves of different thicknesses, some with fingerless gloves, and some were bare handed. You might try different things and see what works best for you.

Either, or both
I like fingerless gloves. In the cold water I wear the neo ones, NRS Guide Glove. My girlfriend always has cold finger, she often wears Glacier Gloves.



A couple weeks ago we wore our usual on the river and both had cold fingers. Last weekend on the river we both wore the neo fingerless and pogies. I had surprisingly warm hands. Hers got cold, but she said no colder than with the Glacier Gloves the week before.



We both found pogies take some getting used to. IE. the minor change in withdrawing your hand from the pogie before you grab a rock, or the extra drag under the water when you setup for a roll, or the lack of certainty that your hands are actually in the air before you roll. Minor adjustments to be made.

survey says: personal preference
I think the thread indicates that there’s no clear consensus, other than try and find out which you prefer and why. However, I do like the idea of always having a good set of gloves as a backup regardless in case your hands get really cold or you end up in the water for any legnth of time.



Personally, I like the hand-on-paddleshaft contact you get from poggies, so I use them for sea kayaking applications where I’m mostly above-water and going forward. However, I prefer gloves for WW, particularly playboating, where I know I’m likely to spend some time upside down.

both
I’d go with light gloves & pogies.



I’ve found that even a light glove(neoprene back, synthetic leather palm) makes a big difference in extending functional time in cold water.

Hmm…
For kayaking, I have far more fatigue without gloves and wear them right through warmer weather. The only gloves I have to get off to do anything are, once in a while, the winter diving dry gloves because they are quite thick. But most times I don’t have to take gloves off to do things, and I also got a small shaft when I went to the paddle I use the most. I also grip pretty loosely with opening my hand at each stroke, to the point that I have to remember to tighten up the grip a little in messier stuff.



Canoeing is a whole different story and not a place where I have been able to find an ideal long term accommodation, because the basic J-stroke does unkind things to my wrist. I’ll pay more mind to that when the canoe comes out this spring.

Did yer say…

– Last Updated: Jan-18-13 8:00 PM EST –

Evil Sex Kittens? Shazam... Dat woyks fer me!

Oh wait! Never mind, ah' jus' put me readin' spectacles back on.

FE

The Potential Problem With Pogies
Fellow Paddlers -



http://www.coldwatersafety.org/Rule3.html#rule3Case1



This classic, textbook case is all about the tricky business of keeping your hands warm. In this instance, the use of Pogies without any additional hand protection resulted in a failed self-rescue and the destruction of the paddler’s kayak.



It’s an important reminder that without adequate protection, you can be rendered completely helpless by cold, numb hands - even though the rest of your body is toasty warm inside a drysuit.



Moulton Avery

Founder and Director

National Center for Cold Water Safety

www.coldwatersafety.org