Yak grips

-- Last Updated: Aug-03-10 8:51 PM EST --

I've been using nitrile gloves and find them too thin for a long day on the water, although the tackiness is nice. Also they're inconvenient to put on and take off all day.

I tried Yak grips and found them too thick. They caused even more pain in my hands.

What material would give a nice thin, tacky layer of cushioning on the paddle?

Skin has always worked well for me
as long as I keep the sunscreen off my palms.

How about
That sheet of thin neoprene that comes with a new pair of Chotas?

Yeah, I like that stuff!
I wondered what that piece of neoprene was for when I got my Chotas. Repairs, I assume. I used it to cover the coaming where I cut off the thigh braces. Makes an excellent padded surface for your knees and for carrying the kayak.

Cork HB tape … recommend it to lots of
folks who want a little cushion.



http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?ID=43027-Cinelli+Cork+Stripes+Tape

why not gloves?

– Last Updated: Aug-04-10 12:36 PM EST –

a goodfitting pair is on & off in a flash. A well designed pair gives tactile grip w/out compromising a smooth slide along the shaft when desired.

Easier to get one pair of gloves for multiple paddles than tape/cushion all of them.

Work equally well on euro & traditional paddles.

Yakgrips, by which I mean the trademarked name,and assume you do, too, are, IMO, an inferior device - too deadening. I've seen a few deteriorate very quickly (e.g. a matter of weeks). Plus, if you own multiple paddles, you're constantly swapping them on and off. Or buying more of them at $20 a pop.

Try a real paddling glove - see what you think. Shop carefully and they will cost less than a cork tape or other tapes or, for that matter, a single pair of Yakgrips.

No need to glue stuff (tape, neoprene cloth, etc) to a nicely made or machined paddle shaft.
You'll be fussing w. it as it starts to scrape and peel over time.

A bit of padding and SPF too.
http://www.rei.com/product/685194



Jim

grips
Might be able to use some of the tennis wrapping tape that is available. They come in many different varieties and thicknesses. I could see myself doing that sometime but for now I like the Yak Grips I have as they work and feel good to me but every has different needs.

Gloves are good.
Helps avoid those " horrid age spots" and worse on the backs of your hands.

oh string :smiley:
you know of woman’s vanity (and men’s too).



Besides, I like that distinctively nerdy tan line at the wrist '-)

Yakgrips
yes, if they work for you of course. I did not mean to imply they would not work for anyone.



I tried someone else’s for an afternoon and they did not work for me. And I’ve seen my friends first (and last) pair fall apart in less than a month.



You are right, individual preferences vary.


I’m not much on vanity but
melanoma prevention gets my attention.

try mechanics gloves
Fingers are cut out all but index finger & thumb(but you could cut them down/off; if you didn’t like way it felt). I bought mine @ Harbor Freight Tools & they cost me around $7.00.

I seem to take my gloves off
about a hundred times a day.



They’re a bit hot. The nitriles I constantly dip in the water to cool off. Then they start to stink.



Are you referring to full fingers or half fingers?

Melanoma
OK, yes, I agree this is a concern—but no more on the hands than on the neck, face, and arms, no??



If I stopped using gloves I would use suncreen on my hands.

my gloves stay on
til the boats are up. I forget they are on, actually.



fingerless for me.



as to the melanoma concern below,(and a valid concern it is for many) I got an interesting insight from a very fairskinned instructor. Both her parents are prone to skin cancer, and she is now wearing handcovers to protect the backs of her hands. Freya also wore them on her circumnavigation of Australia while paddling in the tropical zones.



the handcovers seem like they are not on as neatly and securely as gloves, so I guess on that score too it’s gloves for me.

Just
a thought, how about racket ball, golf or batting gloves? Thin and sensitive.