The frosty mornings are definitely here and keeping warm whilst on the water is the key. Therefore I thought I’d do a quick run down of the kit I would typically wear to keep warm whilst on the river. The key to keeping warm is to use layers of clothing and to keep as dry as possible.
My winter paddling gear is as follows –
PFD, helmet, boots/shoes and spraydeck don’t real change through the seasons, although if it is really cold I might wear a Playboater Titanium Earwig
My dry kit does change, as I tend to move away from using Dry Tops/Shorts to full suits.
To keep me dry I like to wear a dry suit. I have owned the Palm Spark Surface Immersion Suit and Immersion Research Double D Drysuit in the past and now use a Sweet Protection Intergalactic Dry Suit.
The dry suit takes care of the chances of getting wet but it is still essential to think about what you wear underneath!
Wool or sythetic thermals are best. Anything cotton based will become cold if it gets wet. Under the drysuit I wear 2 x light weight long sleeved merino tops (Howies or Icebreaker) and a 3/4 pair of Icebreaker 260 leggings combined with a pair of long ski socks. This seems to cover all the bases for me and I have never found that I get cold, although I am built for colder climates as I don’t seem to be affected by the cold too much. Many folk now wear some sort of fleece onesie (sp?) which is a one piece suit similar to a baby grow! This helps prevent and cold spots particularly around your back were a top/pants system might come “untucked”.
If you don’t own any kit made from super fine Merino wool then you are missing out. All of my on and off water thermal kit is made from Merino wool. I can’t recommend it enough.
To help keep my hands dry and therefore warm I sometimes use my Palm Rivertec Pogies. I usually find that once my hands have warmed up that I can do with out the pogies. Gloves are another option but I tend to find them more restrictive than even pogies.
I use a £12 Primark Onesie, it’s fully polyester and event comes with a tail so you’ll be the life of the party 😉 . I’ve worn it once so far under a dry cag and trousers, but that was a whitewater safety day at Low Force, including lots of swimming and I was very warm all day. I find that thermals don’t need to be expensive, and that unless you’re subject to extreme temperatures, anything synthetic will definitely help
*even