Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Tag: cold hands

Winter Is Coming – 7 Paddling Tips

We’ve just about hit that time of the year in the UK when it gets darker earlier and earlier, the weather has begun to turn and the water is that little bit colder – Winter Is Coming. Last week on the water was very cold and today the rivers are up and snow has hit the UK.

Being cold is not just uncomfortable it can also be life threatening. Having the right gear for the right conditions is key at any time of the year but the margin for error during the colder seasons is much tighter.

Winter Is Coming

It’s defintely a good time to start to look at your cold weather paddling gear and assess whether it is going to be up to the job.

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Cold Hands?

I reckon cold hands are almost worse than cold feet. When my hands get cold they hurt and as they warm back up they really hurt.  If the air and water temperature isn’t too bad then I’ll go through the pain barrier as once my hands are warm they’ll stay warm.  

Cold Hands?
Cold Hands?

However if it is super cold then its hard to push through the pain barrier as it takes so much longer.  Cold hands will limit your ability to hold stuff. If you aren’t able to hold your paddle then you are pretty stuffed.

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Pogies – Palm Rivertec

Keeping warm is often difficult when you paddle whitewater during the winter. I find that the one area that is difficult to keep warm are my hands. I’ve tried neoprene gloves (which work once warmed up), the woollen/washing up glove combo and various other bits/bobs.

Many years ago I owned a pair of pogies (aka paddle mitts), I can’t remember the brand but they were blue/fluorescent yellow. They did a good job of keeping the wind off until they got wet, which meant my hands got wet and cold. Roll on ten years or so and I picked up a pair of Palm Rivertec Pogies. The ones pictured below are still used and must be well over 10 years old. Palm do a modern take on the Rivertec Pogies called River Tec Paddle Mitts.

Pogies are designed to be fastened onto paddle shaft. Your hands go inside of the pogies and grip the paddle shaft as normal. Compared to wearing neoprene gloves or indeed any gloves at all improves the general feel and control. Some paddlers do find them restrictive as your hands need to be removed to access pockets, pull your spraydecks rip cord etc. In addition some designs can be difficult to get your “last” hand into.

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Cold Hands

Keeping warm is often difficult when you paddle whitewater during the winter. The one area that is always difficult to keep one and can often lead to a great deal of pain is cold hands. Cold hands can turn a good trip into an absolutely terrible one and can leave you with damage to your hands if it occurs time and time again.

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Making sure the rest of me is nice and warm does help but quite often the after the initial 30 mins on the water with super cold hands I get a surge of heat in conjunction with a super amount of pain as my hands begin to warm up. The pain is pretty unique!

I’ve tried neoprene gloves (which work once warmed up), the woollen/washing up glove combo and various other bits/bobs but prefer using pogies. One of the biggest benefits of any pogie or glove system is the fact they help keep the wind off your hands. This simple fact goes a long way to ensure that your hands remain warm.

Cold Hands

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Palm Rivertec Pogies (Paddle Mitts)

Keeping warm is often difficult when you paddle whitewater during the winter. I find that the one area that is difficult to keep warm are my hands. I’ve tried neoprene gloves (which work once warmed up), the woollen/washing up glove combo and various other bits/bobs.

Many years ago I owned a pair of pogies (aka paddle mitts), I can’t remember the brand but they were blue/fluorescent yellow. They did a good job of keeping the wind off until they got wet, which meant my hands got wet and cold. Roll on ten years or so and I picked up a pair of Palm Rivertec Pogies. The ones pictured below are still used and must be well over 10 years old. Palm do a modern take on the Rivertec Pogies called River Tec Paddle Mitts.

Pogies are designed to be fastened onto paddle shaft. Your hands go inside of the pogies and grip the paddle shaft as normal. Compared to wearing neoprene gloves or indeed any gloves at all improves the general feel and control. Some paddlers do find them restrictive as your hands need to be removed to access pockets, pull your spraydecks rip cord etc. In addition some designs can be difficult to get your “last” hand into.

Continue reading

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