December 26, 2004

Winter Gloves

Over the years I've tried over 30 different types of winter paddling gloves. In search search of the non-existent perfect pair I hope one day to find the right combination.

I don't know why I'm still looking, nothing beats an average glove and pogies in the deep winter, but I keep hoping someone will come up with the right combination that keeps my hands warm in and out of the water, and in a stiff headwind that doesn't need to be covered by pogies.

The first pair are the NRS Utility/Paddlers Gloves. With a rawhide palm these gloves appealed to me as being able to take the punishment i put on gloves while paddling. In the past I've found a fairly warm all neoprene glove only to have parts of it disintegrate in my hands from the friction of the paddle.

These gloves are good for fall, before the water turns cold. Once the water has chilled, these gloves loose a lot of their appeal as I found my hands chill pretty quickly from the water soaking through the palms/fingers of these gloves.

I had high hopes for the second pair of gloves. Endurotech 4mm gloves with Kevlar. These are a true 'dry glove' and the thick neoprene embedded with Kevlar made them a tough looking glove. They have a soft neoprene cuff that seals against the wrist or directly to your dry suit if you have an optional wrist attachment. I had tried these on at home and found them to be comfortable, but stiff and not pre-curved like many paddling gloves (In fairness, these are a diving glove, not a paddling glove). At the water's edge I found I couldn't get them on my myself. The first one goes on fine, but once my hand was behind all that neoprene, I couldn't use it well enough to pull on the second glove and they lacked a tab to grab on to with my teeth. Not being able to get them on, I didn't go any further with the testing. These are a high quality glove though, and I think I may write the manufacture about the possibility of making a glove in tune with paddler's needs.

Glove number three was the NRS Toaster Mitts. Mike Aronoff had shown these to me a few weeks back and I found a pair under the Christmas tree yesterday morning. I haven't been a fan of mitts, but these seemed ultra flexible and my hands stayed nice and toasty while paddling in them (to the point of actually sweating). I submerged them in water and could feel only the slightest of trickles as the water wicked through the seams. A little seam sealer would eliminate this. Despite my thrashing my hands in the water I couldn't get a significant amount of water in them. It wasn't until I pulled back my dry suit cuff and unfastened the Velcro to the glove that I got any water in them at all.

The mitts gave me more dexterity than I imagined. The palm seems to be made of a material able to withstand a lot of abuse, but I'll follow up once I put some miles on them. My hand felt a little fatigued after a short paddle, but they are pre-curved and the fatigue may have been from me trying to fully wrap my hand around the paddle shaft. Being nearly waterproof and standing up well in the wind today, these mitts will most likely take the place of my glove/pogie combination.

Woody