What do you wear on your hands...

[truckeeboater]

Anyone have a line on some sweet C-specific poagies?

[Larry Horne]

uh, both?

I had some canoe pogies but didn't care for them because it was hard to re-grip the t-grip if I needed to let go to brace off a rock, wipe my nose, or whatever.

So now i do a standard pogie on the shaft and a glove on the t-grip. best of both worlds for me because with a glove i can let go of and re-grip the t-grip really quick. In general, I don't like the lack of grip and dexterity wearing gloves but it doesn't bother me much on the t-grip.

I never let go of the shaft so the pogie there works great. it's warmer and it's an easier grip than a glove. Awsome knuckle protection too.

[hankrankin]

I wear these gloves http://www.sealskinz.com/sailing-waters ... rip-gloves and they're great and warm and plenty of grip

I also have these pogies http://store.noc.com/Snap-Dragon-Design ... 17/Product They're great for higher volume rivers, i dont wear them on tight technical rivers because like Larry said its hard to replace my hand back on the T-grip, also if you flip while wearing the pogies, expect the t grip pogie to be FULL of water and not drain easily.

If i was gonna choose one thing for hands and cold weather it would be the sealskinz gloves

[TheKrikkitWars]

It's rare that it's cold enough to be an issue if we have water here, so it's only with getting into competitive paddling and training on flat water that I've started to have issues with cold hands (Champions are made in winter, or so I'm told)... I tried open palm mitts, which were warm but rubbed like a son-of-a-gun on my t-grip hand, and settled on Pogies, specifically Suzy's Sweatshop Canoe Mitts which are just made from aluminised nylon to keep wind off and heat in with as little bulk or restriction as possible, still they're toastie warm.



I'm also tempted to try a pair of latex divers dry-gloves, I know a few people who use them and really rate them as being both grippier, warmer, comfier and more agile than neoprene gloves. They'd not be so much in WWR or Slalom, but for being on the river, especially coaching, rescuing and other sedentry activities in which I may well want to have my hands warm but off the paddle, because It's definately more of an issue when you're not paddling flat-out.

[gumpy]

what larry said, but most often omitting the glove on the t-grip hand unless its under 30F or so. t-grip hand spends less time in the water.

[caverdan]

Anybody try the NRS Toaster Mitts?

[ian123]

Toaster mitts are really warm. That's what everyone wears up here in the winter/early spring. There is definitely some loss in feeling.

[Todhunter]

I just rock a pogie on the shaft - like Larry I don't like how difficult it is to quickly get out and back in the t-grip pogie. I have snapdragon pogies. I'm thinking of getting a glove for my t-grip hand. I've been considering some motocross gloves with really good knuckle protection.

Best deal is to find someone who paddles opposite sides as you - split the cost of a pair of pogies and a pair of gloves!

[KNeal]

What Larry and Gumpy said. Just a pogie on the paddle shaft and a very old, thin fisherman's glove for gripping the "t" handle. The glove is so worn, there is no neoprene on the palm or thumb. But, plenty for the back of the hand. The pogie itself is nothing fancy--somebody gave it to me when they bought new ones.

[sbroam]

Mountain Surf Creek Mitt pogies - short, stiff neoprene. easy on, easy off. If it's borderline cold enough for the t-grip pogie, I'll slide it down the shaft and pull it back up as needed. It's nice to have a pair of gloves around for the lunch stop or if you have to spend time away from the paddle handling rope - i've got a pair of basic neoprene gloves (don't know the brand) in the dry bag for that.

[Jim Michaud]

I'm a huge fan of the latex divers dry-gloves. I buy the extra large size and wear wool gloves inside. The down size of the latex gloves is that they can get holes in them from thorns, etc. To fix the holes use thin bicycle tube patches.
When the temperature is in the lower 20s I'll use a NRS Toaster Mitt on my shaft hand and a dry-glove on my T-grip hand.

[philcanoe]

Gloves - as I switch sides (after achieving/problem side-2-side muscle imbalance).

Although those NRS Toaster Mitts... look real nice.

[RodeoClown]

Toaster mitts, toaster mitts, toaster mitts!!!!

Warmer than gloves or pogies, better feeling than gloves, and unlike pogies, they keep your hands warm when you're not holding your paddle.

[avlclimber]

I get cold easily and have put in a lot of research this winter. I have tried:

Shaft: T-Grip
---------------
glove: glove, - - - - - - Favorite, least warm
Pogie: glove, - - - - - - Warm if glove stays dry/ it's not that cold.
Pogie: mitten, - - - - - WARMEST. Fine grip. one hand free to fiddle w/drybags/etc.
Mitten: glove, - - - - - -OK, one dexterous hand is convenient
something: nothing - - OK, no protection from rocks
Mitten: Mitten - - - - - -OK, plenty warm


I think the pogie: toaster mitt combo is the best winter creeking combo. I would like to find a way to not have my t-grip hand get so worn out. (the mitt offers resistance, wrapping around the shaft below the t-grip.) This would be an issue on a long day, might increase chance of dropping paddle.

I prefer gloves, because I like the comfort and dexterity and abrasion protection at all times. I need my hands too much to chew them up on a rock/roll/gunwale. I use gloves on rocky stuff in the summer. I don't have a problem with losing paddle "feel." gloves are not warm (esp. t-grip hand) the convective cooling is a killer. I have not tried waterproof gloves.

Shaft hand performance was similar w/ mitts/ pogies. getting back into a pogie is tough, but not a big issue with the shaft hand. Switching sides would be an issue. If your hand comes out, you have no abrasion resistance. this is not much of an issue.

Verdict: I wear glove: glove when I can. I wear a pogie: glove when it's cold but i plan on being mostly upright, i wear a Pogie: mitt when it's freezing/ I'm gonna be in the drink.

Buy a pair of gloves if you want, then split a pogie/ mitt combo with someone who paddles on the opposite side.

my 2 cents

[Craig Smerda]

I've had really good luck with these...

http://www.google.com/search?q=ice+bay+ ... 24&bih=455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I never could quite get accustomed to pogies... those NRS mitts rock for warmth but feel odd on the t-grip.