Keeping Warm On The River This Winter
Wearing the right clothing on the water will make a massive difference to your paddling experience this winter. Sadly, with the summer now over, shorts and cag days are behind us and we have to put a little more thought in to our equipment choices. Wearing the right gear will make you more comfortable on the water, extend your day out and hopefully make any swims far more pleasant. Having once been a poor student (and now a poor raft guide) I’m going to take a look at some ideas for how to keep warm, on a budget.
First of all, the most important thing to remember is to dress for the swim. It’s a fact of life, swimming happens and so we should be prepared for it. Even on warm summer days the water is usually cold and so our clothing needs to protect us against that. The gold standard for keeping warm and dry on the river is the “drysuit.” A drysuit acts as a windproof and waterproof shell, allowing us to wear baselayers and fleeces underneath to keep ourselves warm throughout the day. They really are amazing pieces of kit, but start at roughly £250, which represents a substantial investment for a new paddler.
Neoprene wetsuits, on the other hand are far cheaper and work by trapping a layer of water against our skin, which is then kept warm by our body heat. These suits work very well whilst actually in the water (hence their popularity with surfers), but the wind tends to drag the heat away from them when standing on the river bank. On their own, they’re not ideal, but when worn with other kit, they can be made in to a good clothing system. A “Farmer John” style wetsuit has no arms on it, making it much less restrictive and ideal for paddling. Baselayers of polyester or merino wool can be worn underneath it as well to boost it’s warmth. Now, to cut down on the windchill problem… Most paddlers will wear a dry cag – a waterproof jacket that is either semi dry (allowing some seepage of water) or fully dry (by using latex seals at the wrists and neck). This is the best investment a new paddler could make. A dry cag can be worn with shorts in summer, or later used with dry trousers to make a system almost as waterproof as drysuit. When worn with a good neoprene deck, a cag should keep the water out of your boat, even if you roll. A dry cag worn over a farmer john wetsuit and thermal baselayers is a good compromise between comfort and cost. Add a pair of “pack-a-mac” style waterproof trousers over the top and you can cut down the wind-chill even further. I used to use this system for a long time, before the student loans fairy gifted me a drysuit…
The extremities:
You will often feel the cold most in your hands, feet and head. We lose a great deal of our body heat through our head, which is why it is important to keep it covered up. Wearing a hat underneath a helmet will help you keep warm, but will soon get heavy and cold if you go in to the water. Instead, a skull cap made of neoprene wetsuit material is a much better alternative to those likely to get wet – the white water fanatics amongst us.
To keep your hands warmer, it’s worth investing in gloves of some sort. Personally, I can’t get on with wetsuit gloves, as I find it hard to feel the paddle shaft through them. Much better are open palm neoprene mitts, which allow you to feel the paddle shaft properly, whilst keeping the wind and water off the back of your hands. They have the added benefit of being able to flip the mitten part back to use your fingers to work a camera, or anything else needing some dexterity. “Pogies” are another option. These are mittens that stay attached to your paddle by Velcro. Although these are very warm, some people find them hard to get cold hands inside – definitely try a pair out before investing.
Lastly, the feet. Cotton is rotten. When wet, it will take a long time to dry and suck the heat away from your body. Instead of cotton socks, wearing woollen hiking socks, or neoprene wetsuit socks inside your shoes will be far warmer. Thin wetsuit boots also offer very little insulation from the ground. Their comfort can be increased by wearing normal shoe insoles inside them, or even building up insoles out of mouse-mat material to insulate against the cold ground.
More tips:
Consider carrying a layer to put on when you stop. A fibre-pile or synthetic “belay” jacket like those used by climbers can be worn over all of your kit and boost your warmth straight away.
Carry warm drinks in winter. Hot sugary drinks will lift your mood and your energy levels. If you’re carrying your thermos in the back of your boat, wedge it on top of your airbag, rather than below it, where it will cool down quicker next to the water.
Eat more. A big breakfast, hearty lunch and lots of snacking in between will keep your energy levels up, allowing you to keep moving to stay warm.
Ian Bailey
http://iboutdoor.wordpress.com