VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

In response to the discussion on the message board:

We routinely ride air temps near and even below zero C and water with ice on it (zero C) and the only success we've had is to wear those stretchy little mini gloves under dishwashing gloves, or beter yet industrial cleaning gloves which are much stronger (available from janitorial supply stores). Just tape the wrists tight with electrical or hockey sock tape (not so tight that you cut off circulation. Also remember to fold the last 2 cm of tape so you can get the tape off with your teeth). You can also use the same tape on your booties to slow the flow of cold water.

The reason wet hands get cold is that heat dissipates 30 times faster into water than air, and wind on wet hands increases the rate of heat loss significantly again. Having hands that are dry, insulated and shielded from the wind gives you your best chance to have hands that stay warm for your entire session. Another big plus is that all neoprene gloves/mitts tend to give you very sore forearms from gripping your bar/boom (even with those pre-curved fingers), this is much less of an issue with the waterproof gloves I've described because of the significant decrease in thickness of material. One other added bonus for the rubber glove/ mini glove set up is the cost- about $10.

There is one other solution for cold hands that works even better- Come and visit me in Mexico in January!

I have used the nitrile (blue) surgical gloves with the most success but after a while they do get weird, slippery inside sorta. They last about 45-1hr and then you'd need to switch but no taping etc. needed They keep the wind off, don't tear as easily as latex gloves, fit better than dish gloves (which also cause cramps) and work even if they tear a hole. Some people I know have access to boxes and boxes of THESE, bring some out WW

I got a pair of XL sharkskin water skiing gloves (too slippery) and also XL Dakine Cold Water Mitts if anyone wants to try 'em. My hands/forearms cramp using them most of the time (they don't have the thin cloth palm which is probably why) but they ARE warm. Also I tried thin leather sailing gloves with tips cut off, another failure. I am using another brand from Windance right now (open palm area but fingers can be placed inside mitt) and the jury's still out on these, today I froze my fingertips even though they were inside the gloves most of the time, too tight I guess OR the rest of the hand was nice and warm, therefore the tips froze even more if that makes any sense. I have found in the past the my hands freeze, then warm up after hard sailing...they actually turn lobster red and then I usually have no problem after that, go figure A thermos bottle to pour warm water into booties and over hand every once in a while gets them back into shape too.

Dakine Cold Water Mitt. End of discussion.

I've tried the rest: pogies, dish gloves, full finger neoprene gloves etc. and they all suck in comparison.

i used a pair of Bare palmless mitts for many years and they were pretty good untill the palm hole snagged on my boom clamp during a sail flip and rrrip, they were done. well one was anyway. then i tried polypro liners in dish gloves (got wet then cold) and MEC paddling gloves (squishy palm kills your forearms). Now ive got the DKCW mitts and they are great.

AirTime has a few pairs of XL Dakine Cold Water Mitts left (604-734-9463) and unfortunately the rumor is true.....they have been discontinued by Dakine. So.....if you want some phone before Friday when they are closing shop and heading to Maui! Thanks for the great response on this subject everyone!!! Going to pick up my pair in time for the weekend......THANK-YOU GLENDA!

I could swap my L mitts for XLs, PM me if youre interested!

check it out, i just became a superstar!

$10 for shipping to Vic, if anyone phones today or early tomorrow you can save this cost and have them shove two pairs into the box for me Markus

My XL pair coming from Van (missed Kus' box, but got in with Greg!). My palmless mitts were OK, but still often too cold. Now all I need is the drysuit and the stoke! Thanks for the info, phone #s, etc Forum dudes and dudettes!

Good news! I just talked with Bruce at Silent Sports about the DaKine Cold Water Mitt. He phoned DaKine for me. It turns out that DaKine only has small and xs available now, but the good news is they are going to be bringing it back due to popular demand from folks like us! I didn't get a date that the new stock would be available though.

I'm going to try the DaKine Cold Water Glove. It has the same material for the palms and precurved fingers. My hands don't usually suffer from the cold anyway. Last December I was so toasty in my OR Pyro drysuit that I had to sail without my gloves and hood to cool down!

I'm not impressed so far with my DCWM. They are sure toasty, but I got terrible forearm cramp - course it was sailing in survival conditions with a bit of a death grip - particularly when I couldn't get into my harness because the lines rotated, I fixed one side but not both in the 40 knot gust. But Windwoman has no problem at all with hers. I'll have to try mine in more sane conditions before I write them off.

I found taking your plastic coleman cooler to the beach filled with hot water was the best I could do. If you put it out of the wind it will stay hot for quite a while. Don't fill it too much or you'll loose lots to your floorboards before you get to the beach. Of course it might just rinse out the salt water that's accumulating there. I just try to be as warm as possible with an attached hood or a hooded vest, warm booties and let the hands do their best. After a few runs it's time to beach it for a warmup. Have a coat at the ready so your body won't get chilled while you warm your hands. Your muscle energy is keeping you warm so don't get too tired. Try to sail where if things go terribly wrong, and you can't do anything about it because your hands are numb, you'll get washed ashore downwind. I guess it should be said that cold weather sailing demands a multitude of good judgements.

I like the cooler with warm water idea. How about we expand on that and rent a hot-tub trailer on windy winter weekends. Or we could just install one at CB -- for safety reasons.

dry gloves with pvc ring on inside of cuff in drysuit no glove liner needed

For those who are getting cramps with the DK mitts, make sure the wrist straps aren't cinched tight. Also ensure that your harness lines are perfectly balanced otherwise you will fatigue quicker with the mitts on. If everything is set up well, there should be no reason to death grip the boom, even overpowered. I find I initially get a bit of extra fatigue in my forearms with the mitts during my first couple of winter sessions, but then I adapt quickly. These mitts are the best of all the other kinds I've tried previously and I can sail all day in total comfort in them - even on the nastiest of days.

I have the straps hanging loose, but I find the wrists are really really tight - e.g., needs a really strong tug to open them enough to spill accumulated water out, and multiple tugs with lots of wriggling. so I think they aren't fitting over the wetsuit too well and might be constricting the blood flow. If only I could relax in the harness for long enough I might be OK. Just couldn't manage in nutso conditions. I tried to sail the whole way in hanging from my arms when I couldn't get into the harness - bound to be a problem, but the cramps had started earlier anyway. I spend a lot of time hanging and muscling the sail & booms around trying to waterstart compared to you too! That probably doesn't help. But I'm interested in trying them in conditions comfortable for me.