Pogies, Gloves or Mittens?

[sig]

What's your opinion? Aly loves her NRS Toaster Mitts and Mandy can't stand them. Mandy now has some neoprene gloves that should restore some of her digital dexterity.

I, on the other hand, haven't gotten to paddle with the mittens or gloves and we don't own pogies. And I want something more than my thin gloves this winter.

Any thoughts or advice I should hear?

[Lupe]

Some folks love their pogies and wouldn't use anything else..others can't stand them. The lesson? You need to figure out what works for YOU.

I am NOT one of those pogie fans - I fidget too much and didn't like futzing to get my hand in and out of the pogies. Also, if something happens where I need to do something with my hands off my paddle - whether that's operating a camera or possibly helping with something more urgent on the river - I want my hands warm and protected then too - not just when I'm paddling.

For temps down to mid to upper 40's, Glacier Gloves the Ice Bay model are warm neoprene gloves that give good feel and dexterity on the paddle. The trick with these is as soon as you get them, apply some aquaseal along the seam that runs along the thumb and along the pointer finger. That is where you will rotate your paddle against the glove and it will wear out first, but if you apply aquaseal proactively that really will extend their life.

For lower temps I LOVE my Level 6 Mitts. Do not confuse these with NRS Toaster Mitts. I tried those and they are nothing alike. I could barely move my hands in the Toaster Mitts they are so thick and chunky. Level 6 Mitts are incredibly thin, yet so warm that anything above freezing and my hands will sweat in them. They are so flexible and thin that I can operate my camera and do all sort of tasks with the mitts on. You really can use individual fingers right through the thin material.

The pogie fans can chime in with their favorite picks. Next paddle trip, maybe post and see if folks have extras of various items they can bring for you to either try or at least to look over. I'm happy to show you my Level 6 mitts and/or my Ice Bay gloves. I have tiny hands though, so doubtful you could borrow them, though!

Good luck finding which one works best for you!

[Cowper]

+1 on everything Lupe already said. I wasn't aware of the Level 6 vs NRS mitts difference, so I think I'll have to acquire some Level 6's for my own experiments.

I've always preferred gloves, especially since in really cold weather I tend to go out only for creeks, while purely "recreational" floats are saved for warmer weather. So that ability to quickly let go of the paddle and push or grab something with my hand is pretty important. But my fingers do get cold, so I often have a set of pogies too, and if necessary I'll wear pogies + gloves until my hands warm up a little bit, then go back to gloves only if I can.

I usually have some pogies in my truck, even though I only wear them when it drops below 35 degrees. So if it is above 38 degrees, feel free to try them out so you can zero in on what you like the best.

[ScottH]

I took this too far, but this works for me.

I wear a glove on my left hand and a pogie on my right. Right hand is the paddle index hand so I like to have bare hand on the paddle. Left hand gets dunked a lot while cartwheeling, because I favor lefties. I have been doing this for years. I stole the idea from John Barton. He was doing it because he got to the river one day and only had one glove and one pogie and tried to tell me some long winded logic as to why he was doing it.

Point is, try them all, mix and match and see what works for you.

[sig]

Thanks all!

[Shep]

For canoeing, I just started using a pogie on the shaft hand. I feel like it gives me a much better grip than the glove, and it's pretty easy to deal with. I use a glove on the T-hand because it's easier to hold onto and doesn't require a specially-designed T-grip pogie.

[Chicago Bob]

Bryan: I feel the need to put in my two cents. I have used pogies for more than 20 years. I like the direct contact with the paddle shaft and have never had problems inserting or extracting my hands. Mine are nylon with fleece lining. I rarely got much more than one or two seasons out of a pair of gloves, but have had the same pogies more than twenty years.The down side is that they sometimes develop a bootie like oder. I just wanted to pipe in that it remains an open issue and has been for many years. Happy New Year BOB

[MaxTexan]

I stay pretty warm even in cold water... pogies are the only thing I use and then I will spend half the time with them on the paddle shaft not over my hands.

[aquaholic]

MIA.....Not my First Post
I'm with Max on this one. Poggies for near 20 years. I like to feel the ovalarity of the shaft for orientation sake in the chaos. And if grabbing a camera quickly is a necessity, I can operate them iti bitty buttons better without gloves. I prefer and love my Mtn Surf poggies, but as most know have not been available for quite some time, and they are still in great shape. It all has to do with personal preference and your own comfort level. This activity we involve ourselves in makes delving into multiple types of products a necessity. I have multiple pairs of all types of products, doesn't everyone?

aka turboturtle

[Hawkayaks]

I like this question, I started with neoprene gloves but didnt like the way they felt on the paddle and my hands would eventually get cold in them. I started using pogies and love them. On really cold days I use pogies on the river but always have my neoprene gloves to use when taking breaks or at the put-in/takeout. My hands come in and out of the pogies like there was nothing there and they are really warm, plus I like that I still have a bare-handed grip on the paddle. Were plenty warm at Richland in the snow. I believe Jay Kincaid is working on the kayaking gloves at Glacier Glove so those are probably good. This is the pogie/glove combination I use.

http://www.diversmarket.com/ProductDeta ... ductID=506" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.coloradokayak.com/Hot-Hands- ... ragon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JohnB]

Follow ScottH's advice; glove right hand, pogie left. He learned that set-up many years ago from a sage old boater.