GLOVES

[LARAMY]

I ordered some NRS fusion gloves with the 2.5 mm rawhide neoprene. The gloves feel more like plastic than what neoprene feels like and its fairly hard to make a fist in them. It also takes about 5 minutes to get through the wrist part of them but when there on I still have slack in the fingers so I wouldn't think a bigger size would remedy the problem. Right now I have a coke can crammed in each of the wrist to try and stretch them out. Are these gloves worth the trouble or should I send them back and get a different pair?

[Lupe]

Hey there -

I love a lot of NRS products and they have always had great customer service, but I've not been a fan of their gloves. I don't have the ones you describe, but I had a similar experience where it felt like the wrist was too tight compared to the loosness in the main hand, and the gloves were too thick which interfered with having a good grip on my paddle.

Based on other paddler's recommendations I now use Glacier Gloves which are not only less expensive, but have been great. There's very few products I rave about or endorse so whole heartedly, but I really love Glacier Gloves! They are thin enough to still be flexible for a good grip, but warm enough even for me (and I am notorious for getting cold very easy).

I'm actually cutting and pasting here some info that Cowper posted in another thread about Glacier Gloves (and I agree totally with his assessment):

For the gloves, I have a strong preference for ones from www.glacierglove.com.
The Kenai All-purpose (Model 016BK) are the ones I wear the most - great paddle feel, and warm enough for sub-freezing weather, and cheap. But the rubber is soft, so use with care to prevent early wear-out.
The Hypalon perfect Curves are also great (model 002HBL), about the same on warmth, but more durable.
EITHER of these will be warmer than the NRS gloves because they do NOT have nylon on the back-side. The nylon wicks water and sets up evaporative cooling.
FYI, the reason I gave model numbers is because the Glacier Glove site has several very similar-sounding names for other models of their gloves.


If you're going to the meeting tonight, I could bring along these gloves for you to take a look at. My size is probably too small for you, but you could get an idea of what they would be like.

Since NRS is really good about returns, I would say go ahead and return those. If you're having trouble with them right out of the box, I don't think it's worth hanging on to them... That's my 2 cents!

[okieboater]

send them back and get some pogies is my advice

Gloves are ok, but in my opinion, I like to feel the paddle shaft

there was a big long thread on gloves maybe last winter and Cowper posted his choice of gloves. If you want gloves, I would follow Cowpers advice

[Lupe]

send them back and get some pogies is my advice

I also have brand new NRS Hydroskin Mamba Pogies I can sell you for a discount!!!

(I too liked the IDEA of feeling the paddle shaft, but I found the pogies didn't keep my hands warm enough, plus I fidget too much to have my hands stuck in pogies! LOL!)

Cheers

[LARAMY]

I'm with you on the fidgeting. I'm not past the occasional wet-exit phase of my kayaking career yet either so I'm going to pass on pogies for the time being. NRS does have great customer service but I think I have to exchange them so that rules out the Glacier gloves also. Would a 0.5 mm glove do much of anything for being cold? I narrowed it down to two other pair on there website. a 0.5mm and a 3mm.

[RomanLA]

I recently ordered the Navigator gloves. I called customer service and asked about them compared to the hydroskin gloves. The guy I talked to said the navigators were a lot warmer and what he used. I believe they're 2mm and the fingers have some curl to them. I've noticed their stuff tends to run small, so I may regret ordering an XL, but I used their fit guide and measured. :)

[LARAMY]

The Hydroskin was the ones I had in mind. I didn't notice the Navigator ones until now. As far as the measuring chart I was a large one way and a small the other

[Lupe]

I'd still say exchange them for something else. Did you get a mystery hood or skull cap yet? You could probably always use another hydroskin shirt, or shorts, or...trust me I'm sure you can find something to buy!!!

The Cadron is looking good for this weekend so maybe I'll see you then. I'll have my gloves along if you want to check them out. I've tried the 3mm ones from NRS and they were way too stiff, and yes, I think the .5 ones will not really be warm enough through the winter...

Later!

[Crane]

I've never found a pair of paddling gloves that I really liked... and I've invested in many pairs over the years. Now, I pretty much paddle bare-handed and use pogies when it is windy or cold. There are a number of brands & some that allow easy "into & out of" access so you don't get the "traped" feeling so strongly. It's time to be breaking them out, isn't it?

[okieboater]

I been using Mt Surf silver colored pogies since last winter.

Highly recommended for warmth and easy to put on as well

[RomanLA]

I used my NRS Navigator Gloves last weekend in Cadron Creek. They were pretty good, until it started cooling down in the afternoon. I think the wind basically cooled off the water inside the gloves, so I lost my layer of warmth. I had the same thing happen to my neoprene booties when I was loading up my gear in windy conditions a couple weeks back. I went from warm feet to freezing feet in a matter of minutes.

[Cowper]

EITHER of these will be warmer than the NRS gloves because they do NOT have nylon on the back-side. The nylon wicks water and sets up evaporative cooling.

Wind greatly increases the evaporative cooling. Both your gloves and your wetsuit boots have that nylon outer layer. I really believe the value of an outer layer that does not hold any water at all is greatly underestimated by most outdoor gear reviewers, most of whom have never taken a course in heat transfer.

[RomanLA]

lol yeah...thanks to nuclear power I've had way too many courses in heat transfer and fluid flow...I should really take more advantage of that on the water

[Cowper]

lol yeah...thanks to nuclear power I've had way too many courses in heat transfer and fluid flow...I should really take more advantage of that on the water

You're not still in that nasty nuclear business are you?

Well in any case, whip out that ol' textbook, and plug in a few numbers! You can guess some ball park heat tranfer coefficients with and without evaporation, and for thermal conductivity of the neoprene. I ran with using say, h~1.5 for air convection on a "dry" surface, then a second time using h~25 (which I suspect to be a low-ball guess when there's moisture evaporating). Couldn't find a real good source for k on the neoprene, but one web reference said 0.15 to 0.45 - I'd use the low end since it has nitrogen bubbles which should make it a better insulator. You'll find a "skin side" surface only 1/8" thick neoprene to be much warmer than a nylon wetsuit that is twice as thick. The numbers may not be that accurate, but even if you play with a range of numbers, you'll keep getting to the same conclusion - the "dry" gloves are going to be much, much warmer. Hence my fondness for the "Mystery" material in the NRS storm hood.

[RomanLA]

lol...no numbers please...I left nuclear about 4 years ago...I'm in a coal plant now...it's a lot less stressful.

I got in my mystery helmet liner and storm hood...right after the cadron run. lol I got some hydroskin socks too to wear under my booties. Maybe those will make a difference.