I'm coming to the FON meet at the end of the month and just know the water's going to be freezing. My boots are on their last legs and
I'm thinking about getting some gloves as well.
Can anyone recommend a good boot - I purchased a pair of O'Neill shoes last year and although they're as comfortable as a pair of
slippers they come off just as easily too.
As for gloves, should I go for half or full finger, thick or thin - again any recommendations for windsurfing use?
Cheers
Nick
Gloves- as thin as possible the xtra thickness can cause cramps in your forearms, If i have to wear gloves I wear washing up gloves then only if its really cold
I have tried many many gloves probably about 6 pairs since it got cold. The full gloves are crap, and I could only last about 15
minutes before I lost grip of the boom, let alone trying to uphaul. Washing up gloves are ok, but mine tended to be too small or too
big I even tried two pairs of them, the problem with them being for me that they tended to come off to easily. Then I got some
palmless gloves and these are the ones I use now, I have full grip on the boom at all times even for hours of use I get no cramps or
anything. The drawback is that they are open-palmed and the water is cold but after 10 minutes of use, and goign through the ice-cream
hands thingy I do not feel the cold in my hands after that at all (no they are not numb by this stage). These gloves are great because
they keep the wind of of your hands and the wind is undoubtably the coldest part. Hope this is helpful. As for boots I've got some
O'Niell ones and they are perfect for me. I guess you have to get the right size to stop them coming off.
[Edited on 5-3-2004 by Bananaman]
Hello Nick, ive got some o'neill boots,the big toe is seperate from the rest but they work well & do not move at all.with prevoius
boots i.e Gul,Sola always found they would twist round.The O'neill ones are only 3mm but havnt suffered cold feet yet.As for gloves
tried them years ago but found them too restrictive & doubled the size of your forearms.When i used to canoe many moons ago we used
to use mits which were loads better as fingers in one bit so keeps more warmth,dont know if theres anyting like that avalible now?
Spring is just round the corner anyway?
See you at Fon meet?
Spence...
Hey Nick,
I don't think you'll need gloves at Borth.
I was out on Wednesday without gloves and I didn't get cold hands at all.
The water is still around 8C. Not like inland where its b****y freezin'.
Its a huge difference to me and a real revelation. I used to stop sailin' for a couple of months when I only sailed inland due to the
cold. Now I'll only sail at the coast in the winter months!
The air temperature also seems to be higher especially if there's any south in the wind. E.g. Wednesday it was around 5C inland but 7C
at the coast.
Appart from that I can't seem to sail in gloves anyway, they give me fore arm cramp really quickly.
Not sure about the best boots. I usually just get sola 5mm. But I have heard people say the split toe ones are good.
Cheers,
Andy
washing up gloves have always been my choice, tucked under yer wetsuit - if needs be with duck tape round the ends to keep the water out - this usually leaves bald patches on yer arms when you pull it off. Fortunately, since getting a decent dry/steamer I've not needed the tape.
Thanks for the advice everyone.....think I'll skip the gloves and get a better pair of boots.
See you all at the end of the month!
cheers
Nick
Sounds like a good idea to me Nick.... I don't very often use gloves either...although I do have a pair of palmless gloves for those
really cold days in the estuary!!
And boots are boots to me...as long as the fit and don't have too thick a sole then I'm happy.
Al.