Keenan Wellar wrote:

in article , Wilko at
wrote on 1/13/05 4:43 PM:


I use a wetsuit with a seperate drytop all
year around, both when it's freezing in the winter and when it's in the
middle of the summer.

Would it be possible for you to post links to the exact (or similar)
garments that make up your entire winter outfit? Sounds like a good system.

Let's see if I can find some links...

I have the Camaro 5mm (yamamoto neoprene) paddling long john wetsuit for
winter paddling (dunno if it's still made, didn't find it on the
http://camaro.at manufacturers website, but it's still for sale on the
http://kanoshop.nl website). The top layer of this neoprene is mostly
"rubberised" instead of covered with some kind of woven fabric, as
usual. Makes the neoprene withstand cold wind better.

When it's not so cold, I also wear my D2 equipment wetsuit with added
knee protection pads:
http://wilko.webzone.ru/soc-a12.jpg

I tend to wear one layer of polypro long sleeve shirt under my wetsuit
(Brand name Helly Hansen, model Stripe Crew) and depending upon the
temperature up to three more over my wetsuit and under my drytop.

I tend to wear a polypro long pants underneath it in winter, and only
shorts under it in the summer.

I tend to use Hiko paddling booties, I have two pairs, in two sizes (one
pair bigger size for being able to wear two layers of socks inside). I
bought several pairs of the cheapest possible socks at the Wibra cheap
clothes store, which are made of only artificial fibres that don't hold
water well.

Over my drytop I always wear Lotus neoprene sleeve elbow guards which
have the nice side-effect that they cover most of my lower arms with an
additional layer of neoprene, which insulates well:

http://wilko.webzone.ru/soc-04.jpg

(The top in this picture is a Palm drytop with dubble tunnel, which
keeps the neoprene tunnel of the spraydeck nicely in place, and most of
the water out of my boat.)

My PFD is a Wildwater Explorer Leader, with plenty of buoyancy, which
covers the front and the sides and which has an extra insulating effect.
http://moo.servicesports.co.uk/service/item/428

The insulating effect can be seen here where the snow on it doesn't melt
despite my body heat:
http://wilko.webzone.ru/ott-5.jpg

For my helmet I picked the Grateful Heads "Dropzone"helmet, which has no
unnecessary holes in the top through which cold water can come in or
body heat can escape. I also outfitted it with additional foam and tight
enough straps so that there is very little possibility for a lot of cold
water to get in between my head and helmet.

Some of my friends wear neoprene hoods under their helmet in the winter.
Although I have one, I never wear it. I don't flip very often during the
winter. :-)

In the winter I tend to wear pre-bent open palm neoprene mittens, which
I have three pairs of, in different thicknesses. My favourite brand
isn't made any more, but there seem to be several other brands on the
market now.

My girlfriend showing her very similar neoprene open palm mittens:

http://wilko.webzone.ru/w-les10.jpg

The drytop she is wearing here is the same model as one of my drytops,
of a German brand, "kayaker.de", but their site has hiccups when I go to
the "zubehoer" - "bekleidung und mehr" page. It just shows a blank page
with that text, not the clothes. :-(

That setup works well for me throughout the year, and depending upon the
weather and water temperature, I add or substract layers of polypro.

Granted, when I'm only paddling at a local playspot in the heat of
central European summer in my playboat, I do change to a neoprene shorts
every once in a while. :-)



--
Wilko van den Bergh wilko(a t)dse(d o t)nl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://wilko.webzone.ru/