"Peter Clinch" wrote in message
...
My first wetsuit was for sailing and had a separate long sleeve top and
trousers. Trying out paddling I dug it out of the attic and gave it a
try... and it was soon evident that although the trousers would be fine,
the top was far more trouble than it was worth. Far too much resistance
to arm movement.

I'm definatly going to get one, I'm going to do a bit of surfing this summer
(I know, I'm evil! It's just the perfect conditions for it around here in
mid wales!). I'll try it out for paddling but Ill proberbly end up not
using it for that. Saying all this though, my friend loves her long sleeve
wet suit for paddling, perhaps hers fits well? I don't know, I'm just
theorising!

That's pretty low compared to typical WW use, which tends to be 80+.
Not that that means you should use 80+, but I'd be surprised if there
isn't a higher feather paddle you could borrow for an hour or so and
decide what you prefer. Punching out into a wind blowing on to shore (a
very typical surfing environment) can be a bit more of a hack with low
feathers.

I started off with a 90deg and just couldn't get on with it. Too much
movement in the wrists for me. I'm going to try a 45 next week and see what
I like best from the three. I'll proberbly go with a 60 though for now. I
can always flog it to someone else in the club!

That suggests you use rucksacks for cycling, which is usually a
/horrible/ idea. Get a rack on the bike and either bungee a drybag to
it, or see if something like an Ortlieb rolltop waterproof pannier will
fit in the boat. I doubt the 20l rear rollers would fit, but the
universals might well manage to tuck in behind the seat.
Why carry weight on your back when you've a perfectly good weight
bearing bike frame to do it for you? If the boat is based where you're
paddling think about a trailer for the bike, which will easily take all
your paddling kit.

I keep the boat in the club shed so it gets slung on the trailer and meets
me whereever we're going! As for the bike, well, I mountain bike and I
don't fancy taking panniers on and off everytime I use it! Much easier to
use a rucksack. Especially if you have a nice climbing one with a padded
back. I figured I would just get a dry bag to fit inside it to make things
easier.



Once again, ta for the advise!

Charlie.