Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Have you looked here ?.

http://www.bcu.org.uk/aboutus/gettingstarted.html

Bill

In message
Bill Oldroyd wrote:

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Have you looked here ?.

http://www.bcu.org.uk/aboutus/gettingstarted.html

Bill

1 Cag
2 Thermals
3 wetsuit boots
4 Paddle
5 Buoyancy aid
6 Helmet

Then the order gets more difficult depending a lot on what sort of paddling is planned, and what time of year

Car
Roofrack
Waterproof Kitbag
Boat (yes I meant this to be last).

--
Alan Adams

http://www.nckc.org.uk/

"Keith Meredith" wrote in message
...
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith


Hiya

****For flat water paddling****:

1/ membership of a suitable club.
Most flat water clubs will have items 7 to 10 available for new members to
borrow.


2/ wet shoes (not boots)
3/ leggings or shorts
4/ T shirts
5/ cag (only used if the weather is very chilly, or during heavy rain)
6/ Floatie glasses strap if the paddler wears glasses.
Items 2 to 6 are personal needs, are an aid to comfort if they fit properly,
and much nicer to know they are clean!


7/ BA (usually discarded after the initial stabilisation and learning
period, except for when competing in lower divisional races)
8/ paddle
9/ spray deck (not used by a lot of flat water paddlers)
10/ boat
Items 7 to 10 can be bought when the novice has tried out a variety of kit,
and has a better idea of what suits their individual needs.

11/ drink bottle/bag may be needed if racing.

12/ I like to wear a canvas Tilly hat while paddling. It is water proof, it
floats, it keeps the sun out of my eyes & off my head, it also keeps the
rain off my head and off my glasses. It keeps flies off my head and deflects
them away from my face. When racing I soak the hat in the water just before
the start and it cools me down. I can keep a spare key and £5 in a sealed
plastic bag in the pocket hidden in the crown of the hat. When I'm out in
windy weather, the brim folds up on either side to reduce the drag and the
hat fastens on to my head with an adjustable tie at the back. For really
strong winds it also ties on under my chin. My Tilly hat is my favourite
canoeing accessory. I wash it in the dishwasher (no, not with the dishes
in!).

13/ Extended V- bars & bungees to transport the boat to races.
14/ roof rack to mount V bars on.
15/ vehicle to mount roof rack on.
(A very few clubs have their own trailer to transport member's boats to
races.
Often a fellow club member will offer to transport a new member's boat until
they can obtain their own rack & transport)

Note; all the above applies to flat water; bumpy water paddling may have
different customs in place.

David
Not a fan of over spending too soon.
Hmmm, too many words, delete the last two words.

"Alan Adams" wrote in message
...
In message
Bill Oldroyd wrote:

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Have you looked here ?.

http://www.bcu.org.uk/aboutus/gettingstarted.html

Bill

1 Cag
2 Thermals
3 wetsuit boots
4 Paddle
5 Buoyancy aid
6 Helmet

Then the order gets more difficult depending a lot on what sort of
paddling is planned, and what time of year

Car
Roofrack
Waterproof Kitbag
Boat (yes I meant this to be last).

I'd take a different approach since I teach kids, as I suspect will Keith.

1. Light footwear, preferably wetsuit boots, but something close fitting and
compact - save the complaint of feet getting stuck.
2. Cag - one with neoprene cuffs and a velcro neck seal will do initially.
By the time they get to 3 star most kids will need another one anyway.
3. Thermals

Since we provide all the boats, helmets etc there is no need for any more
purchases - but...

4. Helmet
5. Buoyancy Aid

Depending upon how comfortable the Club ones are...

Then look at a paddle and boat.

By this time they should also be looking at building up their first aid and
emergency kit. The contents of the latter being a source of much debate
perhaps they should be best left for another thread.

Of course it helps if they have some way of getting their boat to the water.
If the newbie is under 17 the car doesn't figure, here they usually have a
pre-available parent for transport. Or a club with a communal trailer.

Waterproof kitbag.... hmmm. So that the wet gear can be dumped in it and
forgotten till birds fall out of the sky when you open it :-)

Ewan Scott

Keith Meredith wrote:

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

How new is new?

First thing I'd advise is getting enough experience to get an idea of=20
what you'll want, c/o a club and/or paddling pals. A couple of folk I=20
know spent ~ =A34K before they'd even done any real paddling, which I=20
regard as frankly insane. I don't want to discourage this sort of thing =

as it should mean a very healthy second hand sea boat market in a couple =

of years, but it really is Quite Mad buying before you can reasonably be =

sure what you want *and* you can borrow until you find out.

Having borrowed stuff from club and friends to start with, first stuff I =

got for myself was a BA and a cag, because at least sea paddling these=20
are the items that make the biggest comfort difference (if you're 10=20
miles between landings then pockets on a BA make a /huge/ difference!).

Wet suit was next, for forays into rivers and surf. As with the wet=20
suit, one's own helmet means a selection can be made for personal fit=20
rather than the nearest you can get from the club's store.

Pete.
--=20
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

And add a spraydeck in there about number 4...

In article , Ewan Scott
wrote:


I'd take a different approach since I teach kids, as I suspect will Keith.

1. Light footwear, preferably wetsuit boots,

Footwear, yes. But definitely not wetsuit boots. Cheap plimmies are the
best for beginners.


but something close fitting and compact - save the complaint of feet
getting stuck.
2. Cag - one with neoprene cuffs and a velcro neck seal will do initially.

Windproof outer layer, certainly. But definitely NOT neo cuffs and neck
seals. Lots of reasons, but basically they are crap, uncomfortable and
unnecessary.


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of kit junkies

--

For chucking real money I would spend all the extra or available cash (
after food and rent ) on a BA and a paddle. If you love the sport a
high quality BA and Paddle willl make a huge difference.
You have some really great information from the other posters.
The Forst Aid / Emergency kit mentioned does deserve a string of its
own.

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

My club lists it as follows, after buying a long john wet suit :
If you get the canoeing bug your purchase list should then be 1- wet suit
boots, 2 - drycag ( a

warmer, more waterproof version of the 'splashcag', 3 - paddle, 4 - decent
spraydeck, 5 -

buoyancy aid, 6 - helmet, 7 - your own boat.



--
Muzz
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