In article , Feral Boy
wrote:
Well I got a couple of blisters while on my first couple of canoeing trips
in the summer and I want to do some longer trips next year, and gloves
seemed like the best thing to use, so I was wondering which ones people
used.


IME, the best way to avoid paddling-related blisters is to do more paddling.

Gloves tend to rub and cause their own problems and their use won't toughen
your hands.

The aetiology of friction blisters is not well understood, but I suspect a
skin infection will eventually be discovered which may or may not be
treatable. I suggest cleaning your equipment thoroughly and using calomine
and witch-hazel on your hands.



Allan Bennett
Not a fan of witches
--

Gloves?! We's men! We don' need no steenkin' gloves! Or rudders. Bah! I
spit on your rudder, you glove-wearin' sissy man......

Sorry, I seem to have been channeling some other people. You asked
about gloves.

For your purposes there are two considerations no one has mentioned
yet. First is fit. For gloves to work for you they must fit snugly.
Then the paddle rubs the gloves, but the glove does not rub your skin.
Ill-fitting gloves just transmit the rub and you get blisters anyhow.
Second, don't use bicycle gloves. Those thick padded palms give you
less feel for the paddle and force you to keep a tighter grip than
necessary to compress the padding. Tighter grips lead to wrist
problems.

I frequently wear light reef gloves from the SCUBA shop. They have a
bit of a tacky surface which prevents some of the sliding that causes
the problem in the first place.

Oh, another issue may be your paddle. If it has a hard shiny varnish
finish, it may be slippery when wet, causing it to slide a lot. Take a
piece of fine sandpaper to the shaft and then refinish with a marine
oil wood finish, like Djeks Olej. You'll like the grip a lot better

As noted, you do give up a little feel when you put gloves on, so to
the extent that you can do without them, do, assuming that you can
notice the loss of feel. As a side note, Derek Hutchinson forbids the
wearing of gloves in his classes for this reason.

Steve