Hi, could someone please recommended a good pair of gloves, or mitts for
canoeing long distances in the summer time?

cheers
Feral Boy

In article , Ferrel Boy
wrote:
Hi, could someone please recommended a good pair of gloves, or mitts for
canoeing long distances in the summer time?

In the summer? Why?


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of handouts

--

Ferrel Boy wrote:
Hi, could someone please recommended a good pair of gloves, or mitts for
canoeing long distances in the summer time?

Get your hands used to holding the paddle without gloves is my
suggestion. More control, and hence better paddling technique is
possible. Unless you have some particularly bad circulation
problem there just isn't any need in the summer. Most of the
people I know who start off wearing gloives the whole time soon
stop (it's touring I'm doing, so this is long distances).

Pete.
--
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/

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.

"Allan Bennett" wrote in message
...
In article , Ferrel Boy
wrote:
Hi, could someone please recommended a good pair of gloves, or mitts for
canoeing long distances in the summer time?

In the summer? Why?


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of handouts

--

If you are in an open Canadian type canoe I think bicycling gloves will
be fine.
If you are in a kayak (2 blade paddle) pogies are better for the cold.
If you have blister problems and this is the sole rason for gloves you
might try Mole Skin or a pre-emptive band aid. It won't be long before
you don't need any protection the your hands will toughen up.

Cycling gloves may be the real deal for right now though.
Good luck
Alex

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

I'd say a better approach is to toughen up your hands so you don't get
the blisters. To do that just go paddling, but start on shorter trips
and build up.

If you wear gloves the whole time you'll end up with very little cold
resistance come the cooler days.

Pete.
--
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/

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

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.

"Allan Bennett" wrote in message
...
In article , Ferrel Boy
wrote:
Hi, could someone please recommended a good pair of gloves, or mitts for
canoeing long distances in the summer time?

In the summer? Why?


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of handouts

--

As well as the work on your paddle suggested below, have a look at the
size of the paddle shaft, perhaps a smaller diameter shaft may help.