Kayaking Clothes
Discussion
With what aim? Are you looking for kit recommendations to develop new stuff. Most experienced kayakers will try to avoid thermal layers getting wet, mainly wearing dry kags (think top half of a dry suit), or full dry suit, or split dry suit. Under these its down to personal preference, some get colder than others= more layers. I tend to use a peak thermal rash vest, or any other thermal, and possibly a normal rash vest over that. I don't tend to get cold though. Have a look at PeakUK or Reed chillcheater, or any local kayak shop for ideas.
Hi Mcdjl, thanks for this, without going into too much detail at the moment, I know what I wear for dinghy racing and in extreme conditions when I'd expect to be wet for pretty much the whole time but today I find myself trying to understand what a kayaker might/should be wearing and why if they were and then got wet why within a relatively short space of time the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in escalated.
Marcellus said:
Hi Mcdjl, thanks for this, without going into too much detail at the moment, I know what I wear for dinghy racing and in extreme conditions when I'd expect to be wet for pretty much the whole time but today I find myself trying to understand what a kayaker might/should be wearing and why if they were and then got wet why within a relatively short space of time the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in escalated.
By and large kayaking gear is worn with the idea that you stay in your boat and that your body/clothing remains dry. for this reason its not unusual to find a kayaker wearing swim shorts or thin thermal trousers on their bottom half (boats do warm up and you do move a reasonable amount). My dry trousers leak, unless i swim this isn't a problem. If though you then end up exiting the boat these offer no thermal protection at all really so you're fairly quickly in trouble. Most kayak safety is based around getting a swimmer out of the water ASAP. As you probably know getting splashed in a dinghy and swimming in the water are quite different things in terms of heat loss, kayaks are generally similar (believe it or not).Speaking from experience it doesn't take many head dunkings and staying in the boat to get VERY cold quite quickly- fortunately i had nice warm showers near by to hide in (at Lee valley). Equally had i not had the attitude of 'i'm going to complete this assessment, I've paid for it, i'm staying on the water' i wouldn't have got so bad. On a real river the lack of access will also push people to carry on to the end rather than get out early and warm up.
Theres no official guide as to what people should be wearing, racers/slalom wear much less than recreational paddlers. When it led groups there is a recommendation that some one should have a set of dry clothes sealed away and/or an emergency shelter. I'd guess that amongst many 'informal' groups to do so is rare.
t happens ....................... Sounds like you've had a bad day?
Things to ask yourself are, do you reasonably expect to get wet? & How cold is it?
On a sliding scale I would wear....
1. bare feet (shoes in the boat in case a pub appears), shorts, base layer shirt or t-shirt. ( a nice sunny day on flat water)
2. Wet suit booties, shorts, base layer, dry cag. (a nice day on moving water)
3. Wet suit booties, shorts or base layer trousers & top, dry trousers & cag. ( a chilly day on moving water)
4. Wet suit booties, base layer, light fleece, dry suit (well burped), heavy duty Marigold washing up gloves. (mid winter ice breaking)
Or any combination of the above plus a buoyancy aid & crash hat where necessary.
With experience you'll learn what is comfortable for you in certain conditions, the trick is having enough gear to choose from and spare dry stuff in a dry bag in case you take a swim or have to walk home.
Things to ask yourself are, do you reasonably expect to get wet? & How cold is it?
On a sliding scale I would wear....
1. bare feet (shoes in the boat in case a pub appears), shorts, base layer shirt or t-shirt. ( a nice sunny day on flat water)
2. Wet suit booties, shorts, base layer, dry cag. (a nice day on moving water)
3. Wet suit booties, shorts or base layer trousers & top, dry trousers & cag. ( a chilly day on moving water)
4. Wet suit booties, base layer, light fleece, dry suit (well burped), heavy duty Marigold washing up gloves. (mid winter ice breaking)
Or any combination of the above plus a buoyancy aid & crash hat where necessary.
With experience you'll learn what is comfortable for you in certain conditions, the trick is having enough gear to choose from and spare dry stuff in a dry bag in case you take a swim or have to walk home.
Edited by DJFish on Tuesday 13th January 20:53
Depends on how much work you'll be doing and how long you'll be on the water. I used to wear shorts, t-shirt in all weathers when competing in slalom,(only on the water for 2 minutes and working flat out but nowadays I'll wear longjohns, two layers of thermals and a dry suit at this time of year if I'm on an all day river run.
can we draw a line on this one please guys; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/30795069
(my brother RIP, died doing what he loved, yesterday)
(my brother RIP, died doing what he loved, yesterday)
Marcellus said:
can we draw a line on this one please guys; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/30795069
(my brother RIP, died doing what he loved, yesterday)
My condolences to you and your family. I've come closer to trouble on a few occasions than I want to repeat and know of several others like me.(my brother RIP, died doing what he loved, yesterday)
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