Our friends over at Water Skills Academy helped us put together this video to help answer some of the questions we often get, and to encourage us all to get out there paddling all year round!
Just because the temperatures drop in autumn doesn’t mean to say we have to pack our kit away. Paddling in the winter can be absolutely magical, with beautiful conditions and less traffic on our waterways. There are a few considerations we need to make though, in terms of our kit, our equipment and our planning.
Planning
One of the key points to paddling in the winter is planning our paddle. So that’s taking into consideration the weather, the water conditions, the water temperature and where we’re paddling. There’s information available on the internet from weather apps to planning apps to make sure that we’re really prepared before we go out on the water. Things change a lot quicker in the winter. Wind picks up, temperatures can be a lot colder and rain can turn to snow. Water temperatures are a lot cooler and get colder progressively through the autumn into the winter, so we also need to be prepared that if we do end up in the water, we’re dressed appropriately and know what action to take. We also need to consider having a plan B, maybe a C and a D as well, so that on a particular day (for the paddle that you’ve been planning all week) you might need to change location, duration or on occasion just leave your kit in the car and go home, saving it for another day.
Layering
As our paddling transitions through the seasons from spring, summer, autumn and into winter, we also need to think about transitioning our clothing and what we’re wearing to paddle in. In spring and summer we might be wearing shorts or neoprene, like NeoFlex, but as the temperatures drop into the winter, we need to start thinking about a different system for clothing – layering. On the bottom next to our skin we can wear some thermals and then build on those thermals depending on the temperature, finishing in an outer layer which is wind- and waterproof like a jacket and pants (separates), or a full drysuit.
Personal floatation devices
In the spring and summer we might be wearing an inflatable belt like the Glide but coming into autumn and now into winter we should start thinking about wearing a foam PDF that can offer greater warmth around our core. In addition to that, a PFD with pockets allows us to carry some extras like my gloves in my pocket and maybe a spare hat.
Hats and gloves
There are lots of options for keeping our hands and our head warm during our winter paddling adventures. On our hands we can use gloves, mitts, or pogies (mitts which attach to your paddle). For our head we can use beanies, neoprene skull-caps or even a balaclava.
Outer layer
A winter outer layer can be one of two things. We can use separates – trouser with a jacket over the top or we can use a one-piece drysuit. All three items are made from waterproof fabric, but they work in slightly different ways. With separates, waterproof trouser or a bib can be worn with socks, and tightened up around the waist with a jacket then over the top. That allows us to take the jacket off, maybe add some layers quite easily, and then carry on with our paddle. The drysuit is one piece, so it is sealed at the feet, it’s sealed at the wrists, it’s sealed at the neck and the final seal is the zip, which you climb through and then do up before you start your paddle. Once you’re in your suit it’s far less practical to change your thermal layers as conditions change, but you will stay a lot drier if you take a good dunking.
Your questions answered
If water gets into the separates or into a drysuit, will I sink?
Well, the answer is no, especially if you’ve got your PFD on. However, it might be more challenging to move around if you’re completely waterlogged to get yourself out to the side or back to your craft. Wearing a PFD will help you stay on the surface and can help you get back to dry land, or your paddleboard faster, decreasing the chances of getting wet-through.
What do you wear under your separates or your drysuit?
Starting from the feet up, I wear a nice warm pair of socks with enough room to wiggle my toes around, keeping my feet warm during those colder months. Then working my way up I wear a thermal wicking layer, which can be thermal bottoms and a thermal top or underneath a drysuit I often wear a one-piece thermal suit. That allows me to add thermal layers on top, which can be taken on and off depending on what type of paddle I’m doing and also the temperature. I do not wear any cotton because when cotton gets wet you get cold.
So what keeps the water out of your suit?
Working from the feet up we’ve got waterproof fabric socks and underneath these I’m wearing my thermal socks, keeping my feet nice and warm. On the Bora suit I’m wearing there are two types of seals then; we’ve got latex seals and neoprene seals. Latex rubber seals are often tighter and keep the water completely out and on this suit they’re also found on our wrists, keeping our arms nice and dry. And on the neck a neoprene seal allows a little bit more flexibility and is super comfortable (whereas a latex neck seal will keep the water out completely under pressure).
Do seals leak?
As we’re paddling, we’re moving our wrists around creating tiny channels between our skin and the wrist seal. As our hands are in the water, we do find occasionally some water seeping through those gaps. The same applies to the neck as we move our heads around when we’re paddling – and also if the neck seal is under pressure. With a drysuit it’s a good idea to ‘burp’ the suit before we go paddling, releasing the excess air out of it. So we slowly release the next seal, allowing the air out.
Why are my feet damp?
Paddling is a physical activity and we’re sweating bodies giving off moisture. The majority of that moisture is taken out through the breathable fabric of the your suit, but on occasion any moisture that’s left will fall down to the sock giving you that occasional damp feeling.
Paddling through the winter can offer some magical moments of brilliant scenery. Crystal waters, not much traffic around, and an all-round wonderful experience.
