Pogies or gloves
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14863
Printed Date: 16 Jun 2025 at 11:40pm
Topic: Pogies or gloves
Posted By: imageAK
Subject: Pogies or gloves
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2015 at 4:12pm
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Pre bent finger gloves I feel like fill out my grip more & I'm not a big guy. But what are the advantages to pogies? Do you have trouble ever loosing grip on your paddle and finding it again? ------------- aint nobody got time for that! |
Replies:
Posted By: geomorph
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2015 at 8:41pm
I've used both and my opinion is: Pogies  (with gloves as backup for winter portages).I love pogies. I can feel the paddle which helps me know that the orientation is correct. They keep my hands about as warm as gloves in the winter and they provide sun protection in the summer. Truth is, I never take them off my paddle. They're always there when I need them and they don't do me any harm when I don't. That said.... pogies only provide protection when your hands are in them. If you swim or have to portage, get ready for cold hands (and cold hands are worthless). My suggestion is to make sure you have a bomber roll (so you rarely swim) and use pogies. During the winter, keep a pair of gloves in your boat as backup in case something goes wrong and you have to hike out. I'm looking forward to hearing other opinions on the topic; I know there are a lot of glove fans out there. |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2015 at 10:19pm
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I think Geomorph is Spot On.
Pogiez all the way. They keep my hands much warmer than glovez. Your fingers are consolidated like mittens which keeps them warmer, and your hands also heat up the portion of the shaft they contact. Also, they protect your knuckles in tight rocky places where sh*t could damage them baddly, like getting them caught between your boat and some rock you end up grinding against...keep those hands supple for caressing the lady! I find that the modern models out there are easy to punch my hands in and out of, and you can always shove them out of the way temporarily. With some adaptation though you get used to them. I only remove them in August when it is absurdly warm. Gloves are a good backup for portagez, or if you gotta get out in the middle of a stream to unpin a boat and your hands are imersed, but for me my hands really seem to almost get colder wearing neoprene gloves, but maybe I just need the right pair. One horror story I heard once that stuck w/ me was an account of a guy who found himself needing to swim at the base of Spirit Falls one winter. He had neoprene MITTENS on, and couldn't get his spray skirt off. I'm pretty sure he survived the ordeal but the incident may have brought him to the brink of drowning and/or hypothermia. Someone here probably vividly recalls those details, but that someone isn't me. Probably on the Jason Rackley site... Anywho mittens are out. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: ENDO
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 2:08am
| Mittens have treated me way better than pogies when park and playing in midwinter. And some of the better form fitting mittens are great for general river running or playboating. However, like jp said, never creeking, you need the extra dexterity to act quick. I have a pair of really thin gloves neoprene gloves ill wear under my pogies if im going to have to be in and out of the water alot. They hardly affect movement and it makes dealing with ropes a lot less painful when its frigid. |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 5:22am
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Yeah, there's probably lots of options out there I haven't tried.
I will say that after waaayyy too many years of paddling cold water, my fingers and hands aren't doing so good toward the end of a long cold day. Its the first part of me to get cold. Based on this, I suggest taking care of your digits over the long haul better than I have. A few winters back there was a swim at P.O.W. and we chased the boat into the rock garden below the rapid. It got pinned in the middle of the river. No big deal. I was jonny on the spot and eddied out behind it. Basicly the grab loop I needed was submerged. Fuqua had thrown me a rope from the bank. Anyway, that was a situation where a pair of neoprene gloves woulda been helpful. My hands got cold really quick fishing underwater to clip the rope to the boat. That was a wake up call of sorts as I realized that if we were somewhere more remote where the extraction was more involved, I could have compromised the group since my hands were going really numb... A dry bag with a different pair of non neoprene gloves (even some ploypro glove liners) would be ok for off river stuff. But this stuff is case by case scenario- I don't like getting carried away taking too much sh*t along with me. Its good to consider "what if" scenarios, but its probably just as good or better to sharpen one's boating skills and make smart decisions. Avoid trouble in the first place. Especially in the winter. Days are shorter so you should be smart enough to adapt your habits to that. Staying out of trouble to begin with has served me well 95% of the time. If that means portaging an extra rapid to make it off the river before dark, so be it. As a skinny little runt, I also find that bringing food with me on winter trips is key to offsetting the calory burn a little. Head lamps are good for winter boating too. Sorry to the extent I got off topic. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: imageAK
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 7:14am
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Awesome anyone know a store it could buy some pogies at on my way back from the sky?
------------- aint nobody got time for that! |
Posted By: mikenash
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 2:05pm
| I like Pogies. Try takin a leak or crackin open a beer with gloves on. |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 3:23pm
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Originally posted by imageAK
Awesome anyone know a store it could buy some pogies at on my way back from the sky? Cascade Paddlesports. Those guys are awesome. They are in Redmond close to the Sammamish River. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: imageAK
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 7:47pm
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Thanks jP they were right on the way! ------------- aint nobody got time for that! |
Posted By: fiddleyak
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 8:29pm
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I vote gloves.
Pogies won't be there for you when you really need them: grabbing onto a grab loop when you're swimming in cold water or pulling a boat out of the river. I've recently gone back to gloves. I'm trying to wear them most of times that I paddle, not as much for warmth but so I am used to wearing them. Check out Glacier Gloves. Not the most durable but the price point makes that less of an issue. |
Posted By: Arrow6
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 8:53pm
| I vote gloves after a few slips onto slippery rocks |
Posted By: Jed Hawkes
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 12:22pm
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Pogies, plenty warm, more dexterity on your paddle shaft. Be sure to get a quality one like the Snap dragons or IR, the cuff should stay open and predictable when using to it's easy to get your hand back in.
I keep a pair of like fleece gloves in my kit in the event that I get benighted or spend a lot of time out of my boat on a cold winter trip. ------------- The line will become apparent 978-273-7723 |
Posted By: megspk
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 4:18pm
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Pogies for sure for kayaking! If you keep your paddle during a swim you can just pop them back on and swim back to shore. You can always tuck your hands in them if you take a break on a cold day. I also keep gloves in a dry bag for longer river side stops and have hand warmers available if I get really cold.
I have been doing some rafting lately and gloves go a long way for rafting! I find for kayaking my hands slip on the paddle shaft too much for my own liking, but for rafting on cold days they are awesome!
It's pretty much personal preference, but like any piece of equipment, make sure you try them out and make sure you can wet exit your boat safely with them on. I know several people have had troubles finding their pull cord for the skirt if they have mittens on. ------------- “A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.” -Unknown |
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2015 at 1:04pm
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I find the nrs mittens superior to pogies and much warmer. There is a learning curve to using them and you should wrap your paddle shaft in the grip area with friction tape, but once you get used to them, paradise. I like the friction tape for bare handed use too. ------------- Nomad |
Posted By: turtlepower
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2015 at 3:38pm
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And for the rafters out there I might suggest trying a combo, using a mit for the hand holding the t-grip and a pogie on the paddle shaft. This way you keep both hands warm and can easily use your free hand in the pogie to pull off the mitten from the other hand in the event you need to deal with a knot or anything that requires fine dexterity. ------------- You've been Chunderstruck! |