03/13/07 3:05 pm by TreksterDrysuits
An absolute must for winter kayak gear is a drysuit. Sure, you can paddle without one and barring any mishap; you would survive, enjoy the day and save a few hundred bucks. But being fat, dumb and happy is not a smart way to venture into the out of doors. Fear is the beginning of wisdom. Without a healthy respect and fear of the sea, adventures on the ocean can turn foolishness into tragedy. The sea must be feared and loved at the same time. Winter paddling reduces the margin between death and mishaps. An unplanned wet exit in the summer can be life threatening if a number of factors fail but generally, the event is scary for some, exciting for others and usually results in a wet re-entry and a good story around the campfire at night. That same event in frigid waters during the winter is immediately a life-threatening situation. Unless, that is, the kayaker is properly equipped, knowledgeable and experienced. A wise person will have a balance of fear and love that combines to give a healthy respect to the ocean.
The proper equipment can be learned from other kayakers experience and advise. We consider a drysuit an absolute must for the winter kayaker. We will not allow someone to paddle with us during the winter if they do not use a drysuit. The say that good judgment is gained from experience and that experience is gained from bad judgment. I am not sure that is always correct but we had an experience during our October paddle that drove us all to purchasing drysuits before we proceeded into our winter paddle months. You can read about it in "Wet Harry Cove". Immediately the next day, after that event, I started a web search for any and all information I could find on drysuits. That led me to a site, Kayak Academy, and a man named George that spent a lot of time on the phone imparting his knowledge and experience with drysuits. If you are searching for a drysuit, talk to George. He is an expert who literally wrote the book. The three of us ordered our drysuits that week from George. He immediately sent Loren a brand new suit that he had in stock and loner suits to both Harry and myself since our suits were backordered. He allowed me to keep that loner for 4 months while my suit was being made. When my new suit arrived and I did not like it, he readily agreed to send me another one and told me to keep the loner until the new one arrived. On top of that, he threw in a nice Swiss Army style knife as a gift. You will not get better service from anyone.
What did we buy? Both Harry and Loren got the Super Nova Paddling Suit by Kokatat. I had ordered the Tropos Meridian suit but when it arrived, I did not like the overskirt feature and the complexity of working the zipper thru the Velcro with cold hands and gloves, so instead, I re-ordered the Gore-Tex Front Entry Drysuit by Kokatat. We all ordered suits with dry socks (We love them) and relief zippers.
Posted In : Winter Kayaking - Comments 465
03/08/07 11:57 pm by TreksterWhy Winter??
It's Cool!
Ok, kayaking is not generally considered a winter sport in Alaska, that I will grant you. But if you take a look at our winter kayak treks, you will have to agree that the beauty of being on the ocean in the middle of an Alaskan winter is breathtaking! Along with the awesome scenery, you have the added benefit of being virtually alone except for the year round animal residents. Sea Otters, Sea Lions and a multitude of seabirds all make Alaskan waters their home year round. The Humpback whales winter in Hawaii, the salmon are still out at sea, the Alaskan tourist is still mapping out and planning their summer trips and the rest of the Alaskans have cozied down in front of their TV's or they are caught up in snowmachining, skiing and the other "normal" winter sports. The ocean is once again, in it's natural undisturbed beauty. What a awesome time to paddle!Posted In : Winter Kayaking - Comments 2
