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Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

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paulhaslett
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Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby paulhaslett » Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:10 pm

I have a pair of Mistic gloves 5mm and have just started wearing them this year. Every year I am restricted by how long I can Kite due to my hands being in pain while I grip the bar. I do not overly grip the bar and try to relax my hands as much as possible but still have this difficulty with maintaining my grip for a long period. I am now looking at replacing my gloves and I’m trying to work out if it is the thick 5mm glove that is causing the grip tiredness or the fact that my hands are cold. I can cope with the cold but the grip problem is a real issue.

Does anyone else suffer from this and if so have they worked out if it related to the cold or thickness of the glove.

Cheers
Paul

smurphd
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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby smurphd » Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:42 pm

i think you just need thinner gloves.i cant use anything more than 2mm thick, and with a good suit i can use them all winter, though i do stop surfing when the water start freezing up, too annoying with all the ice i think.

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Bille
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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby Bille » Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:12 pm

smurphd wrote:i think you just need thinner gloves.i cant use anything more than 2mm thick,...
I'm the same, thinner is better with the gloves,but i Don't have ice to contend with !

I'm going to Home Depot and getting some pipe insulation to tape on the bar, they make a
bunch of thicknesses. It may make a difference having a larger diameter bar, or may be a
waist of money ?

Bille

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Peter_Frank
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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby Peter_Frank » Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:31 pm

Exactly - it IS the thickness that is a problem for the endurance in the wintertime !

I use 2mm prebend gloves (not mittens) even when ice in the water.

But mittens should be warmer, if you cant get the heat in gloves.

3mm is fine too, but above that is a problem for some (others will do fine - depends on your kite and the bar pressure).
If you do handle passes - the thick gloves/mitten will be useless anyways...

It is all about technique though - keeping your hands/fingers warm - but that is another issue...

:D PF

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edt
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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby edt » Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:45 pm

Yes 5mm is too thick. At most you'll get 15 to 30 minutes of kiting until you have to come in and rest your hands. Switch to a thinner glove you'll get 30 to 60 minutes before you have to come in and warm up the hands. I kite when it's 33 degrees out, and your grip will fail long before your hands get cold on a 5mm glove. Also the thinner the bar the easier it is to grip. If you have a very thick bar, it wears out the hands a lot faster.

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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby Wray118 » Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:08 pm

When it gets really cold i use 2mm fleece gloves with 2 pairs of latex gloves on top , the ones used by tattoo artists.
very thin and grip well but strong.



BLACK PANTHERA LATEX TATTOO GLOVES

kas911
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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby kas911 » Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:40 pm

Have always had the same problem. Tried mittens for the first time today. They rock! Try some if you can. Mine are Dakine mittens and i am very pleased with them

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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby seki-ter » Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:09 pm

kas911 wrote:Have always had the same problem. Tried mittens for the first time today. They rock! Try some if you can. Mine are Dakine mittens and i am very pleased with them
So are these full mitts or only covering back of the hands?
I can see a lot of situations when this could mean some real hazard if I don't have option to use fingers.

I also prefer to use really thin gloves and only if necessary. (water under 6-7 Celsius and/or air under 10)

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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby tautologies » Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:16 pm

paulhaslett wrote:I have a pair of Mistic gloves 5mm and have just started wearing them this year. Every year I am restricted by how long I can Kite due to my hands being in pain while I grip the bar. I do not overly grip the bar and try to relax my hands as much as possible but still have this difficulty with maintaining my grip for a long period. I am now looking at replacing my gloves and I’m trying to work out if it is the thick 5mm glove that is causing the grip tiredness or the fact that my hands are cold. I can cope with the cold but the grip problem is a real issue.

Does anyone else suffer from this and if so have they worked out if it related to the cold or thickness of the glove.

Cheers
Paul
Maybe consider making the bar a little thicker.

Thinner bars will be harder to hold on to. (obviously there are limits to how thick)

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Re: Help - Gripping bar in cold weather

Postby AndrewJMcGee » Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:29 pm

5m lobster gloves here. I hurt a lil, but i feel like my grip is stronger because of it. Its brutal when your frozen to your kite here in NY. Ive seen some funny buddies totaly frozen solid! The only way to ditch the kite is to unhook! Thats riding suicide! Qr frozen like Peter Frank! :o
Be careful

Andy


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