COLD WEATHER PRECAUTIONS

[EdDy_DiFfUsIvItY]

I increasingly get worried about kiting in these cold conditions.

Never the less I use the following kit : -

Drysuit - Full suit inc latex booties, under this a full fleece buffalo suit.
In the feet I wear 3 mm neoprene socks and on the outside - 2nn neoprene shoes to protect the latex feet.

Head - Neoprene head sock - full face jobbie and Helmet.

Hands - O'neill psycho 2mm gloves AND Oneill palmless mits.

board - inc leash.

In Car entertainment - A lovely blond lady with a flask. (its amazing how one would choose the flask over the lady at this time of year).

As to wetsuits - you wouldnt find me in one of those things in any less than 10 degrees C water temp and 10 air. i may wear one under a drysuit - not tried that combo yet but the above keeps me quite toasty.

Anyone got a cure for those hand pains one gets when the blood runs back into your fingers ? I've seen big bad grown up men cry and shout in pain with the chill blanes before. Its a real nasty one, but not as nasty as hypothermia.

Regds.

R.

[RickI]

In consideration of the recent fatality in Germany and posts/images about riding in conditions of higher risk of serious hypothermia complications, I brought this old post back up to the top.

It would good to resolve a short list of kiteboarding guidelines for cold water riding. Sky Pilot put together a nice article on this subject at:

http://www.skypilotkiteboarding.com/pag ... hermia.htm

Ideas, suggestions?

[wipikabigboy]

Its nearly spring here in england, the other day i went out in a side shore 21 mph wind, it was about 20 c outside which is dam hot for this time of year and so i was fooled into thinking 3/2 will be fine, big mistake!

Went in the water and started going perp. to the wind out to sea then stopped and wanted to come back in, kite powered up lost my board and landed about 50 m or less from my board,since i'm crap at body dragging till my board comes to me i decided to pull my QR and swim with the kite on the leash, the board was really quite close and by the time i got there i was completely exhasted and hands and feet were totally numb withinn a space of about 4 or 5 minutes.

Without gloves and booties and a hood you're had it completely and also a leash is a good idea!

andy

[RickI]

Its nearly spring here in england, the other day i went out in a side shore 21 mph wind, it was about 20 c outside which is dam hot for this time of year and so i was fooled into thinking 3/2 will be fine, big mistake!

Went in the water and started going perp. to the wind out to sea then stopped and wanted to come back in, kite powered up lost my board and landed about 50 m or less from my board,since i'm crap at body dragging till my board comes to me i decided to pull my QR and swim with the kite on the leash, the board was really quite close and by the time i got there i was completely exhasted and hands and feet were totally numb withinn a space of about 4 or 5 minutes.

Without gloves and booties and a hood you're had it completely and also a leash is a good idea!

andy

Good points in your story. It is good to not underestimate the ill that can come in colder water if something goes wrong. It doesn't have to be near 0 C for things to get ugly. It can happen faster is all. As other stories point out, even having observors nearby may not help all that much in the near term if rescue is delayed. It is best to be rigged out to avoid hypothermia for a reasonable period of time if necessary.

I was just over your way and experienced some of that really warm 20 C weather at the base which put me in a short sleaved tee shirt for several days skiing in the mountains. Still, weather can and will change rapidly. So, I carried two more layers and a small waterproof windbreaker in the backpack to deal potential downturns in conditions. It is not practical to carry layers kiteboarding, you need to tog up before going out. Still, if something bad happens you may be very grateful that you prepared. This reminds me of another story off Nantuckett in the USA that I will bring up to the top.

[RickI]

Is it my imagination or is it getting cooler out there? What's up with the light as well. Suddenly it is dark when I get off work. Winter is here again (in the north anyway, spring must get cool in the south as well), and it might be good to look over this thread from last year.

[Tom183]

Just as you shouldn't ride farther out than you can swim back, you shouldn't wear thinner neoprene for kiteboarding than you would for swimming.

If you're not dressed warm enough for some body dragging, you shouldn't be out there at all.

[zerogee_ca]

I increasingly get worried about kiting in these cold conditions.

Never the less I use the following kit : -

Drysuit - Full suit inc latex booties, under this a full fleece buffalo suit.
In the feet I wear 3 mm neoprene socks and on the outside - 2nn neoprene shoes to protect the latex feet.

Head - Neoprene head sock - full face jobbie and Helmet.

Hands - O'neill psycho 2mm gloves AND Oneill palmless mits.

board - inc leash.

In Car entertainment - A lovely blond lady with a flask. (its amazing how one would choose the flask over the lady at this time of year).

As to wetsuits - you wouldnt find me in one of those things in any less than 10 degrees C water temp and 10 air. i may wear one under a drysuit - not tried that combo yet but the above keeps me quite toasty.

Anyone got a cure for those hand pains one gets when the blood runs back into your fingers ? I've seen big bad grown up men cry and shout in pain with the chill blanes before. Its a real nasty one, but not as nasty as hypothermia.

Regds.

R.

That's a good plan R.

Using a board leash gets you out of the water sooner. But stay with the Reel Leashes or a 10' - 12' Big Wave Surf Leash (Dakine). To keep from getting whacked by your board. I once saw one of our regulars body dragging for his board for 20 minutes in very cold conditions (not my idea of fun).

Drysuits are definately the way to go. They keep the core warmer. There is no lost energy heating that cold water that just filled your wetsuit or that gets flushed through the wetsuit periodically. I also find that drysuits are way less restrictive and improve circulation to the extremeties. I can get away with thinner more comfortable hood, boots and gloves or mitts.

I have a trick I use to keep my hands warmer longer. It has a medical term that I can't remember now but it's commonly called "Hunters Hands". Let your hands get cold, to the point where they start feeling numb. Then come in and get them warm. You should not be feeling much pain when the hands thaw. If you do, you were out there too long. It's OK, the effect should still work, you just caused undo discomfort. Now, don't get too comfy or you will lose the effect. Get back out there. If done properly, it improves the circulation to the hands and you have just doubled or tripled your session time. I often use this in winter on the snow too. It allows me to wear thinner gloves. I use this technique when working outside in the cold too as my work is done best with very thin gloves or no gloves.

Also, it is important to come in before you get too tired or cold. You have to save some of that energy in reserve in case some equipment failure happens or if conditions change on your way back in.

[Rabidric]

If there was ever a candidate for a winter sticky, this thread is it.

[RickI]

If there was ever a candidate for a winter sticky, this thread is it.

Sounds good to me. Toby, what do you think? So much about kiting and hard knocks is about discovery and avoidance.

I would rather discover online than experience the joys of a hypothermic go to with the KB boogie man in winter.

[jamescarlyle]

Great thread.

My point of view is that in winter (in the U.K) I always take less risks - this means being conservative, putting up a smaller kite and using a bigger board, and sometimes just cruising around. I also listen to my body - if I make a mistake in a transition, often I use that as a sign that I am getting tired and call it a day.

James