Open Palm Mitts and Pogies

[iriejohn]

Our water today was 6.5C which is less than 44F.

Always hated wearing gloves because they made my fingers go numb.

But now I just LOVE wearing my ION 3/2 Claw gloves because my hands are toasty with very little loss of feel.

https://www.ion-products.com/water/men/ ... gloves-32/

I have these exact gloves, I'm not as enamored with them, give me terrible forearm pump after 10 mins and I can't feel the bar as well.

It could be I just have weak forearms but I struggle with any glove seemingly.

Make sure they fit pretty loosely, if too tight they will cut off your circulation - their main purpose is to protect your hands from windchill. Perhaps open palm mitts will work better for you.

[Beardytello]

Our water today was 6.5C which is less than 44F.

Always hated wearing gloves because they made my fingers go numb.

But now I just LOVE wearing my ION 3/2 Claw gloves because my hands are toasty with very little loss of feel.

https://www.ion-products.com/water/men/ ... gloves-32/

I have these exact gloves, I'm not as enamored with them, give me terrible forearm pump after 10 mins and I can't feel the bar as well.

It could be I just have weak forearms but I struggle with any glove seemingly.

Make sure they fit pretty loosely, if too tight they will cut off your circulation - their main purpose is to protect your hands from windchill. Perhaps open palm mitts will work better for you.

That could very well be it.

I've ordered some mitts so will see how they work!

[Mike101]

Probably the best value piece of kit. Just buy them. I think mine were kayaking open mits. Like the booties, split thumb and 4 fingers. Great when it's cold.

[Slappysan]

Just keep in mind though, if the water is on the colder side and you spend much time IN the water, they are about as warm as bare hands.

This isn't true for me. I have 2 different pairs of open palm mitts:
1) the 2mm NP Surf ones, and they don't provide amazing warmth in water but if you make a fist you keep flow to a minimum and can last a long time
2) 5mm mitts that I cut the palms out myself, when I clench my fist in these things almost zero water gets in and they are very warm

Keep in mind you can't swim for shit with a clenched fist though.

I have these exact gloves, I'm not as enamored with them, give me terrible forearm pump after 10 mins and I can't feel the bar as well.

Forearm pump can be caused by both the hands and pressure on the forearms. Check to make sure it's not that the wrist part is too tight. I got terrible arm pump from my 5mm open palm gloves at first because of the tight squeeze on my forearms of the glove over my 4mm wetsuit cuff. I had to stretch them out by leaving them over bottles for a few weeks to solve the problem.

The NP Surf 3 finger mitts are really loose on your forearms but because they are water tight they create a vacuum seal and there is zero water exchange and no added strain on your forearms.

Now with my NP Surf 3 finger mitts I still do get some arm pump but it's manageable. It starts pretty bad in the first 10 minutes, once that happens just do 10 or 15 counts of stretching your fingers back against your opposite forearm while holding the bar with the forearm hand. If you have shallow water or space on shore just take a 30 sec break and stretch them out. Once it goes away I'll be good for about an hour then need to to more stretching breaks.

[davesails7]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

I went with the NP open palm mitts, and am really happy with them. Adventure sports still has them on sale for $25, so you really can't go wrong: https://adventuresportsusa.com/np-split ... -palm.html

Had them out for two sessions. FIrst session was 58F air and 44F water. I didn't really even need gloves at 58F air temp, but wanted to give them a go. When you crash, they are going to fill with water. 44F water is pretty cold on your hands, but all the water comes right back out and then your hands warm up very quickly. Tried one hand with the open mitt, one without, and the one with the mitt definitely warmed back up much quicker. I really liked that they fold back on your wrist completely out of the way when you're not using them.

Today went out in 42F water with 49F air. Wind was 15-20kts, riding on race foil with race kite, so apparent wind was 30+ when going upwind. I was only out for about an hour, but my hands were plenty warm. The few times I crashed, that 42F water is COLD on your hands, but as soon as you take you hands back up out of the water, they warm right back up. It was nice to be able to blow warm air into the mitt, and then I was back up riding with comfortably warm hands.

I think these will be my go to gloves in over 45F air from now on.

[badgb21]

Used to wear open mits for many years windsurfing. If it got really cold you could wear a pair of washing up gloves underneath. These are generally thin enough not to give forearm pump.

[BWD]

I find if I wear a warm enough wetsuit thin gloves are fine, even washing gloves as mentioned. Tuck gloves into the sleeves and any warm water dripping down arms goes into the gooves and keeps hands warm. Thats what I do in 40 F water and similar air. Water below 40 F I go on and wear the thin gloves. Thicker than 1mm gooves usually bother me. Sunshine and warmer air temps, I only put on gloves if i face a longish swim in cold water.