gloves

[joe_windsurfer]

since there is already some discussion here about colder weather, i will post my particular question here:

went out yesterday in about 11 degree Celsius weather
this is about 52 degrees Fahrenheit

i tried some summer Dakine gloves with the fingers cut off, butt too cold
tried my winter Dakines and as always find them restrictive and forearm issues
took em off and hung em from the boom - @ least did not hafta go in

i found some old forum material on Gul gloves , which are apparently palmless
other people seem to have cut the palms on existing gloves
some speak of medical gloves - i'll break those and are surely cold
others talk of dishwasher gloves tucked into neoprene of the suit
my w/s buddy says "just put yer stuff away for the season" :-(

does anyone have a magical solution for w/s gloves that keep cold out, are comfortable and give NO forearm difficulties ??

oh yeah - and are available in N.A. esp Canada !!

would REALLY appreciate it

[Roger]

Hi joe_windsurfer;
My solution (after many many purchase of different things that were "supposed" to work) is:
A Kokatat Dry suit..... solves all the fore arm issues as it has very soft, very thin latex seals
on the wrists.
And, the DaKine Cold Water Mitts (NOT Gloves).... be sure to get the later mitts with the neoprene that
wraps over the end of your fingers. The older ones had the change from neoprene to the palm material
right on the finger tips.... brrrrrr.... you never realize how much your finger tips are out in the cold airstream when wrapped around a boom.
Later DaKine MItts solved this by bringing the neoprene (about 1.5-2.5 mil I'd guess) back to about the first finger joint in your hand. This solved the frozen fingertips issue.
Hope this helps,
Roger
P.S. I know that this will start some sort of flame war, but for those of you who have not ever experienced the warmth and durabulity of a genuine Kokatat Goretex front entry dry suit (Kokatat GFE) I strongly suggest you try one before you start talking about them.
Mine is now more than 10 years old, and after 2 seal replacements, it's going back to the factory for an full water tightness test; new goretex booties, and new neck and wrist seals.
Then I can sail in the coldest weather and feel like I'm wearing warm pajamas!
R

[joe_windsurfer]

okay - went to local w/s shop and discussed ...
looked at my old mittens and the issues were exactly what was talked about here
1) too much neoprene at the palm ie too thick
2) gloves were large, but still tight at the wrist

the "new" Dakine mittens are as follows
1) thinner and "grippier" on the palm
2) are XL and semi-loose at the wrist

tried em today
- were NOT cold
- no fatigue in forearms or wrist
- just need to get used to putting em on so they do NOT slip

other than that MUCH better than the "older" version

btw local rep says mittens are defintely warmer than gloves
- what do i know ? bought mittens ...

[joe_windsurfer]

have gone back to my "older" mitts
the new ones seem to have NO fore-arm fatigue, butt colder :-(