{"id":15038,"date":"2017-12-20T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=15038"},"modified":"2021-12-13T07:23:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T15:23:42","slug":"paddling-with-pogies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2017\/12\/20\/paddling-with-pogies\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddling with Pogies"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was on my way to the river in the dead of winter. But it was easy to forget how cold it was outside with my heat on full blast and the seat warmer toasting my fleece-lined buns. And then it started snowing. Big, heavy snowflakes dropped from the sky with an almost audible \u2018thud\u2019 on to my windshield as we crested the mountain pass and made our way back down toward the river gorge. This was the kind of weather that would drive most people indoors, in front of the television, and under a blanket until further notice. The thought made me chuckle. Bad weather seems to be synonymous with great kayaking, so there I was.<\/p>\n

The day ended up being one I still think of fondly: intimidatingly cold, icicles frozen in place on my helmet and a hard sheet of ice encasing my PFD. We didn\u2019t stop frequently, but when we did, my paddling buddy was quick to whip out a hot thermos of water for a quick warm up on shore before continuing on. We admired the peace and quiet of the river in winter on the way down, and when we made it to the takeout, we hastily changed into warm layers and down jackets with the heat on blast once again.<\/p>\n

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Somewhere deep within the beginner boater\u2019s learning curve comes weird, niche kayaking gear that only comes out for very specific occasions. The awkward scuba-esque head covering (storm hoods)<\/a>, or the goofy and even more elusive dry-top-connected-to-spray-skirt \u2018dry deck.\u2019 And then there are the aggravatingly floppy hand warmers someone decided to dub \u2018pogies\u2019 that seem utterly inadequate until you actually try paddling in the winter without them. As a newer boater, I tried hard to keep my paddling kit as simple and distraction-free as possible, but discovering the quiet magic of kayaking in the winter demanded otherwise.<\/p>\n

While it took me a while to buy-in to the effectiveness\u2014and eventual greater enjoyment\u2014of stuffing my hands into shapeless neoprene attached to my paddle, I did ultimately concede that using pogies was a better alternative to gloves or mitts. They allowed me to keep the skin-to-paddle contact I so preferred as opposed to having a material barrier between my paddle and my hands. I looked at these strange affixes as a sort of necessary evil to be able to enjoy paddling year-round.<\/p>\n