One Small Step…
Published April 1, 2011 | 
Wow! Technology sure has come a long way. This fancy new biometric shirt by Under Armour is made of a wicking material & contains electronic sensors to measure heart and breathing rates as well as skin-surface temperature. It also has a triaxial accelerometer to measure force and direction. The little yellow button called the ‘bug’ stores up to 2 gigs of information that can be transmitted and downloaded to a computer for analysis. Cool. The only thing paddlers want to know is.. is it waterproof. Oh, and then there’s this…
As you know, while we’re out there staying fit, be it paddling, running or whatever, we love listening to our music. Now ear bud maker ZippearZ promises “they won’t fall out.” No matter what. Hmmm. After watching this video, (Some repeatedly I might add…) the only thing paddlers want to know is…
JB? Comments?
My Icebreaker Nightmare
Published March 15, 2011 | 
My baby says she’s traveling / on the one after 909
I said move over honey / I’m traveling on that line
I said move over once /Move over twice
Come on baby, don’t be cold as ice
I said I’m traveling /on the one after 909
– beatles
OK, this is the truth. When I happened upon a $109.95 price tag on an Icebreaker top at Canoecopia it took my breath away. I mean.. That’s 2 tanks of gas for my Jeep, 43 gallons of milk, or about 4 stops at McDonald’s for a family of 3. (Well, if you actually eat at McDonald’s…) What’s more, that was the special discounted “show” price. Unless you’re rich, crazy or in the business it’s hard to justify that expenditure these days… Isn’t it?
Well, by now we all know that wicking materials are simply paramount to staying warm when working out in cold and wet conditions. We’re told every day not to wear cotton on the water, and to always wear layers. Yes, we all know that tech gear is better. OK. But still.. $109 for a shirt?? That’s what I thought when I first got into the sport of sea kayaking myself. Of course after freezing on the water a few times I started rethinking my priorities. But to be honest, I still couldn’t justify the cost in my own mind. I managed with what I had or found something cheap at Farm & Fleet or Gander Mountain. Continue reading
Posted in More Gear Reviews, My Paddling, Paddle Gear, Paddling, Reviews, Winter Sports | 
clothing, IcebreakerReed Chillcheater
Published January 19, 2007 | 
What do you wear
When you need to impress
Just slip
into high heals
And a brand new little black dress
-pet shop boys
You all know my fixation with Reed gear. Yeah, they make it possible for the secret order of Kayak Ninja to wrap ourselves in back gear. Not that you can’t go with yellow or blue too, but black is my thing. 
The deal with Reed’s gear is that it’s just so warm and comfortable. I’ve had my cags for some time now and am always amazed how they just totally kill the effects of wind when I’m out on the water. Something that really effects me quickly. Even in my drysuit I can feel the breeze sneaking through. Not in my Reeds though. Just great stuff. So it just feels really cool and somehow apt to be able to say I’m sponsored by Reed. Thanks so much to Chris & Jo. They’ve been really kind to me over the last year as it is while I’ve been bugging them about customizations, out of date logos and every other fiddly bit I’ve come to them with. I’d thought it was just as likely they told me “derrick, please don’t shop at our store any longer. . “
Now here’s something I didn’t know. You can order Chillcheater products online here in the States from Second Wind Sports who is the North American distributor. Of course here in the Midwest you can also get Reed stuff from the Geneva Kayak Center near Chicago. But you do have to drive there.
Now we can’t all look as good as Freya Hoffmeister in her Reeds, but we can still look pretty damn cool.
Oysters
Published February 28, 2005 |
I wrote and re-wrote this post looking ways to not to bring you down. It’s certainly not my intent. I want to give you a good answer to your question. But in the end I have to give you the correct answer and not necessarily the answer you want. Forgive me for this, but a beginner just should NOT be on the water this time of year. There really is no flexibility. This is what I would tell my own family members. The only exception would be if you took a drive to Lake Columbia in Portage, WI. This lake is heated by a power plant and is very warm. Even here you will learn very quickly what wet skin feels like in cold air. Never paddle in water you are not willing to swim in. The point is “beginner” and cold water just don’t mix. It’s just too risky and who wants to kill themselves over a hobby anyway??
Experienced sea kayakers will go out this time of year but we wear a drysuit that will actually keep water off us. Then we wear wicking clothing under the drysuit. Then we also back up this with a bunch of emergency gear. We plan for the worse and hope we never need it. Anything less than a drysuit is too much risk. I know guys go out fishing all the time in row boats and motorboats without dry gear. But note too that most hypothermia deaths among kayakers are new or inexperienced kayakers. They just should not have been out there. I have read various accident reports already this year where inexperienced kayakers have needlessly died due to poor choices. It’s very sad but good people die every year and they just don’t understand the risks they take.
So please, for now, put your kayaks in the living room and sit in the cockpits and watch TV for the time being. (I did that with my first boat) In fact why not get a copy of “This Is The Sea” or other kayaking videos to get the feel for it. Then take a lesson either from Rutabaga, myself or other certified instructor. Give yourself an extra safety margin while you learn, then after you have more experience you can decide if you want to invest in dry gear and explore the winter wonderland by water.
All the best!
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