How To Stay Warm When It’s Freezing Cold In The Water And Air?
Not all of us are lucky enough to live where it is warm all year round. I live where it currently is about 5 degrees in the air and probably not much warmer in the water. Most people gave up their kitesurfing season for this year in October, but we are a few dedicated guys that still defie the cold to get our necessary dose of kite surfing. Question is how the hell do we handle the cold? Me myself hate cold and I freeze very easily, which means that I have been forced to develop some survival strategies to keep myself warm. Here are my hottest my tips!
1. Basic Equipment
A varm wetsuit is a must, preferable a new one. I use Prolimit Maverick 6/5 DL, a soft and smooth wetsuit in double neopren.
Boots! I use Prolimits 6mm Predator Boots. They are expensive, but warm and comfortable, and they do give you a pretty good board feeling.
Gloves! This is a problem. I use one of the best gloves from Prolimit, 3 mm thick and 98% water proof, but this is far from enough. Gloves without fingers are warmer, but then you’ll get clumsy instead. Luckily there are a solution… read on ;)
Hood! A hood is probably the most important equipment you can use. The best are those that are integrated with the wetsuit which prevents cold water from running down your neck and back. If you don’t have a wetsuit with integrated hood, then get a hood with a big collar to keep it tight along your neck.
2. Extra Equipment
You can get along fine with the basic equipment as long as the temperature is above 10 degrees, but it’s not enough for colder temperatures. Here are some extra equipment that are really nice the temp drops below 10 degrees.
Thermal Underwear. A thermal underwear layer under your wetsuit makes a huge different! Doesn’t have to be something fancy, a cheap pair will do fine! I even use two layers of underwear for my legs. Would do it for my chest as well, if there was space enough.
Heater Vest. Heater vest deliver heat to your lower back keeping your kidneys warm, the organs in your body with the highest blood flow, hence keeping the kidneys warm will make sure that the blood going to your extremites are warm, or at least warmer than if you wouldn’t have a heater vest.
Neopren Cap. Before you put on your hood, put a neopren cap on your head! Again multiple layers are the key to keep the heat.
Hand warmers! Put them in your gloves and you’ll be able to keep your fingers tips warm. There are two different types on the market. Those where you open up a small bag called little heaters warmers. These bags keep the heat for several hours, but they have one big drawback, they don’t like water. So they work great as long as you can keep your hands dry, which I figured is pretty hard when you’re kitesurfing. The second alternative is those where you crack a little metal plate that are kept in a bag with some fluid. These work flawlessly, only problem is that they don’t last very long, about 30 minutes or so. But they are cheap and one could easily afford 3-4 pairs without making a big dent in your wallet.
3. Strategy
Another tip to keep yourself warm is simply to not get cold. Before you go to the spot, get dressed. Put on your thermal underwear, jump in your wetsuit and put heater in your car on max! Once you get to the spot, keep your gear on by all time. Keep your gloves on as you rig the kite. Once in the water kite hard, make your body work as you would go to the gym, the fysical activity greatly helps you to stay warm.
That’s about it. Have a great winter!
