Will Glacier Gloves finally win us over from pogies?
The other day, we tested gloves and pogies on a 15-mile paddle. Water temperature: 36 degrees. Air temperature: 40 degrees. Winds: 5 to 10 knots.
We gave gloves their best shot, using Glacier Glove's neoprene Premium Paddling Gloves. We've tried a lot of other gloves, and we've found most to be too thick and inflexible to allow us to use our fingers for much of anything. By contrast, we were impressed by the amount of dexterity we had with these gloves. We were able to put on our spray skirts, take photos, raft up and hold each other's decklines, and even push the tiny toggle on the camera that switches between still shots and movies.
Alec's hands stayed comfortable and warm, even when they didn't stay dry. Sharon's didn't stay as warm; for her, there's no substitute for pogies, which allow the fingers to warm each other. (The obvious downside to pogies, however, is that they leave you with no hand protection during a rescue--a serious problem--or even while taking photos or eating lunch.)
These were, by far, the best gloves we have tried. They are flexible and fit well. (We're also fans of Glacier Glove's neoprene 3/4 dome hat and full dome hood. The latter keeps your neck warm in addition to your head--a definite advantage in seriously cold weather!)
Can a low-frequency horn be heard further than a high-frequency whistle?
On a recent trip to West Marine, we came across this funny-looking low-frequency marine horn. We thought its sound might travel further than the sound of our ordinary marine whistle. So we tested them in the harbor--Alec with the horn, Sharon with the whistle--moving incrementally away from each other.
There are a couple of problems with this experiment, of course. We didn't control for different lung capacity, different hearing ability, or the minimal effect of the light wind in the harbor. Nonetheless, we were able to hear the sound of the marine whistle a little bit further than the marine horn.
The horn is also much larger than the whistle--too large to stow in a PFD pocket. After today, it may not see much more of Lake Michigan.
There are a couple of problems with this experiment, of course. We didn't control for different lung capacity, different hearing ability, or the minimal effect of the light wind in the harbor. Nonetheless, we were able to hear the sound of the marine whistle a little bit further than the marine horn.
The horn is also much larger than the whistle--too large to stow in a PFD pocket. After today, it may not see much more of Lake Michigan.
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