Suffering from freezing, wet hands? Keeping your hands warm when you’re out on the water in the colder months is a tricky one for many paddlers, since anything you wear over your hands unavoidably results in a loss of close tactile contact to your paddle, which can feel disconcerting, in addition to an invariable small loss of dexterity in your fingers.
Palm’s blurb:
Palm Current Mitts
Create a warm microclimate around your hands when paddling in wind and spray. The Current mitts’ fleece liner and windproof shell keep your hands warm, without compromising control of your paddle.
Warm fleece lining
Lightweight windproof, waterproof outer
First things first, these pogies are built to last. The outer is made from a sturdy material that can withstand plashes from both the water you’re paddling on, as well as any water that happens to fall from above during those cold days out. A drawstring along the edge ensures a snug fit to create that “microclimate” that Palm mentions, although this does mean you cannot easily slip your hands in and out if need be.
Now, let’s talk about warmth. These pogies have a small amount of insulation on the inside in the form of a narrow layer of soft fleece; this may suffice for most, but in my own case I tend to suffer from very cold hands very easily, so I purchased some thick pile fleece online, and attached strips of it to the inside of the pogies for extra warmth, because there was more than enough room inside for this additional padding.
In terms of fit on your actual paddle, a velcro strip allows you to fit and tighten the pogies across the shaft, however since there’s no neoprene along this bit, it means the pogies are susceptible to water ingress if they have an accidental dip or if the rain is particularly heavy. It’s an unusual omission for winter pogies that I find a bit surprising. Summary
Pros Easy to put on/take off Tough construction Reasonably warm, enough for most people
Cons Lack of colour choices (why is so much Palm kit this dull grey?!) Not a great seal around the paddle to keep water completely out Slightly bulky
Bottom Line Despite those few gripes, I was happy paddling through cold winter days with them. In wet, freezing weather, anything that helps to keep your various extremities toasty and comfy is a boon, and in this case I suspect I’ll use these pogies for many seasons to come.
