Hey, Being the middle of winter I wanted to see what everyone thinks the best way to prevent hand swelling is? In case you have no idea what I am talking about, it's that thing where you surf in cold water and your hands get super cold. When you hop in the shower after the session they swell up like evil red sausages that itch and burn like crazy. Same thing happens to feet. The only thing that ever worked for me was to just sit around in my wetsuit, after the session was over, in a warm place until my body aclimated to a warmer environment. usually takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Then I can hop in the shower without any swelling. That kinda sucks when you are cold and tired and just want a hot shower. Any good strategies out there?
Better (thicker) gloves ,boots, possibly suit. Change out in shower rinsing your suit and warming up at the same time. (start with cool water). Understand your body's limitations when it comes to cold water. What your experiencing is mild frostbite, and you do damage to your hands and feet every time this happens. Cutting a good session short because of cold can suck for sure, but use of your hands and feet in the future is pretty important too.
Was it super necessary to call the guy a kook or tell him to "man up?" You could've left it at "get soe better gloves" and you might've actually been helpful! What a strange concept, right!?
yo ive never had that problem and these are the gloves that i use. theyre the body glove vapor claw. ive been using them since winter 2008 theyre not was warm as they use to be but im still comfortable when i wear them. the first winter i used them, after removing them, steam would come out and there would be hot water inside the glove. i dont plan on buying gloves any time soon but when i do im prob gonna buy another pair exactly like the ones i have. here is a link to see them on wetsuit warehouse http://www.wetsuitwearhouse.com/page/WW/wetsuit-gloves/111-496
ya.. I have the same issue while wearing 5mil 5 finger gloves while kitesurfing.. once heard it helps to wear disposable hospital gloves, havent tried it tho. a thin battery powered mini heater (think glove warmers) would be sweeeet.. wonder if this would help...
I always just hop in the shower with only the cold water running (if you are really cold it will feel like warm water). Then just gradually warm it up as your extremities are warming and taking off your suit. To give Gnar the benefit of the doubt, look at the time stamp on his post. It appears it was posted right when he got in after a night out. Bet it was a drunk post.
Basic rule of childhood after a heavy snowball fight, put your hands in tap water, room temperature at most. Avoid hot water.
That scuba thing looks like I could be awesome. The reviews even say the heat pack is reusable. Can't use vapors cause i need to be able to take photos, so i need the use of my fingers. Hmmm what to choose. Defninetely never going to cut a session short if it's good out. It's worth being cold for good surf. Seems like there is no way around it. Just have to get thicker gloves. Only problem is I can't take photos with thick gloves cause you can't feel or press the shutter release button.... maybe I just need to glue a little bead of wetsuit glue on my trigger finger or something. I'll figure it out I guess.
Take a gallon or two of room temp water with you and use it to rinse off with. This will slowly warm you up and avoid that burn in the shower.
Yea man.... Just get some better gloves and booties.....If your hands and feet are that cold you need more rubber.
