I’m going white water rafting this weekend! I’m really excited - I actually planned and orchestrated this trip with my husband and two friends. I’ve never done it before.
It’s going to be chilly - 50 degrees or so - and I don’t want to be cold and miserable the whole time. The lady on the phone said not to wear any cotton, and they will rent us wetsuits and boots. We are guaranteed to get wet.
Basically I’m asking how to be as warm and comfortable as possible on the trip. What’s the best thing to wear?
Experienced rafters, any advice? Any non-weather related advice is welcome too.
Call them back and ask if they offer dry suits. Wet suits don’t help a whole heck of a lot. 50 degrees on the water isn’t chilly, it’s cold. Take it from a former raft guide.
You want at least a dry jacket with some long underwear and a sweater or fleece on underneath it.
Wool. Wear wool. Wool is one of the few fibers that maintains its insulative properties even when wet. Mom knits, and she ran across some story that fishermen would purposely dunk their wool mittens in the water in winter and let them freeze on their hands - while the outside is frosty, the inside stays toasty warm. Mom did this same thing last winter - dunked her mittens, then went out for a long walk - and says that it totally works. So much so that she did it again when she went skiing. (I wasn’t on the trip, so I didn’t get to see, but apparently her fingers stayed toasty. She did it nearly every day.)
So, wear a wool sweater, hat, socks, and mittens. Sorry about the scratchiness. However, if your wool is high-quality, it tends to be much less scratchy.
Don’t worry too much about finding wool. Almost all modern synthetic fabrics, including fleece and polyester thermal underwear, have the same properties.
That jacket is not going to work for whitewater rafting. Water resistant is not the same thing as waterproof. The jacket is not sealed, so the down will get wet and wet down does not insulate. Down is wonderful, but it’s not for water sports. You also can’t raft in a bulky 550 fill power down jacket. You want wool. Wool insulates when wet and it doesn’t absorb water, so it dries out fairly quickly. Synthetic fleece will work too, but it doesn’t thermoregulate the way wool does. It also won’t melt no matter how close you sit next to the campfire.
According to the tag, all the seams are sealed. However, I am starting to agree that the jacket won’t work. (Oh well, it will make a lovely winter coat.)
I did find a fleece in my closet - or fleece-like thing made of polyester. It’s for running in cold weather.
They do have paddlejackets for rent.
I could not find a wool sweater - but I guess I can try again tomorrow.
Stupid question - do things underneath a wetsuit get wet?
Longtime whitewater paddler here. A wetsuit with a paddle jacket should keep you pretty warm. See if the rafting company includes booties and gloves. Squeeze the Under Armor shirt under the wetsuit and the paddling jacket over. There are different types of wetsuits, I’m guessing they will give you a “Farmer John” style…long legs and sleeveless.
Being overdressed can be a drag too. Not as bad as being cold but layers are good if you need to take something off.
Never knew of a whitewater paddler wearing wool. Maybe back in the olden times. Wetsuits and dry suits are where its at. Dry suits depend on wearing insulating layers(polypro) underneath. They are pretty pricey, not something most newbie rafters will want to invest in for one trip. Wetsuits work best when they are skin tight.
Look around here to get an idea what whitewater paddlers are using.
If you wear glasses or expensive sunglasses make sure you have Croakies or something similar to keep them attached to your head.
Thick fleece or polypro socks under the wetsuit booties will help a great deal.
If you come out of the boat, never try to stand in strong current. A good guide will take you through all that but in the event you have a crappy guide remember this DO NOT attempt to stand up in strong current if the water is more than knee deep.
You can get decent neoprene (wetsuit) gloves in the fishing department at Walmart or Dick’s Sporting Goods for about 8 bucks.
“In New Zealand, in the US military, and elsewhere, polypropylene, or ‘polypro’ (New Zealand ‘polyprops’), has been used for the fabrication of cold-weather base layers, such as long-sleeve shirts or long underwear (More recently, polyester has replaced polypropylene in these applications in the U.S. military, such as in the ECWCS [17]). Polypropylene is also used in warm-weather gear such as some Under Armour clothing, which can easily transport sweat away from the skin. Although polypropylene clothes are not easily flammable, they can melt, which may result in severe burns if the service member is involved in an explosion or fire of any kind.[18] Polypropylene undergarments are known for retaining body odors which are then difficult to remove. The current generation of polyester does not have this disadvantage.[19]”
“Then for the pants I have polyester long underwear and polyester/spandex running pants I use for cold weather. Wasn’t sure what else to do there.”
Should work. Wearing it under a wetsuit could be just right or too much depending on air/water temps.
“Stupid question - do things underneath a wetsuit get wet?”
Yes. Wetsuits work by trapping a layer of water against your skin and keeping it at body temp.
No. Theydon’t. Synthetic and wool perform quite differently, though their properties are similar (not the same). WRT this activity, wool is a much better insulator when wet.
Those studies don’t support your assertions as well as you think they do. The first one doesn’t even study 100% wool, and the next two are not scientific studies. They barely touch on comfort and weight, but they all acknowledge that synthetic fibers maintain their warmth when wet.
Well to be fair thats not quite true. If you are in a full wetsuit and all you do is get splashed a lot, any clothing you have on underneath will remain pretty dry. If you actually go for a swim, then yeah in short order the stuff inside will get totally wet.
Exactly what kind of “whitewater” are you tackling? There is a grading system, do you know the water you are attempting?
I paddle in all kinds of weather. In a situation like you describe, if you have to ask for advice I would suggest you get some experience in warmer weather, then do it colder. Understand that people do die doing what you are planning to do. If you can accept that degree of risk, go for it.
