Winter is coming, or at least it is trying to here in Sweden and this, along with a number of questions from paddlers on SUP My Race has prompted me to put this quick guide together. Winter SUP Paddling tips.
Why Paddle In Winter?
Winter can be the most beautiful time of year to be on the water. If that sounds strange then consider this, all the summer boat users are gone, conditions are often very calm and quiet and it is an achievable challenge, paddling in the cold.
Everything on and around the water is different in winter, nature's colour palette changes from the verdant greens of spring and summer to the bronze of autumn and then the cooler, moody grey and silver of winter. Even in a snow and ice-free area, the landscape looks different. It feels different. It is often so quiet that an individual bird can be heard flying, wingbeats on the air from an unseen flyer.
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| Airboard Discovery in Kungsbacka Fjord, Sweden |
Do not underestimate that challenge though, cold water shock is a serious risk as is ice, remember the Titanic? Ice can really mess up a SUP board too!
Here are my tips for winter SUP paddling.
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| Not typical conditions for December in Sweden! Ice free |
Check The Conditions
The first tip and the most important. Triple-check the conditions before you go out, preferably with more than one forecasting app, and again before you get your paddle wet. If conditions look less than ideal then consider paddling another day. Winter is not a time to challenge your paddling skills, it is a time to use the skills you have developed in warmer, easier conditions.
Wind is a greater threat to a paddler in winter than during the rest of the year. Not only for the difficulty in paddling but from wind chill, at or around freezing even a light breeze will reduce the air temp significantly. And wind moves ice.
Low temperatures bring ice which presents more than one challenge, yes it can damage a board but moving ice can also cut you off from your start or finish point. Ice requires vigilance on the water, always keep an eye on any moving ice, be aware of where that ice might move and never underestimate the speed it will move once it gets going, it can, and will, move faster than you can paddle.
Ice can be much more unpredictable on a sunny day. A degree or two increase in temp will cause cracks and splits in ice, combine that with a gentle breeze and off it goes!
Ice is also unpredictably thick at the edges which is a consideration when paddling near, or through it. If given a choice I will always paddle around ice, finding a different way when my path is blocked. If I have no choice then I will carefully drop to my knees and slowly paddle through, looking for cracks or previously broken ice for a path.
And ice will form on your board while paddling, be super-careful taking a step back for a turn or you will find yourself in the water faster than you can read this!
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| It gets hard to move around the board sometimes. |
Make A Plan
Planning is essential to any time on water. Look at the forecast conditions, where you will park, which way you will go, how long you will be out. Think about where you can get off the water if something goes wrong or conditions change, will you have cellphone coverage to call for help if you need it.
Consider using tools like Garmin's LiveTrack (see the end of this blog), Paddle Logger's PaddleLIVE® or Strava's Beacon to keep connected to someone on land. Make sure they know what to do if things go wrong for you!
Investigate GPS trackers like Garmin's Inreach, the SPOT range or others if you will be in an area with limited or no cell phone coverage.
You know what to do, when you have that plan share it with someone so they know where you are and how long you will be. And remember to contact them when you are off the water.
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| Breaking sea ice in the Gothenburg archipelago, Sweden |
What to wear
What you wear is, of course, a personal choice but if anyone asks me what to wear for cold water SUP paddling my answer will always be a drysuit. And I know paddlers reading this will respond with their own cold water clothing solution or that they practise cold water bathing so can paddle in their mankini all year and that's great, for them.
If you want to paddle in your Speedos in the winter then please, do not ask me to go with you. I trained as a lifeguard a long time ago and I have pulled people from the water. That is never a good thing. I have also found out the hard way about cold water shock and I will be doing everything I can to avoid that experience again. If you want to take that risk then I do not want to be there.
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| Cold water bathing (in Speedos!) with thin layer of ice on the sea |
Dress for immersion
Cold water can really mess you up and, in my opinion and from my own experience, no cold water bathing experience is the same as falling into icy water from your SUP.
Cold water bathing will prepare you for the initial shock, no doubt about that, but what happens next? If you take a cold dip in a controlled environment you will probably have a dry robe/towels/warm drink close to hand and somewhere to warm to go straight after your dip, your car, a sauna, or a changing room out of the cold.
You probably do not have those with you on your SUP so once you have got back on your board how are you going to warm up? If you do not warm up or get to a warm place quickly then you will soon be in serious trouble. And that is no good to anyone. Please, do not become a statistic, dress for immersion in winter.
Drysuits
I have two drysuits, one is a training suit and one is a full immersion suit. The differences are significant.
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| Allstar Suit, SUP My Race beanie and awesome paddle |
Allstar Suit
This is a lightweight drysuit and one of the most popular drysuits made for SUP. I got given my first one by Starboard UK for testing when I was writing for a UK site and it was a little small for me, that is the only reason it moved onto a new owner and I replaced it with a larger one, XLT is the size I have (194cm tall, 100kg) and it is around 4 years old.
The Allstar suit has latex seals at the ankles and wrists and a front zip with a neoprene closure around the neck. This suit can let water in at the neck if fully submerged but this suit is not designed for swimming, it is designed for paddling and in use it is rare that I have been submerged long enough for that to be an issue. And I have tested it a lot over the years.
I like this suit for training and paddling in quite cold conditions, I can use it from +8 down to -8 when combined with different layers. The weakness, for me, is the feet. With no built-in socks it is a colder suit to wear than my other drysuit.
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| SUP My Race on the right, Santa on the left. |
Palm Cascade Suit
This suit was also given to me in the UK and is now approaching 9 years of infrequent use. This suit is available to buy today and it has changed little over time. My version is bulky and far too big for me in every dimension except for my height. I guess other tall paddlers have more ... insulation around the middle!
It has built-in feet, a diagonal chest zip and latex seals at the wrist and neck. These provide a 100% watertight fit and reflect the suit's origins from a company specialising in creating equipment for White Water paddling. The main consideration when using a suit like this is getting the excess air out of it before going near the water, burping the suit is important!
The Cascade is a far more robust suit than the Allstar with extra reinforcement where needed (seat, knees and lower leg, lower arms) and the material it is made from is far heavier than the other suit. I find this suit is too warm for training above zero degrees but it is perfect for social paddles, and for dressing up as Santa every December.
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| Winter fika, it's snow joke paddling in winter. |
Under the suit
I have found that woollen underwear from the skiing end of the outdoor activity market works best under either suit, is warm when wet (from perspiration), is easy to look after and available in various weights to allow better temperature management. No one needs to see an image to illustrate this paragraph!
I do have a fleece thermal suit, or onesie, to wear but this is far too warm for me unless temps are around -5 so it rarely gets used. It is very nice to wear when hiking in low temps though!
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| Cressi 7mm dive boot, Sealskin sock under latex ankle seal |
Hands and Feet
Palm Equipment again get the thumbs up from me for gloves, I have a 10-year-old pair of Palm Talon gloves that I use all the time, you can read about them here. The open-palm design works exceptionally well even down to -9 degrees C. They are now showing their age and I have tried to replace them with other brands but they simply are not as well designed, recently I have had to buy a pair of open palm gloves from ION simply because I could not find any new Palm Talons in my size.
Feet are tricky. It has taken me a while to find a warm foot solution and I now use a pair of Sealskin socks with a pair of Cressi 7mm dive boots over the top. When it gets colder then a thin wool sock goes under the sealskins. Dive boots are, in my experience, preferable to wetsuit boots because they have a sole, which provides good grip on wet or icy surfaces and more importantly, insulation when standing on a board.
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| Palm Cascade Drysuit, Sunova Winter Board |
Winter SUP Boards
You can paddle any board in winter, as long as it floats and it is in good condition then go for it. BUT you will have a better time if that board keeps your feet dry.
I am very lucky to have a winter board, I know that most paddlers do not have this luxury but for cold water paddling the most important attribute for a board is volume. And that volume has to be used in the right place.
My EO SUP Nebula was not made for me and as such it is a little low in volume, this means that my feet are often wet and more so when carrying extra kit for winter paddling. It is also quite a narrow board for my height so I tend not to use it much in winter.
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| EO SUP Nebula, a very cool board |
I love my Blackfish flatdeck, it is wide, stable, fast and high volume. But it has a major flaw for winter, it traps water in the recessed (not flat!) deck, and that is a recipe for very cold feet. I do use it in winter but prefer not to, only if I have to paddle quickly or I will be stopping frequently for a walk around.
My Sunova Allwater is my winter board, narrower and with less volume than the Infinity it has the advantage of a very deep dugout and excellent drainage. My feet stay dry when paddling the Sunova and that matters. It is slower and not as good as carrying cargo but those two disadvantages are offset by the warmer feet.
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| Airboard Rocket Light, also a very cool board |
Inflatables are (usually) great in winter too. A thicker board which does not hold water on the deck is key to warm feet and inflatables have the huge advantage of being robust, there is nothing worse than carrying an expensive SUP down an icy path on the way to the water and feeling your feet slip ... inflatables bounce, carbon boards do not! My Airboard Rocket Light is great for calm water paddling in cold water but I have yet to try it in ice.
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| Grip tape on my EO SUP Fortis paddle. Fins from Airboard and FCS |
Winter Paddle and Fin Choice
Additional Winter Kit
- Heavy duty 20l rolltop drybag for everything and a lighter drybag for clothing.
- 2 hats, one lightweight worn while paddling and one warmer for stops and paddling back after stopping.
- Buff or neck gaiter to use while paddling. I usually take a spare if I am stopping for lunch.
- 2 pairs of gloves. Palm Talons for paddling, VANAV360 softshell gloves for lunch and the paddle back.
- USWE Zulo waist pack for hydration and to make me more visable to others on the water. I always use an electrolite solution in winter.
- In the waist pack pocket along with my whistle is a round edge safety knife from Palm, an energy gel and a protein bar.
- Palm Quick SUP belt with Restube Lifeguard inflatable floation. The Quick SUP leash is fantastic in all conditions but one unexpected benefit I have found is on freshwater, the quick release leash attachment is near your waist and unlikely to get wet, a typical leash is much lower and can freeze with water splashes, getting a frozen velcro closure undone quickly can be a challenge.
- Spare clothing. One yellow windproof layer and an insulated down jacket. The down jacket is stored in a drybag and for use on land, the windproof is accessable, just in case.
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| Ravioli, on an ice table |
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| VANAV360 robe, thermoses |
Back at the van
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| Airboard in Kungsbacka Fjord |
Garmin Livetrack
- Garmin Fenix 6X
- iPhone 12 mini
- Location - Gothenburg Archipelago which usually has good cell phone coverage