How to beat winter/ what keeps you warm in winter skiing?

[Ryota]

Hi Ballers!

 

Almost 2018 season is over because WINTER is coming!

 

Japan is also getting cold as well.

Where I ski,Yabakei Aqua Park in Kyushu is very south island of Japan but lowest temp is now 8-9C already.

 

By the way, in winter skiing, what do you use to keep you warm?

Of course we wear thick wetsuits, Dry suites etc, but

how about your hands and feet?

 

Thanks!!

 

 

[RazorRoss3]

I don't know of a great solution for hands, ski gloves are only so good and I don't like using neoprene gloves to ski. my front foot usually stays pretty warm in my Vapor binding, my back foot turns into a block of ice in my RTP but again, I have not found a solution. A headband or fleece hat can go a long way for covering your ears and forehead though which makes a big difference.

[MISkier]

I use a baggy drysuit and layer underneath. Boat has a heater and heated driver seat. We fill a bucket of water from the boat shower for hands and feet - soak them after your set.

[Ryota]

@RazorRoss3 Exactly. I also use RTP for slalom but my RTP is so tight. When water/temperature is cold I can't put my foot into till the end.

Maybe the best solution for slalom rear foot is use double boots, or Reflex R-style with surf-boots as a liner.

 

For hands, I am going to try Oneill Psycho wetsuits glove 1.5mm and wear Pro gear or stokes or any thin glove.

 

 

[Ryota]

@MISkier I wish my Nautique 200 had boat shower...

The big problem is that my site, i have to waits about 2 minutes after every 2 passes for rollers...

 

[BCM]

When it gets real cold I will climb on the swim step after my second or third pass and warm my feet/hands with the hot water shower, then ski again. If you have to wait for rollers, get out of the water and get some warm water on your hands/feet.

 

Showers are relatively cheap and easy to install.

[The_MS]

@MillerTime38

Japan contact for you

[Keith_Menard]

I use an ARTP in the rear and Vapor boot in the front.

 

My rear foot gets one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075XM68GS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

My front foot I use one without the traction on the bottom. So far, that has worked great. The shower before and after doesn't hurt.

[Ryota]

@"Keith Menard" what is ARTP? not a regular RTP like HO's?

[igkya]

For the hands, we've been using Nitrile or latex exam gloves under our ski gloves. Also, Camaro makes a thin (1mm) glove that a few on this site have used to help keep hands warm.

[Keith_Menard]

@Ryota https://radarskis.com/products/artp-boa-boot

[Jetsetr]

I’m using a O’Neill Boost drysuit (usually thin sweatpants and long sleeve t or sweatshirt under), 3mm dive booties, dive head sock and 3mm dive gloves. I ski until I can’t launch the boat and start again at as soon as the ice is off the lake. Fall skiing is a bit easier, the water is still warmer than the air so I may use my ski gloves today. Obviously you give up some feel with the dive gloves but having warm hands, feet and head is great. No issue with dive booties in my Prime boot and RTP- not sure they will fit in my Vectors (they should). Going today...morning airtemp was 28F, supposed to make it to 50F by ski time...spring water temps are really cold but the air could be as warm as 60-70 later in spring. Drysuit is a bit uncomfortable (too warm) out of the water but water temps are too cold for a wetsuit. Fall/Spring skiing for me is all free skiing to try and keep/rebuild my strength. Truly envious of those who can ski year round...good thing my ski fits in the baggage compartment for when we venture south or southwest...

[Chef23]

For your hands I think it was @RichardDoane that coats the outside of his gloves with silicone to keep the wind off his hands.

 

Personally when it gets that cold I stop skiing.

[UWSkier]

Camaro wetsuit works for me in temperatures down to 6C. Colder than that and we don't ski. What is the water temperature where you ski?

 

Double vapor boots help the feet a LOT. We keep a cooler full of super hot water in the boat with a small cup. Before putting your feet in boots or hands in gloves, pour some of the hot water inside. In vapor boots, it works extremely well, though if you're waiting for 2 minutes in cold water, there's probably no binding solution that can keep your feet warm. ARTP might be the way to go. Run it tight in summer, and in winter, run it loose and wear a thick neoprene dive sock on your back foot. Dive Socks

 

Hands are always tricky. I've never tried the surgical glove trick. What helps is to keep your hands up and out of the water as much as possible. You have to put your hands in the water to start, but other than that, they should be in the air. If you filled your gloves with hot water at the beginning, your hands can stay warm-ish...

 

Now the only thing you didn't mention but that can be brutally cold is your head. Swimming caps like competitive swimmers wear can help keep the wind off but it's still not that warm. I've seen guys ski in neoprene balaclavas. They look like ski ninjas. I used a Bontrager cycling beanie (designed for wearing under a bike helmet) and it worked OK. Into a headwind it would catch a bit of air and flap lightly sometimes, but if it's 6C and there's a headwind, you don't want to be skiing anyways...

[jercrane]

Ski setup

Drysuit - O'Neil Boost baggy with layers as needed (usually just sweatpants and a long sleeve poly shirt

Nitrile gloves under regular ski gloves

Camaro socks - https://www.camaro-watersports.com/en/diving/shoes-socks/262/titanium-0.5-seamless-socks

O'Neil neo surf hat - https://www.amazon.com/ONeill-Neoprene-Beanie-Black-Large/dp/B0087ZUXXO/ref=sr_1_5

 

Post Ski - Pre ski setup

Cooler in boat with hot water to warm gloves before and feet and hands after

Wool hat

leather gloves (better steering and throttle control with leather)

Puffy jacket

Gore tex shell

leave drysuit bottom on legs

 

With this setup I'm pretty good down to about 45 degree water and mid 30 degree air. I've tried adding snow ski goggles to the mix but I find they are useless as soon as they get wet.

 

 

 

 

[OldboyII]

My setup for water till 5C

Head - deep neo cap with lace in the lower rim (to make it tight below ears)

Hands - thick kitchen gloves inside radar vice (thin latex are not efficient at that temperatures)

Legs - I change Rubber front+Rtp to double Radar vectors with neo socks.

Body - Dry baggy suit.

The only problematic area is a face - but for devoted alpine skier this is not a big issue (and my wife likes pink color of my face after skiing) :D

 

Question to guys who ski in baggy drysuit: No matter how I try to squeeze air out from inside, I feel enormously awkward during start because air comers to leg area and it makes so challenging to take normal starting position. Lower legs are like flotation devices :s

How you guys handle this problem?

[jercrane]

@OldboyII yeah I've just gotten used to it. I tried leg straps but wasn't worth the hassle and they slide down mid set. Now I just do this bottom up squeeze thing. Start at bottom of legs and press up with hands, once you get above the waist squat down and open the neck to let air out, then in squat position I kind of flap like a chicken to push the extra out. Has worked pretty well for me.

[MISkier]

@OldboyII, I burp the drysuit twice. First, in the boat, I do a deep knee bend/crouch and encircle my lower legs with one arm (in near-fetal position) and burp the neck. Then, in the water, the pressure on the suit wants to force the remaining air out. Burp the neck again and the suit is just about vacuum-sealed to the body. No awkward air pockets.

[BrennanKMN]

Back when I had an RTP I had a pair of neoprene socks from Cabela's. Throw those on before your wetsuit and your feet will be just as warm.

[fu_man]

@igkya I have heard of that before but it does not make sense to me as the latex glove offers virtually no thermal insulation what so ever. It might keep your hands dry but won't the heat will escape right through the thin glove?

[UWSkier]

I grew up skiing in Wisconsin where we'd ski open water while part of the lake still had ice. I had and hated a baggy suit. Seriously, the Camaro BlackTec is all I need anymore. The mobility is so much better and it's ridiculously water tight. It's not as warm as wearing sweatpants under a baggy suit, but it's so much better to ski in and you're not dripping with sweat when you get done.

[jercrane]

@fu_man its not thermal protection its wind protection. It essentially makes your existing gloves 100% wind proof. I find thats all I really need for a set. I mean don't get me wrong my hands aren't "warm" but they are warm enough to be functional for the 6-8 passes.

[igkya]

In addition to wind protection, the nitrile/latex gloves help to keep hands dry which mean the are not as cold and any water that gets in will be warmer/not as cold, i.e. like water in wet suit.

[Jetsetr]

I burp the air out as posted above and then again in the water...depending how far you go you can end up vacuum wrapped in the dry suit...

[skibrain]

Head as needed: Neoprene head band. Neoprene beanie. Full wetsuit hood.

 

Hands and feet: nitrile gloves under ski gloves. Leave the gloves on, hands stay dry. But as another has said, small cooler full of hot water - I think works better than boat shower. Only has to be big enough to put both feet in after skiing. Soak hands before and after quickly returns them to functional temp. Cold weakens the grip and I think that is the biggest limiter in cold weather. (Low 40s air and water are about as cold as it gets in MN. Otherwise ice on lake.

[gregy]

Someone here had suggested coating the back side of their gloves with silicon glue to block the wind. I never tried it but seemed like a good idea. My hand are what usually get cold, last few years I've been using the blue Radar Boas that have a neoprene layer on the back. They work good enough to get me through a set.

 

I have a dry suit but haven't used it for several years. I'm using a rear entry 4/3 wetsuit made by Neil Pryde. It's good to high 40s in the sun. Below that we usual wait for a warmer day.

[lpskier]

Central Florida.

[Roger]

Moving to South Florida helped...

[DaveD]

@Ryota I highly recommend trading the dry suit and bucket of hot water for a ski jacket and goggles. Head north and shred some of that killer Japanese powder.

[oldjeep]

For winter skiing I find these work best.

 

[BraceMaker]

I wonder if you could take a pair of ski gloves you wore out, put nitrile gloves on and coat the goves with plastidip or flex seal.

[oldjeep]

@Bracemaker - wet ski gloves weigh about 5lbs a piece. If the water is too cold for you hands that is a sure sign it is time to find something else to do with your time,

[igkya]

Camaro makes gloves that are 1mm thin and are are designed to wear under your ski gloves. I believe someone from this site tried/uses them but don't recall who.

[ErikBerghiller]

I apologize if this is OT:

 

We still ski here (south of Sweden)

Our problem now is that its okay skiing temperatures during the day but it starts to drop below zero during the nights. Any thoughts on how to keep the engine from freezing without winterizing it while the boat is still in the water?

 

We don't have any electricity down at our dock so having a heater on at night is not an option, nor is trailer the boat home after every pass.

 

How does the rest of you guys solve this?

[riplash]

@ErikBerghiller How warm is the water, and how cold is the Air during the night? If the water is a few degrees above freezing could you use a battery pump to pump warm lake water through a hose into and out of the doghouse? Or leave the boat in the water?

 

 

[Lake3]

There’s a group of guys that ski in Idaho during the winter on the Snake River. They’ve plumbed into the hot shower a 1/4” line that’s zip tied the length of the rope with an irrigation nozzle on the end by the handle.

[UWSkier]

@ErikBerghiller drain the engine into the bilge, run the bilge pump, and you should be good to go. It has to be quite a bit below freezing to freeze an engine if the water the boat's sitting on is above freezing.

[ErikBerghiller]

@UWSkier Do you mean drain the engine after every set?

[UWSkier]

@ErikBerghiller yes. Pull the block drains and drain the exhaust manifolds (and heater core if you have one) into the bilge, pump out with bilge pump, and you should be good to go. While we didn't do this with the boat on the water, we basically did this procedure daily during early spring and late fall skiing on my college team. You can drain the engine and heater core in about 5 minutes once you do it a few times and get good at it.

[Chef23]

When the boat is in the water there is less risk for things freezing due to the water being warmer but I would do what @UWSkier recommends to be safe and drain the block and the heater core.

[Beeker]

Living in Central Florida.

[ErikBerghiller]

@UWSkier Okay, sounds like something I need to try. Thanks.

[swc5150]

If your boat is in the water, or lower the lift until the hull is in the water, you should have no issue with the block freezing on those cold nights. That is unless it's getting so cold that the lake is freezing, but that goes without saying.