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Cold Water Barefooting

Cold Water Barefooting
by Lane "Dawg" Bowers

"Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible
to know more."

--Confucius

I realized that while it is still seriously hot here in
paradise, you are probably wondering whether it is
worth dealing with the cold weather to go out for
a barefoot run where you ski.

I want to give you some tips that I have known for a
long time, but I like to pass on to those I ski with
when it is cold.

First of all, the only way to survive the cold weather
reasonably is with a dry suit. This is a suit you can
wear over your barefooting gear which has rubber
seals at the neck, wrists, and ankles. There is a zipper
in the back. You can see the one I use at
http://www.thefootersedge.com/equipment/drysuits.htm

A big mistake people make is trying to use a slalom
dry suit for barefooting. They are very different. A
good barefooting dry suit is built to be able to sit on
the water and can easily take the punishment of the
water abrasion while keeping you dry inside.

The nice bonus on using a dry suit is that it makes
learning your starts and tumble turns easier as well
because of the extra buoyancy from the air inside.

For those of you who already have a dry suit, I have
some tips for keeping you dry like the pros. I was
always curious why Mike Seiple was always dry
when we skied together, and I was always soaked
when I was done using my dry suit.

Here are my tips;

#1 Make sure you adjust your seals properly

Some dry suits have really thin seals which do not
block the water from getting inside. You want a thick
seal that will keep the water out.

The biggest mistake I see when people use their
dry suits is that they do not "hike-up" the seals
far enough up their legs or arms. You need to get
them adjusted so that your boney wrist or ankle bone
dose not create a small gap under the seal.

#2 Keep Seals treated properly before and after bare
footing with Seal Tech
http://www.thefootersedge.com/equipment/drysuits.htm
Seal Tech protects your seals with keeping them
conditioned with the added bonus of making them
easier to get on and off.

#3 Pull up the legs and arms or your dry suit only
until you get some resistance. DO NOT FORCE your
legs or arms through in one motion. Use the fleshy
part of your fingers to enlarge the opening and
slide over and up past the boney parts or your
leg or wrist. Make sure the seal is flat next to your
skin without any ripples.

#4 Make sure your zipper is closed completely. This is a
great lesson you can either learn the easy way or the
more hilarious and cold way. Always have your zipper
strap pulled directly over the zipper. It is common to let
someone pull down or up when closing the zipper
but this can cause damage to the zipper and they
are not cheap to replace.

#5 Once your seals are on and placed properly,
make sure that the neoprene cuff and synch are
positioned in front of the seal.

The second biggest mistake people make is allowing
your seals stick out from under the protection of your
dry suit's neoprene cuff which should act to slow down
any water from even getting to your seals.

#6 Never jump into the water after you are suited up.
Slip in gently to allow your suit to equalize pressure.
Jumping in could force some water in between the seals
ad that can create a slick spot for more water to come
in during your set.

#7 Once you are in, your first instinct will be to take
your wet fingers and grab the neck seal to allow all the
air out. For the same reason as above, any time
you create a wet spot between your skin and seal,
you create a spot that will allow more water in later.

A better way to allow some of the air out, is to use the
fleshy part of your fingers to pinch the neck seal
BELOW the top of the seal and pull away gently to
allow air out while keeping water out from behind
the seal.

As far as what to wear under your dry suit to stay
warm, I recommend good wicking long under wear
like you would wear for snow skiing. This is thin,
warm, and is not bulky.

If you want to try to do without using a dry suit, then
I have one more recommendation. I never travel
without a great heater shirt. If you want to see the
one that I use, go to
http://www.thefootersedge.com/equipment/barefoot_heater_shirt.htm

Let me know if this helps you enjoy your cold
water barefooting!

Expect a Miracle!

Lane "Dawg" Bowers

2003 World Overall Senior Barefoot Champion

lane@lanedawg.com

http://www.thefootersedge.com

http://www.beabarefooter.com

http://www.barefootanswers.com

http://www.slickfeet50.com

877 685-6270 <----------Call Me!

863 557-8871 <----------Direct Line

Fax: 509 756-4343