What is your opinion on wearing gloves when windsurfing ?

If that may bring some help/ relief to prevent blisters ?

If is worth to consider on long distance runs ? I found that quite often when sailing for a longer period boom and hands dry completely and is harder and harder to keep it.If there is anybody that found wearing gloves helpful ? If so what specific kind or brand ?

I bought a pair of Harken Black Magic's a couple of years ago, wore them once, I found them too restrictive and of no benefit.

I always wear gloves. My skin gets really soft in water. Couldn't windsurf without them.

I can sail twice as far with gloves. Having said that my distance PB was a day when I forgot to put them on, but I did eventually have to stop because my hands were so sore.
I prefer sailing with the gloves and they also protect the back of your hands from the sun.
They do need to fit well, and be made of very fine material so they don't crease up when you hold the boom.

After getting fitter this year I was able to sail longer and more powered. The only problem was my hands couldn't take it. Had to resort to gloves for a month, first time in many years.

How the hell are you supposed to get callouses if you wear gloves ???

No wonder kiters think we are old farts !!!

I have been wearing them for years. In the past, I have had various brands of gloves. They usually have soft neoprene at the back, and soft leather o the palm area. The finger tubes are very short. Two problems I found with such builds.

(1). The thin neoprene is the first to go. When that went, the gloves are no longer of much use because it is the flexible neoprene that keeps a tight fit on your hands.

(2). The short finger tubes only provide protection for your palm and the first finger joint. Beyond that, you are exposed !

I now use a brand named "Ronstan". It is, in my humble opinion, a much better and durable design. It is better because...
(1). The back is an elastic nylon cloth rather than neoprene. As a result, it lasts a hell of a lot better. I have had this current pair since new for 2 years, and it is as good as new.
(2). The finger tubes are longer. They cover 1 and 1/2 finger length, hence provide more protection for my fingers. The palm section is made of a good quality soft leather. It last for 2 years as well. By the look of it, it may give me possibly 1 - 2 more years of service.

There is one down side though. Because the back is not made of neoprene, the gloves are less flexible, and takes a bit longer to put on.

Rinse them after use will help longevity.

Not sure if they are available in Australia, but I sometimes wear mechanic's gloves for windsurfing. They work great and are much cheaper than "real" sailing gloves. The palm side is some thin leather-like material, and the back side is mesh. I guess you could cut the fingertips off if you want, but I never have.

I wear gloves and still get calluses

When I wasn't wearing gloves the calluses used to get so big that I couldn't close my hand without pain requiring them to be clipped back to a less gnarley level.

Currently use Ronstan Sticky fingered gloves as they require less effort to grip boom

www.ronstan.com/marine/error.asp?admin=&fail=yes

This comes to mind ;-)

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patsken said..
How the hell are you supposed to get callouses if you wear gloves ???

I wear gloves but I still get calluses. Just smaller ones.

I'm insanely jealous of you all. Dreaming of having enough time on the water to build up some decent callouses.

Usually wear gloves for most but not all sessions. Can last longer if wearing gloves but still get callouses.

At present using Seatosummit gloves from Annaconda shops in Kayaking section. Leather palm, half finger length, upf 50+ material on top of hand. Last set went for 2 seasons, about $25-29. Worth a look.

Neil pryde amara (?) gloves. Very thin, deteriote quickly but are very comfortable. They feel tight in the shop, but loosen up in the water. So don't be tempted to get a size bigger.

I've had other gloves with synthetic leather palms and while they last longer they are tiring.

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patsken said..
How the hell are you supposed to get callouses if you wear gloves ???

No wonder kiters think we are old farts !!!

I do...Still couldn't sail without gloves,..

I'm so soft I wear my gloves when rigging / de rigging

+ 1 for NP Amara gloves, I still have to manicure callouses if I get 5 days or so in a row

To get this much time n the water I moved to WA and got divorced

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Jupiter said..
I have been wearing them for years. In the past, I have had various brands of gloves. They usually have soft neoprene at the back, and soft leather o the palm area. The finger tubes are very short. Two problems I found with such builds.

(1). The thin neoprene is the first to go. When that went, the gloves are no longer of much use because it is the flexible neoprene that keeps a tight fit on your hands.

(2). The short finger tubes only provide protection for your palm and the first finger joint. Beyond that, you are exposed !

I now use a brand named "Ronstan". It is, in my humble opinion, a much better and durable design. It is better because...
(1). The back is an elastic nylon cloth rather than neoprene. As a result, it lasts a hell of a lot better. I have had this current pair since new for 2 years, and it is as good as new.
(2). The finger tubes are longer. They cover 1 and 1/2 finger length, hence provide more protection for my fingers. The palm section is made of a good quality soft leather. It last for 2 years as well. By the look of it, it may give me possibly 1 - 2 more years of service.

There is one down side though. Because the back is not made of neoprene, the gloves are less flexible, and takes a bit longer to put on.

Rinse them after use will help longevity.

Ronstan are sailing gloves . I use them but then someone gave me a pair of gloves that they'd found..they are 'Fox" brand so I assume trail bike gloves ?? Anyway they are great! Maybe a better fit but also less bulk on the palms to cause hassles.. unfortunately they have almost died so I'll have to source some more..

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wbailey said..
Usually wear gloves for most but not all sessions. Can last longer if wearing gloves but still get callouses.

At present using Seatosummit gloves from Annaconda shops in Kayaking section. Leather palm, half finger length, upf 50+ material on top of hand. Last set went for 2 seasons, about $25-29. Worth a look.

Will have a look they sound decent and same or cheaper than sailing gloves

Do stuff that toughens your hands, best result.

Perhaps it's just me but the more experienced I'm getting the less calluses I'm getting. With the correct height of boom combined with correct length of harness lines and a good setup my hands pretty much only lightly grip the boom (mostly slalom and B&J sailing).

It's when underpowered that my hands suffer. I have also found that some booms have a better "grip" than others. I have a very old Neil Pryde full carbon boom that has a really good feel to it (cost just $200) but also have a North Platinum full carbon slalom boom (that cost a heck of lot more) that feels "slippery" in comparison and I find I have to "grip" a bit more.

Really it comes down to personal preference. I tried gloves once and I felt like I lost the "feel" of the boom in my hands. A couple of good sessions on the water at the start of the season and my hands are sweet.

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Belly25 said..
Perhaps it's just me but the more experienced I'm getting the less calluses I'm getting. With the correct height of boom combined with correct length of harness lines and a good setup my hands pretty much only lightly grip the boom (mostly slalom and B&J sailing).

It's when underpowered that my hands suffer. I have also found that some booms have a better "grip" than others. I have a very old Neil Pryde full carbon boom that has a really good feel to it (cost just $200) but also have a North Platinum full carbon slalom boom (that cost a heck of lot more) that feels "slippery" in comparison and I find I have to "grip" a bit more.

Really it comes down to personal preference. I tried gloves once and I felt like I lost the "feel" of the boom in my hands. A couple of good sessions on the water at the start of the season and my hands are sweet.

I never used to get callouses and had light hands on the boom but this year I have and seem to be using my arms more..not sure if it's the gusty crappy conditions, being overpowered or just change of technique..

hate gloves , but have been known to wear them on occasion

tend to NOT wear em - NOT even in cold winter
they won't help with my spinouts nor falls in any case

The worst thing is when I've developed some really nice thick callouses, then after a day in the water, I get a blister underneath the callous. So this massive chunk of skin a few mm thick comes off. Gotta love the pain when I put isopropyl alcohol on the wound to HTFU.

I've tried wearing the NP open finger glove but they never really feel good.

Remembering not to grip so hard is the best thing, but the more tired I get, the harder I grip.

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joe windsurf said..
hate gloves , but have been known to wear them on occasion

tend to NOT wear em - NOT even in cold winter
they won't help with my spinouts nor falls in any case

You're just wearing boots? I thought you'd be on skis..No thanks landings would be too hard. How do you slow down?
I thought of taking up windskiing back in the 80's ( I XC ski) but I decided at the time that there weren't really enough areas to do it in and turning would be iffy..I'm a bit better skier these days but they never seemed to take off over here. The kiters fly up the mountains here..I do envy that when I'm slogging up a 2.30hr climb ..You wouldn't want to go in strong winds..

I'm really enjoying this thread...

Do you think the Anzacs called for gloves when they got a blister digging trenches?

@sboardcrazy

i am on skis
kites with skis are much more popular and more capable of turning about
there are a few kitewings too, but not many - about as many as there are windskis ...

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elmo said..
I wear gloves and still get calluses

When I wasn't wearing gloves the calluses used to get so big that I couldn't close my hand without pain requiring them to be clipped back to a less gnarley level.

Currently use Ronstan Sticky fingered gloves as they require less effort to grip boom

www.ronstan.com/marine/error.asp?admin=&fail=yes

This gloves looks good ( on the picture and technical description) so I did order a pair of sticky to try out.
Still amazing that our skin on hands eventually last longer that and carbon fibre, Kevlar or any other material.