Being in the middle of a cold snap I thought I would blog three items that I would recommend to anyone fishing through the winter. These items make my cold days on the water a little more comfortable. It might also provide a few ideas for Christmas presents!
Years ago, when I packed a flask it was the old school type, usually tartan, it would last a few trips. The first slip on the rocks and it turned into a maraca, much to the amusement of anyone in the vicinity, guess we've all been there. Moving on to a stainless steel flask these were certainly more robust but in my experience, these just leached heat, the hot contents being lukewarm just when you needed it most. Not having bothered with a flask for years I had a look around to see what was on offer these days and I came upon the Thermos Ultimate Flask.
In this case, the 900ml version.
It simply has incredible heat retention and will keep your drinks piping hot for any day trip you might undertake. I even left it in the garage by mistake before one trip, remembering it the next day, 24 hours later it was still more than drinkable. It is very robust and breaks down into various parts making it easy to clean.
It has a two part twist and pour stopper which also helps retain heat whilst in use. The base of the cup is a good design making it hard to spill. What I would say however, is if you were using this with young kids, I would be mindful of the little rubber grommet on the above right. This has came off the odd time and I've found it in the flask. It has the potential to end up in the cup which wouldn't be good. That said, maybe I hadn't pushed it on properly after cleaning.
The flask neck with the twist and pour removed
Broken down further it can be opened up and used with larger food items, or in my case, during the summer, ice cubes with a smoothie. This was brilliant, wearing a drysuit on a 23c day back in summer I can still remember how refreshing it was.
Patagonia Homepool Fingerless gloves
I've tried lots of gloves over the years, mitts. fold back fingers, you name it. Initially being kind of odd looking I didn't fancy them. Patagonia do however make gear that works. I decided to take a chance on them anyway after yet another bitterly cold day which saw me struggling to tie knots, cutting a session short because of this. Made of neoprene material they are long and come way up over your wrist, they have an open palm and two holes, one for the thumb and the other for the pinkie.
These come right over the top on my drysuit wrist providing a nice tight fit/seal and added insulation whilst keeping the back of my hands well protected from the biting wind. Equally, on the beach I have my wading jacket wrists fastened down tight over the top, superb as you lose a lot of heat in that area.
The palm, as I said is open, so are the fingers, so you don't lose any grip or feel. These are the only gloves I've been able to keep on my hands without feeling frustrated wearing them. A word of warning though when it comes to sizing. These are a large and they are very tight fitting and I wouldn't say I have large hands. I don't see the small fitting an adult and I guess for a lot of guys XL would be the way to go.
Life's too short for crap coffee so I start my day with a decent one, and also one for the road, fishing or working. It has certainly seen better days but my Contigo mug ( I think it's the Westloop) goes everywhere with me. It seals between sips, really useful for avoiding ruining a shirt or tie at 6.30 am on a Monday morning. It keeps a drink hot for a good few hours normally. This one, less so as it has been battered badly, you never know ,Santa might bring me a new one.
