Kosi Pogies Review

Kayaking in winter is cold, obviously. This winter, Mum and I made every effort to make sure that we kept paddling and adventuring as the weather got worse, and we are firm believers in the mantra that there is no such thing as bad weather, just being badly prepared. We invested in dry suits just before the worst of the bad weather hit, for that exact reason.

Hands are an extremity that need to be protected, but we honestly didn’t think too much about keeping them warm until the weather started to get particularly cold. The dry suits are very warm with layers underneath, and the exercise helps to keep body heat up anyway. When November started to roll around, we realised rather quickly that we were lacking in our equipment, specifically in the hands area.

We bought wet suit gloves, which work great and are very warm, but they tend to not have much grip around the paddle shaft, and so end up quite slippy. It’s incredible how that tactile grip of the paddle itself, affects your paddle strokes. Plus, we like taking photos and documenting our paddling, so having to take them off every time we want to get our phones out, is a bit of a faff.

Pogies are piece of kayaking kit that are designed to wrap around the paddle, with an opening for your hand to slip in, so you can hold the paddle. It ends up taking the form of a rough T shape. Mum and I liked the idea of having pogies, and I definitely wanted bright ones. We ended up finding a small business up in Scotland called Kosi Pogies.

If you look on sites like Amazon, you’ll find pogies that are all black, usually with a giant logo of a brand slapped on the top. These work brilliantly, and are still wonderful for their intended uses. Rosie Baird though, the founder and designer of Kosi Pogies, decided that, along with all of the other gear that is brightly coloured, Kosi Pogies should be too, and we couldn’t agree more.

My Kosi Pogies are bright yellow, and I am beyond happy with them.

You keep all of your grip on your paddle, as there isn’t anything in the way, or making anything slippery. Your hands stay warm, not only because of the extra silver lining on the inside of Kosi Pogies, that reflect your own body heat back to you, but also because your hands are protected from any splashing water, which might make your hands colder in the long run. This also applies to wind chill. Your hands are completely protected from the elements.

Additionally, I’ve seen and heard many people be unhappy with pogies in general because they can be rather tricky to get your hands in and out of. A common thing I’ve seen is people being forced to bite onto the hem of their pogies to get the second one on, as your first hand is obviously not free to do so. I have never had this issue with Kosi Pogies.

The opening for your hand on Kosi Pogies is decently wide (big enough for them to comfortably sit over my dry suit), and that makes this a non issue. Using small rotating motions of my hand, holding the hem of the pogie through my already pogied hand, I am able to get both on quickly and without any problems, which means I am able to take as many photos as I want when I’m out on paddles. Even in the winter! Mum with her branded ones, finds this difficult.

The fact that they are all made by Rosie Baird herself (as stated on her website, using her rather durable sewing machine), adds to the charm of them. She has created many different designs, with the intention of suiting every kind of paddler and their preferences. Short pogies, long ones, and plenty in-between. She even tests all of the designs herself, alongside her husband.

There are plenty of colour options to chose from, including dual-tone, and she even does customisations, with you being able to chose a bespoke design, badges, and your own custom black lettering. A whole world of choices, far above the options you’re likely to find in many other places online.

In short, these are something I am extremely happy with. Comfy, durable, warm, and utterly fabulous. They sit in my dry bag, waiting for the perfect time, when I’ll need them. Even though the weather is getting better, and I’m less likely to need them as the warmer months roll in, I know I can rely on them when winter rolls around again.

As a final note, this review is not a paid promotion. This is my honest opinion, and I am genuinely this excited about them. The photo used for this blog was taken at the tail end of December, roughly half a week before we got several inches of snow, and my hands didn’t feel a thing.

Plus, Kosi Pogies is fun to say.

Cerys