Mountain Buzz banner

Newbie - First Year Guide Training (clothing advice)

4K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Schutzie 
#1 ·
So I'm going to be attending training during the weekends of April and May and the company that I'm training with will be providing neoprene wetsuits and nylon paddling jackets for the first few weekends.

My question is, what else should I wear?

I've got some under armour and some other snowboarding cold gear (not sure what it's made of (I can look when I get home), wool socks, New Balance Minimus river shoes (from another flatwater kayak job I had). I have a beat up Marmot shell I was planning on using potentially.

I'm curious what else I may need? A couple friends that guide have told me not to purchase anything before I start training because it's expensive, and they're not sure what I'll like/need.

Obviously I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I'm curious if I'm missing anything. In addition, I may need to purchase a few extra base layers because when I get wet, I'm not sure I'll have a dryer available to dry my gear before the next day. Thoughts?

Thanks guys. I'm a new member here, and got lots of good advice about training in the last thread I posted.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
You are going to need a life jacket and a helmet. Are they going to provide those as well? If you already have a wetsuit, and a shell and footwear, then you should be pretty good with a couple of fleece, wool, or polypro shirts.

Other minor stuff that you may need: waterbottle, sunscreen, neoprene gloves, sunglasses, hat, skull cap, river knife, whistle, throwbag, first aid kit, drybag.
 
#4 ·
Wear a thermal top under your wetsuit, then a fleece if needed then the splash jacket. A helmet will help keep your head warm, but if you are pone to being cold bring a ski cap to wear under the helmet.

Plan on being cold and wet. Keep a dry jacket aside in the van or in a drybag to layer up at lunch. having a pair of dry gloves to throw on is nice too. There will be a lot of time sitting idle in the boat, followed by being dump trucked and soaked.
 
#5 ·
Get ready, because you are about to have the time of your life!!!!! your whole life is going to change. if you are like me, you will understand more about the universe, the more you understand about the river!!! and just remember this: Rafting is just like having sex, it is all about Angles and Momentum!!!!
 
#6 ·
Having taken similar courses, expect to become mildly hypothermic, especially wearing only a wetsuit and paddle jacket. Meanwhile the guides and instructors will be wearing drysuits.


Besides clothing, the BEST way to stave off hypothermia is to be well-rested, well-hydrated, and well-nourished. Your training dates are not the times to be counting calories.

Unless it's also a job interview, don't go out with the other guides the night before and get super rowdy. Politely have one beer and then turn in early. You don't need to bomb your system with alcohol, then expect to be 100% the next day and give everything on the river...multiply that by the dehydration that occurs because alcohol is a diuretic.

Drink a LOT of water. At least you'll be in a wetsuit so you can pee whenever you need to. Whenever you take a break, take a drink. Take a couple of Nalgenes and clip them into your raft. Take a gallon milk jug in the car/bus and hydrate.

Food: go for complex carbs and fat. You don't have time to digest a lot of protein (although some bacon or equally fatty peanut butter can't hurt) and simple sugars are not going to last you. Eat a huge breakfast, some bacon, potatos, eggs, sausage, gravy, more bacon, etc. Pack a good lunch. Pack energy bars, granola bars, dried fruit, etc. in your PFD pocket. Don't make a scene of eating (you didn't bring enough to share with the class?!) but nosh on them frequently to keep your reserves up. If one of your coursemates looks a little white later in the day, feed them a granola bar. You might even get brownie points from your instructors for being well-prepared.

Good luck and have fun!
 
#8 ·
Having taken similar courses, expect to become mildly hypothermic, especially wearing only a wetsuit and paddle jacket. Meanwhile the guides and instructors will be wearing drysuits.


Besides clothing, the BEST way to stave off hypothermia is to be well-rested, well-hydrated, and well-nourished. Your training dates are not the times to be counting calories.

Unless it's also a job interview, don't go out with the other guides the night before and get super rowdy. Politely have one beer and then turn in early. You don't need to bomb your system with alcohol, then expect to be 100% the next day and give everything on the river...multiply that by the dehydration that occurs because alcohol is a diuretic.

Drink a LOT of water. At least you'll be in a wetsuit so you can pee whenever you need to. Whenever you take a break, take a drink. Take a couple of Nalgenes and clip them into your raft. Take a gallon milk jug in the car/bus and hydrate.

Food: go for complex carbs and fat. You don't have time to digest a lot of protein (although some bacon or equally fatty peanut butter can't hurt) and simple sugars are not going to last you. Eat a huge breakfast, some bacon, potatos, eggs, sausage, gravy, more bacon, etc. Pack a good lunch. Pack energy bars, granola bars, dried fruit, etc. in your PFD pocket. Don't make a scene of eating (you didn't bring enough to share with the class?!) but nosh on them frequently to keep your reserves up. If one of your coursemates looks a little white later in the day, feed them a granola bar. You might even get brownie points from your instructors for being well-prepared.

Good luck and have fun!
So I'm curious if I should invest in some clothing.

An acquaintance who worked for this company last year has told me not to purchase anything, but I'm kind of worried that everyone will be more prepared than me in the clothing department and therefore be warm when I'm cold.

The training lasts about 6 weekends, and is kind of an interview. If you survive training, supposedly you basically have a job.

Thanks for all the good advice people.
 
#9 ·
I wouldn't invest in any river specific gear until you are either hired or hooked. Everyone is going to be freezing. It is part if the binding experience.
My first year I picked up a pfd, splash jacket and splash pants. The company required that guides use their own guide stick too. Fortunately once I was hired they let me order off of pro deal. Once you hit June you will be living in pfd and shorts.
 
#10 ·
Gotta be tough. Wait till you get a few days into it before you drop money on fancy river gear that will be overkill in May. I always wear as little as possible, paddle hard, carry boats, and keep moving....a wetsuit and splash jacket usually does the trick. If the customer is only getting a wetsuit and jacket, you'll get the experience of seeing and feeling the cold water from that perspective....

Training up here in Massachusetts starts March 29, and first customers run on April 5. Today's high temp was 30 degrees and windy. River has lots of ice shelves, thank god I get to sit in the back. Haha
 
#14 ·
I would also throw in a couple of hand warmers in your pack. During the lecture/down time you can warm up quick by putting the hand warmers in your arm pits, socks and hands.

Not sure how much gear you can bring with you on the river, but I don't leave the shore without this on my waist:

Salamander Retriever Kayak Throw Bag/Tow Tether

Especially during the training and flipping boats back and forth it will come in handy.

Throw in a couple of gel packs in your life jacket pocket for quick energy boost: Results for "energy gels" at REI
 
#15 ·
I wore wool socks during my training. Even when wet, they helped keep my feet warmer than they were without. other than that, like others have said, I'd hold off on buying anything until you know you have a job. And even then, start with the basic safety gear, which they will no doubt require you to have anyway. Save the expensive stuff like splash gear and dry suits for future rafting seasons.

I would be shocked if you are the only one that shows up with nothing but the clothes on your back. You certainly will not be the only one "not prepared". If you are mentally prepared, eat right, stay hydrated and stay away from the booze, you may even be more prepared than most! LOL
 
#16 ·
I'm with everyone else. Training started two weekends ago for our guides in Western Mass, and generally no one owns anything fancier than Under Armor their first year guiding. Layer up with that and maybe your snowboarding stuff (assuming it's fleece) and you'll be fine. I vote base layers -> wetsuit -> fleece -> splash top, but whatever works for you. I know PFD purchasing sounds like it's a ways off for you, but consider that you'll be guiding in whatever you buy; you'll want a vest with some pocket space for safety gear (biners and prusiks usually required) plus snacks, sunscreen, and whatever else you need all day. Also pay attention to where the knife tab on the PFD is; depending on placement it can really up your chances of loosing your knife when getting back in your boat, or potentially even be in the way of your paddle strokes (depending if you guide left or right handed). As far as the cold-weather paddling gear, you might figure out that 99.9% of the trips you work are when it's warm enough to not need all of it, so don't buy anything yet.
-Daniel
 
#17 ·
Mental preparation? Navy Seal Training? This is raft guiding we are talking about.

The drunkest, least employable people I know are raft guides.

Show up, don't be a dick, know your right from your left and you'll be fine.

Also cheap fleece and any synthetic base layer will get you through. If you've got money for more stuff get it. Dry gear lives up to the hype.
 
#20 ·
:D By George, someone finally got it right! The best guides I worked with were all pretty much not the kind you'd take home to momma.

The ones you'd take home to momma were generally passengers or summer wonders (tolerable until it snowed or rained or the truck broke down)
 
#18 ·
So your worried about being cold? Other than for light rain as a shell I have no snowboard clothing that should be worn on the river. Too loose, too billowy, fills with water. Not sure the class or how tough your river is maybe you won't be swimming. I trained in the mountains of Idaho at 6,000 feet in early May and froze my ass off. 25 years ago but some of the coldest I have ever been.
Didn't do a lot of swimming but the loose spray jacket that was provided with thick fleece I brought under is not your friend when you are in the river. We did have to use spray pants instead of wetsuits at first too. Swimming was a challenge.

Get the best fitting wetsuit you can that you can still paddle. You don't want a ton of extra room in there. Several thinner tighter layers will keep you warmer than one thick layer. I have been know to put on three synthetic underwear layers.

Get some good booties. Wool or synthetic socks for sure and lastly …..bread sacks. I have used dry socks for first layer, bread sack, then yesterday's wet wool socks on top and then the bootie. That will help.

So will a beanie cap fleece and then a regular winter hat if it will fit under the helmet if you are (likely) wearing helmets.

And good neoprene gloves. Fleece will be useless in very short order when paddling. Gore tex lined winter gloves will only last a bit longer before soaked. If you can't afford neoprene gloves get thick dishwashing gloves and use some fleece liners. It looks funny but it works. And will help you to stand out amongst the crowd of newbies.
 
#19 ·
if the rivers you'll be training/working are cold, and you're on a budget that prevents you from purchasing a drysuit. I would go for a wetsuit, i.e. a full (arms & legs) 100% stretch 5/4mm. Many surf oriented sites have "winter suits" on sale now for less than $200.00.

I have a nice drysuit and a nice wetsuit - and I often prefer my nice wetsuit.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top