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Keeping Cool

[Written by Peter Nielsen].
 
Hot weather and exercise increase stress on your heart and lungs and increase body temperature, so if you exercise outdoors in the heat, use common sense to protect yourself from heat strokes. High humidity creates additional stress because sweat evaporation slows — which pushes your body temperature even higher. Skin, blood vessels and perspiration levels adjust to the heat. However, prolonged exposure to high temperatures and humidity can cause your natural cooling system to fail, leading to a heat-related illness, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
 
To keep it cool during hot-weather exercise, keep these basic precautions in mind:
 

• Slow Down: If you’re used to exercising indoors or in cooler weather, take it easy at first. As your body adapts to the heat, gradually increase the length and intensity of your workouts. Ask your doctor if you need to take additional precautions.
• Drink More Fluids: Adequate hydration is vital! Your body’s ability to sweat and cool down depends on it. Drink plenty of water while you’re working out – even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol, which actually promote fluid loss.
• Dress appropriately: Lightweight, loosefitting clothing promotes sweat evaporation and cooling. Avoid dark colors, which can absorb the heat. A light-colored hat will limit exposure to the sun.
• Avoid Midday Sun: Exercise in the morning or evening,when it’s likely to be cooler outdoors. If possible, exercise in the shade or in a pool.
• Wear Sunscreen: A sunburn decreases your body’s ability to cool itself.
• Change Your Venue: Develop an indoor regimen for extreme weather conditions. Work out at the gym, walk laps inside the mall, climb stairs inside an air-conditioned building, or turn the fans on at home!

 
During hot-weather exercise, be on the lookout for heat-related illness. Signs and symptoms may include:
 

• Weakness
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Muscle cramps
• Nausea or vomiting
• Rapid heartbeat

 
If you suspect a heat-related illness, stop exercising and get out of the heat. Drink water, and wet and fan your skin. If you don’t feel better within 60 minutes, contact your doctor. If you develop a fever higher than 102 F (38.9 C) or become faint or confused, seek immediate medical help. Regular physical activity is important — but don’t put your health at risk.
 
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Got Kayak Fever?

If you’ve ever kayaked across the surface of a glass-smooth lake at sunrise, slipped almost silently over a secluded pond to a favorite fishing spot, or taken a relaxing trip down a lazy river, you already know the go-anywhere personal freedom and fun that recreational kayaking can offer.
 
Once used almost exclusively by northern hunters and fisherman, kayaks have exploded in popularity among cottagers, vacationers and weekend adventure-seekers.
 
“There are now about 7 million kayak enthusiasts in North America,” according to Pelican International. “If each one uses their kayak only ten times per year that adds up to 70 million adventures that might have otherwise been missed.”
 
If you’re new to the sport and think all kayaks are bulky, uncomfortable and difficult to handle, then you’re also in for a few surprises.
 
Advanced manufacturing techniques help make today’s kayaks surprisingly light-weight, yet extremely durable. Pelican’s line of Elite kayaks, for example, are formed with a special thermoforming process that fuses together precisely shaped decks and hulls under extreme heat and pressure. “Thermoforming allows us to produce light-weight, incredibly durable and highly affordable two-tone kayaks, with the look and quality of much more expensive composite types,” says Pelican International . “Less weight also makes a kayak easier to paddle, maneuver and even lift on top of your car.”
 
Climbing into or on-board a modern kayak… that’s right, both sit-in and sit-on-top models are available… doesn’t mean leaving comfort behind. Most have ergonomically-designed seating with excellent support for your back, thighs and legs. Some offer adjustable foot pegs and sophisticated rudder systems. You can also add a variety of amenities such as beverage coolers, fishing rod holders, tackle boxes, work tables, instrumentation and navigation packages, deck boxes and dry compartments to safely and securely stow away your swimming, snorkeling, scuba or fishing gear.
 
Four major types of recreational kayaks are available. If you’ve had previous experience with one before and found it difficult to handle, too slow or lacking the comfort you needed, you probably chose one that wasn’t designed for the purpose you wanted it to perform.
 
Recreational – the best all-purpose design. A wide and short hull makes this type highly stable and maneuverable. Single and dual seat models are available. Large cockpits make entry and exit easier. This type is the smart choice for beginner to intermediate-level paddlers who want to dive into the sport and quickly hone their skills during quick jaunts around the lake.
 
Sit-On-Top – the open deck design offers the ultimate freedom to bask in the sun, take a dip, snorkel or scuba. Double-hull construction and built-in floatation devices help make them practically unsinkable. If you’re not comfortable in a closed-deck kayak, this type can add hours of fun to your family vacations or weekends at the lake house.
 
Fishing – a fishing-friendly Sit-On-Top design that offers excellent stability and maneuverability. The best are equipped with built in rod holders and oversized storage areas to help keep everything you need to land the big ones within easy reach.
 
Touring – generally the longest type of kayak; designed for speed, comfort and storage. Single and dual seat models are available. Touring types are the favorite of experienced paddlers who enjoy longer trips across a bay and back, to an island for an overnight stay or exploring coves and inlets of larger bodies of water.
 
If you’re undecided which type of kayak to choose, take an honest look at your experience, your budget and where you’d like to paddle. Ask an expert to explain the features and benefits each type offers. Choose wisely and you’ll enjoy hours of freedom and adventure gliding over your favorite lake, river or pond.
 
On the Other Shore
 
Congratulations! You’ve crossed the bay or lake to the other shore or secluded little island you’ve always wanted to explore. You’ve also made the transition from being a kayaker to becoming an explorer or camper for a few hours, a full day or even overnight.
 
But, how prepared are you to enjoy the sounds of nature, the smell of the pine, or a night under the stars? Bringing the right equipment along can help make the difference between an enjoyable trip and a disastrous one.
 
Coleman, the world’s leading manufacturer of camping gear and outdoor equipment, offers everything you need. Here’s a short list of basic equipment to consider the next time you go wandering.

• Tent – A small dome-type or backpacking tent offers the protection and comfort you’ll appreciate if unexpectedly stranded on a distant shore or camping overnight.
• Sleeping Bag – Nothing keeps you as warm and cozy when you’re far from home. Bring along an inflatable air bed with a built-in pump and dream your cares away.
• Lantern and Flashlights – Starlight is great, but a lantern or two is better. Be sure to bring along a waterproof flashlight or two and plenty of extra batteries.
• Collapsible Cooler – Other than bad weather, nothing will cut a trip short more than not having adequate food and water. Store more than you think you’ll need in a collapsible cooler and don’t forget some waterproof matches or a lighter.
• Portable Stove or Grill – For brewing coffee or tea, cooking a hearty breakfast, lunch or dinner, camp stoves and grills are amazingly easy to use.
• First Aid Kit – Always bring along a first aid kit for small emergencies like scrapes, cuts and insect bites.
• Insect Repellant – Don’t forget the insect repellant or bug spray or you may spend most of your time swatting mosquitoes and flies away from your body and face.

 
Protect Yourself Against Water and Sun
 
Kayaking can be an exciting and exhilarating adventure. But at some point you’ll undoubtedly be caught in a sudden rain shower or find yourself out of your kayak and in the water. And remember, even on a cloudy day the surface of a lake, river or pond can intensify the sun’s harmful rays.
 
Don’t let the rain, water or sun ruin an otherwise perfect day or weekend getaway. Innovative new technologies from Columbia Sportswear can help protect you when you least expect it but need it most.
 
“Our Omni technologies help keep you warm and dry, cool and comfortable, and moving fast and light,” according to Columbia Apparel and Equipment.
 
Great-looking Omni-Shield™ sportswear is waterproof, breathable and stain-resistant. Specially coated jackets, pants, shirts and footwear keep moisture out, yet allow perspiration to escape, so you stay dry and comfortable even when you paddle for hours.
 
If you are caught in the rain, drenched by a wave, or splashed by an ill-timed forward sweep, they dry up to five times faster than untreated fabric. And, because they repel moisture rather than hold it, they also feel lighter than conventional fabrics even when wet.
 
Columbia’s Omni-Shade® sportswear protects you from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation by blocking the majority of the sun’s harmful rays, so you can stay out longer.
 
“Our Omni-Shade clothing carries The Skin Cancer Foundations’ Seal of Recommendation, given to sun-protective fabrics that have a minimum Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of 30,” says Columbia.
 
Light-weight, tight weave construction, UV reflectors, and UV absorbing technology blocks Ultraviolet A and B rays to help prevent sun burn and long-term skin damage.
 
Like sunscreen, a full line of stylish hats, jackets, pants, shirts and shorts offer a wide range of protection up to UPF 50+. But, unlike sunscreen, Omni-Shade protection never wears off.
 
-Paddle Bum
 
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Don’t Let the Big One Get Away

You don’t have to talk about “the one that got away” after your next fishing trip. Today’s fishing gear makes it easier than ever to reel in that trophy bass.
 
Gone are the days of trolling along the shore, hoping to find the best fishing hole. Today’s fish finders guide you right to the perfect location. Anglers can find just the right model to meet any budget. Even basic models like the Humminbird® Fishin’ Buddy® provide sonar data and water temps. More sophisticated models from Humminbird and Lowrance® have full color displays showing water temperature, depths, shore contours, GPS and more. Fish finders like these are stand alone units that can be added to your current equipment.
 
Finding fish and getting them to bite are two different things. Fortunately, fishing gear tech has stepped up to the challenge of helping you snag the prize.
 
Today’s lures have all the appeal of live bait without the drawbacks. Simulating live bait is more critical than ever. Recent court rulings prohibit transporting fish into and out of lakes to prevent the spread of communicable diseases between fish. The result is that many anglers cannot bring their own minnows and other bait fish into the area.
 
Manufacturers like Berkley® and Rapala® have put their engineers to work in creating life-like lures. The Berkley® PowerBait® 4 Hollow Belly™ swim bait has been field tested and tweaked by the top Berkley Pro’s in order to give themselves a significant competitive advantage on tour. As if the PowerBait® scent and attractant weren’t competitive advantage enough all by itself, this Hollow Belly bait is loaded with other features as well that has made it the “choice of champions” when conditions call for a super swim bait. Unlike most other swim baits on the market, the body is truly hollow from nose to tail, and easily collapses around the hook when bit to insure a solid hookset. The Rapala lineup features lures that are hand-tuned and tested to recreate the swimming actions of a small fish that attracts larger fish.
 
The sophistication of today’s lures doesn’t stop with simulating live bait. Many lures have buoyancy ratings of floating, slow sinking and fast sinking. Getting the most out of your tackle box requires choosing a rate of fall suited for your fishing conditions.
 
Even colors are a big factor in selecting the right lure for the right day and the right water conditions. Pradco® lures cover the color spectrum with dark hues for dark days and light colors for light days. Picking the right color is just as important when selecting your fishing line. Manufacturers offer a variety of fishing line colors to blend in with the water so fish cannot detect the attachment to a lure.
 
Landing a trophy bass also requires having the right rod and reel. No two anglers are the same so one type of rod and reel won’t work for everyone.
 
Daiwa’s® D-Shock Rod/Reel Combo offers different lengths and actions to meet individual needs. The D-Shock combo features a bearing reel with aluminum spool. The rod is a fiberglass blank with cork grips. These features combine to make this the perfect choice for inland lake fishing.
 
Other manufacturers are introducing rods with adjustable lengths and high strength titanium. Pair one of these rods up with a new reel designed to reduce friction for further casting and you can stay on the water all day without getting tired or having to worry about your tackle handling the challenge of reeling in a bass.
 
The days of tying a string to a pole and hoping to catch a fish are gone . . . and with the latest technology, so are the days of talking about the one that got away.
 
-Hook, Line & Sinker
 
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Disc Jockey?

Remember all that fun you had throwing the Frisbee^® around campus or at a picnic?  Well, the Frisbee is still a staple of casual recreation, but throwing a disc has become a whole lot more sophisticated thanks to the explosive growth of disc golf.
 
The Disc Golf Association estimates that between 8 and 12 million people have participated in the sport, with 500,000 regular players. And these aren’t all just weekend enthusiasts. A man by the name of Nikko LoCastro made just under $43,000 in 2009 on the Professional Disc Golf Association Tour. That tour features almost 1,000 events with total prize money of more than $2,000,000. Now do we have your attention?
 
Besides being a lot of fun, disc golf is a whole lot less expensive than “real” golf. There are no clubs to buy, no need to rent a cart (not even a pull cart) and there usually aren’t greens fees. (Though some municipalities, recognizing the growing popularity of the game, have created “pay-to-play” courses with highly sophisticated layouts).  The game is very easy to learn, takes less time than regular golf and still lets you exercise in the great outdoors.
 
Disc Golf – A Little History
 
The increasing popularity of disc golf isn’t surprising. Throwing a disc and watching it sail into the horizon seems to satisfy some sort of basic human desire of flight. Cavemen probably would have done it had someone invented plastic.
 
Human nature being what it is, most any popular activity will soon prompt competition. There is no definitive history of disc golf, but there are stories of “Tin Lid Golf” in Canada in the 1920’s that pre-date the Frisbee. In the mid 1960s a recreational counselor in California (isn’t that where everything starts?) set out a crude golf course for Frisbees with hula hoops as “holes.” Not long after Ed Headrick, who worked for Wham-O, the manufacturer of the Frisbee, invented the disc pole hole, still used today in competitive play. Headrick is known as the father of disc golf, and helped establish the Disc Golf Association and the Professional Disc Golf Association.
 
Just Like Golf – Mostly
 
Disc golf is just like regular golf — players see who can take the fewest throws to get their disc in the hole, which is a set of chains hanging from a holder that surrounds the center pole. At the bottom is a circular basket that serves to catch the disc. Disc courses don’t have hazards, at least not like sand traps, but there are out-of-bounds areas, as well as mandatories, or “mandies.” For example, a hole might have a “tree right mandatory” requiring the disc to pass on the right of the tree, or a one-throw penalty is assessed.
 
Disc courses take a lot less property than a normal golf course. A championship course requires about an acre per hole, with typical fairways 20-40 feet wide. Different tee placements can accommodate various skill levels. A recreational course can afford 2-3 holes per acre, depending on terrain.
 
Faster, Straighter, Longer
 
Nowhere is the sophistication of modern disc golf more apparent than in the disc itself.  Where the original recreational disc had to be slow enough to be caught, modern competitive discs are designed for speed and distance. Innova Disc Golf got its start in the 1980s when it patented a beveled edge design. “The old fashioned disc was designed to float through the air and be caught,” says Innova East Coast Sales Manager Ryan Baker. “Our designs are more aerodynamic so the disc penetrates the air and goes farther and faster.” A top professional disc golfer can throw a disc well over 400 feet (at a speed of 60 mph).
 
Just as a golfer needs different clubs for different shots, a disc golfer uses different discs depending on distance from the hole. Driving discs have the sharpest edge and will go farthest, but they are most difficult to control. Mid-range discs have a slightly sharp edge for better control, while putter discs are straight and slow. The number of discs available is mind-boggling to the neophyte, and Baker recommends a starter set of a putter, mid-range and fairway driver, with a typical retail price under $30.
 
Baker says one of the biggest reasons for the growing popularity of disc golf is that the learning curve is very short. Because you are holding the disc itself (unlike golf where there is a club in between you and the ball), you have a greater ability to correct your mistakes.  Plus, putting is much easier than regular golf. So, who doesn’t like a sport where after a couple of hours you can say ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at this!’
 
Question: Have you ever tried Disc Golf?  Would you recommend it to others?
 
-The Friz Whiz
 
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