(Ed: This is the water clothing used by a Lake Superior paddler who is very experienced with his local downwinds and conditions. Lake Superior water temps and paddling conditions are no joke and need to be approached carefully even by skilled paddlers with local experience.)

There is a lot to consider when paddling Superior - air temp, water temp, sunny, cloudy, rain, snow and of course wind strength and direction. For example, we had very warm water temps of 70 F recently but a strong west wind caused shoreline upwelling and the water temp dropped to 45 F in just a few hours, this is not at all unusual this time of year. It’s fun to watch people that had enjoyed being in the water the day before and come back the next day and end up shocked at how cold the water is!

So on the warmest possible sunny days, which may only occur a couple of times in mid to late summer, I may wear V-cold shorts and vest. I almost never go barefoot as I frequently put in and take out where it is rocky (I have basic water shoes for summer as well as 3mm and 7mm Excel booties).

More typically in summer I wear V-cold long sleeve top and pants with the shorts as a second layer.

For shoulder seasons I have a 3mm Excel wetsuit and the 3mm booties.

For winter downwinds I generally use an Excel 4/3 with the 7mm booties and a neoprene cap. I do have a hooded 5/4 but it is really too hot for downwinds unless it is a short run and quite cold. I mostly use the hooded wetsuit for surfing shore break waves where I am not putting in a continuous effort.

I have Glacier Bay neoprene gloves and NRS mitts.

There may be days in the spring that are 70 and sunny but the water may still be in the 30s so I err on the side of caution and accept that I will probably get hot. Of course I can always dunk myself to cool down!

I coolest air temp that I have done a downwind was a sunny day in the upper teens. If it is cloudy I generally won’t do a run colder than about 25 F. The problem becomes icing, I particularly worry about ice in the rudder line guide tubes. I have driven to launch only to find the rudder lines frozen inside the guides. I have shoved the stern end of my ski into my van to thaw the lines. Once I am in the water it is fine but if was really cold I could imagine them freezing up. This is why I recently picked up board surfing , so I could enjoy the waves no matter how cold it gets!