I have begun my own celebration of the lunar new year by reviving the blog after a winter hiatus!
I have occasionally borrowed Reed
tuiliqs from friends and mentors when I have travelled to the balmy southlands
beyond Inverness in summers past. However at the Reed Chillcheater stand in Perth at last October’s
Big Paddle Show I had a chat with Chris about fit and cut and now have a
tuiliq slightly altered around the face of the hood.
At the moment I am only able to get into the pool with my Tahe
Greenland about once a month so I have had to wait patiently to try the new
gear. Looking forward to a cooler and lighter experience it was with great
anticipation that I took to the water in the new tuiliq.
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| Aaah that's better... |
The lightness and freedom of movement the tuiliq gave was
great. Using a neoprene tuiliq principally designed to
keep you warm when rolling in freezing conditions outside, means pool sessions can get increasingly
hot and heavy. By contrast the Reed tuiliq allowed me to stay cool throughout
the whole hour I was rolling. What I hadn’t anticipated was the freedom of
movement which the Reed tuiliq gave me. I am sure that without the bulk of the
neoprene tuiliq (and without wearing a drysuit underneath), I was able to
increase my range of movement slightly, particularly when tucking forward and
when bending my arms behind my head. I certainly felt like I was able to fine
tune a few positions.
The hood fits well and kept water out of my ears - the adaptation
of having the edge of the hood go further
back under the chin certainly gave me a feeling of having no constraints at all
around my mouth and jaw. I really like this sense of being able to breathe
easily when you have a nose clip on!
I like the idea of having a light tuiliq which I can paddle
in, pull the hood up and roll with. This is not possible with the neoprene
tuiliq which is too bulky to get a BA with all your kit in over the top, and
which is very tiring to paddle any distance in.
I'm looking forward to taking the
Reed tuiliq outside…
