Increase Your Paddling Glove’s Grip with Sex Wax

When wearing paddling gloves, it seems like I always have to suffer a trade-off: warmth vs. good grip. On those cold and wavy days when Lake Superior’s 40°F water threatens to turn my hands into a solid popsicles, the lake leaves me no choice except to don the gloves. Just the other day when wearing glove–I forgot my secret formula from making a paddle shaft grippy–I almost missed a brace when my glove slipped right off the paddle shaft. To compensate for the lack of grip, I notice I tend to tighten my hold onto the paddle’s shaft, which locks my wrist into an angle that flares up my tendonitis. I’ve even tried pogies, but gave them up, because I feel to confined to one place on my paddle’s shaft. I almost consigned myself to having a grip that slipped until I discovered Mr. Zogs Paddle Wax.

According to Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax website, Fredrick Herzog III (Mr Zog) and Nate Skinner developed the wax as a high performance surf wax to keep surfers feet attached to their boards. It worked, and within a few months, it was being sold across the world. Since then, it’s been used in other sports, like hockey, skateboarding and paddling.

For kayaking, you rub the shaft of your paddle generously with a coat of sex wax and it becomes grippy. I’ve tried it with several styles of gloves, including NRS’s ridiculously warm but slippery Reactor Gloves. Every style of glove sticks to the shaft just like a bare hand and maybe better.

If you paddle cold water in cold weather and want to keep your hands warm without giving up grip, then pick up a bar of Mr. Zogs Paddle Wax. And remember that even though people use it as chewing gum, it’s not recommended.