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What To Wear And What Not To Wear While Rafting This Summer

July 30, 2014

Your choice of what to wear when you go river rafting with Raft One could greatly affect your level of enjoyment during the ride and afterwards. Here are a few suggestions our guides have come up with for things to and not to wear on the river this summer.

Sunscreen

When you are out on the river, there is no natural cover to protect your skin from the sun. Even if you don’t normally burn, we strongly recommend that you slather up with sunscreen before you come out. We encourage you to use a minimum of SPF 30, and we advise that you use it everywhere you might get exposed to the sun — ears, neck, hair part and anywhere your clothing might shift included. You don’t want a blistering sunburn for the week after your trip. Ouch!

Quick-Drying Shorts

When you’re picking out clothes to wear on the trip, you want things that will be able to dry quickly. We recommend that you wear nylon shorts that dry quickly but still cover your skin. Even if you fall in or jump in, your shorts will be able to dry off in no time. You don’t want jean shorts that will still be wet when you get back in your car.

A T-Shirt

Lightweight cotton t-shirts are a great way to keep your skin covered while still staying cool on your raft ride. As an added bonus, if you’re feeling hot, you can dip your shirt overboard, put it back on and feel much cooler instantly. What you don’t want are heavy weight shirts or overly large shirts. These can make it very difficult to swim.

Shoes

The ground and the river aren’t always the easiest to navigate barefoot — or with the wrong shoes. We recommend that you get some water shoes, which will protect your feet without getting weighed down when they’re wet. If you don’t have water shoes, old athletic shoes will work to the same purpose. Just make sure that your sneakers are broken in before the trip if you decide to wear them; blisters hurt!

What you don’t want are flip flops, boots or bare feet. Boots will weigh you down if you end up swimming, and flip flops and bare feet will not properly protect you.

A Hat And Sunglasses

It’s bright on the river, and you should do what you can to protect yourself. Wearing a hat with a brim will help to keep the sun off of your skin, but you will also want sunglasses to protect your eyes from glare coming off of the water. Don’t forget to wear a retention strap with your sunglasses so that you don’t lose them.

What you don’t want is to be squinting the entire time. It’s bright out on the Ocoee River!