Heavy winter gloves???

My fingers get unusually cold. I spend a fair amount of time in below freezing conditions in the mountains where I live. I have a good pair of expedition mitts but would like an extremely warm pair of gloves.

I am currently looking at the Black Diamond Guide glove and the Marmot Ultimate Ski Glove. Anyone have experience with these? Any better recommendations?

Thanks!!!

I prefer gloves with a shell and a removable liner such that the liner can be dried easier and worn out liners can be replaced. I also prefer gloves where the palms and fingers are made of leather for better grip. After that, find something that fits you well. If your hands tend to get really cold, you may want to size the glove while wearing a thin liner glove over your hand.

You might also consider one of the gloves that have a pocket for the chemical heat packs. Mittens don't need the pocket, although there are some made with one - just shove the heat pack into the mitt on the top (back) of your hand. You should be wearing light liner gloves - don't put the heat pack directly on your skin.

But, as a general rule, if your hands and/or feet are cold, you should add a cap (preferably of the "watch cap" type) and a thicker layer or additional layer to your torso. If your torso is sufficiently warm and you aren't losing heat through your head (the part of your body that dumps heat the fastest), usually your body will send warm blood to your extremities. Some people do have poor circulation in their hands and feet naturally (genetic) or because of some disease (developing diabetes, gout, or some other circulatory problems, for example).

It appears to be a circulation issue and has been this way much of my life. My core temperature can be high and my fingers will still chill. Intense activity tends to keep them warmer but does not necessarily stop them from getting icy. There is actually a medical name for this condition called Renaud's Phenomenon or Syndrome.

One of the things I like about the idea of having a glove/liner combo is that I can put a heat pack between them if I need to and keep the intense heat from my skin (unless it has a heat pack pocket).

Only problem is figuring out what glove to order.

I've used many liners and found the Patagonia heavy weight liners to be the best. They are still thin but really insulate. They cost about $20.

I hope that's a help. You might consider Loki jackets which allow body heat to transfer to the hands.

If you've got a real problem with cold hands AND need the dexterity of gloves you might want to check your local motorcycle or snow-mobile shop - they have gloves that have resistance wires in them - so with a battery you can have nice toasty hands - at least until the battery conks out.

Not a good solution to multi-day expeditions (where the weight of the new and spent batteries could become an issue) it may help keep your fingers nice and warm for shorter term periods.

My favorite warm hands solution? An ancient pair of Datchine (spelling anyone) heavy wool mittens with a pair of 60/40 cloth over mitts (with leather palms) - I picked the combo up probably 20 years ago at EMS - the wool mitts have been darned and the overmitts have more patches than original material - but I've never had cold hands wearing that combo.

If I know I'm going to need to use my fingers I wear a light pair of military golve liners (cheap, wool, warm) under the shells -

I should have mentioned this - but making some wrist warmers (make sure your wrists are covered - no gaps between the gloves and sleeves) can do wonders to keep your fingers warm - as there's no cold air getting at the blood vessels which are right under the skin on the inside of your wrist.

cheap polypro works great - as does a sock with the foot cut off -

I think the wrist warmer things are made commercially if you are not the diy type. I've also seen wool knit ones at craft sales, I guess they are trendy now with teenagers. Also, Campmor still sells Dachstein mittens for $20 which is a real bargain and you can get some type of overmits for them.

Unless you have some type of medical condition to preclude training, you might try some things to condition your hands to better adapt to cold temperatures.

One strange one I've heard but never tried, is, to go outside when its really cold, very lightly dressed, so as to cause your core temp to start to drop. Stuff your hands in a hot bucket of water. I've never tried this, but, I hear some folks claim it works.

The thing I used to do, is, upon arriving at home from a climbing gym, is to run the tap water until its ice cold, and stick my hands in it until they are numb. Then, let them warm back up. Repeat 3 or 4 times. Seemed to really help condition my circulation in my hands.

I've heard of folks training outside and running with snowballs in their hands (Roskelley).

I very much dislike heavy gloves, 'cause, if you really need the added dexterety, then a heavy glove sacrifices some of that.

I've had pretty good luck with the heavy BD expedition gloves, especially when I've cut off the huge goretex liner (years ago). They're better made now, and, my bet is they (and any high end name brand glove) are pretty warm.

Gloves with a layer of primaloft seem to work well for warmth.

Been using a glove made by Outdoor Designs for several winters now. I usually carry a heavier glove for skiing and ice climbing, but, these realatively lightweight gloves work so well, that I usually just end up wearing them all day long. Not sure what model (may be a discontinued one), but, I'd recommend the brand and they seem to run a tad cheaper than others of similar design.

www.libertymtn.com

You could always stuff a chemical heat pack in the back of any glove too...seems to work ok.

Anyhoo, good luck.

-Brian in SLC

I have a pair of mitts made by Heat Factory. They have a separate liner and I got them big enough to wear with a pair of OR PS150 liner gloves. The mitts have a separate forefinger (what some call a lobster claw design) and a small zipper pocket on the back for a chemical warmer. You need to spray them with a waterproofer, but they work pretty well and the separate finger gives you a bit more dexterity than a plain mitt.

Thanks all! Some interesting ideas I have not heard of:
Conditioning the hands to cold.
Wrist warmers.
Etc.

I do not know if the conditioning would work or not for me. I imagine the trick would be get them cold for short periods without allowing them to become exceptionally cold. They get overly cold on their own often enough.

if you've got circulation issues in your hands then I wouldn't attempt to "condition" them - I'd just figure out the best way to keep them warm. Keeping heat loss from your head, neck and wrists to a minimum will go a long way towards keeping your hands warm -

One thing I failed to mention - hydration can really make a difference in how you "feel" the cold - if I'm fully hydrated I don't tend to feel the cold as much as I would were I dehydrated - and I suppose that makes sense - given the impact of dehydration on your blood (thickens). Many times people don't drink enough fluids when its cold out - but it's just as important in the cold seasons as it is in the hot ones -

That's a good point, Steve. Food also plays a big part in using energy (the part of having energy in the first place). I ice climbed and was extremely cold even though I had plenty of layers on including my belay jacket. The next week I was in a similar situation but made sure I had enough food in me; I was good-to-go.

Food, water, and a warm torso are the ways to keep those hands warm, for sure.

Good point Steve! I have recently gained a new respect for the importance of good hydration, not only in outdoor activity but daily life. Apparently it is common for many people to be somewhat dehydrated which can contribute to fatigue, headaches, etc. I occasionally get migraines and have found dehydration to be a contributing factor and drinking lots of water helps to decrease symptoms.

I had not thought about dehydration in relation to keeping my hands warm but it makes total sense.

It is also interesting that the symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia are similar in many ways.

many great suggestions. my thoughts:

-a pair of thin gloves that wick moisture away from your skin will help keep your hands warm. i recently replaced an ancient pair of patagonia capilene gloves with a pair of R-4 gloves (same thing except for years of improvements). hiked with these over the weekend in 15-20 degree weather, they frosted over from all the moisture on the outside of the glove.

-something windproof on the outer layer will also keep heat in. mittens generally work better than gloves b/c your fingers are not isolated.

-if a shell plus liner isn't enough, there are a huge variety of fleece or pile liners, like what you would find in a guide glove/mitt.

-if you believe in natural fibers, think about dachstein wool mittens. very thick pre-shrunk wool, almost waterproof and windproof. they need some breaking in, but they are amazingly warm. even more so under a nylon shell.