Cold, cold hands

I skied the Whiteface Highway this weekend. Weather wasn't bad, but my hands still got cold at the top. I'm thinking it's time for new gloves. Bomber gloves. What do you all think are the best gloves for keeping hands warm while backcountry skiing?

Mittons

No glove is as warm as a mitton, my USAF overmits are great, Military surplus. I use a pair of wool army gloves underneath.

Thanks, Jim. I should have said mittens. That's what I wear.

mittens

Phil:

I have found that the same principals of outerwear parka insulation apply to hands. In my opinion, high lofting synthetic insulation or down mittens will always be warmer than fleece or wool.

Also with a cold hand problem, I have tried numerous wool, Polartec Windpro, Gore Windstopper versions before being totally comfy with EMS Primaloft mittens. Under extreme conditions, these can slip inside my OR Goretex shells.

Forget wool and fleece and get a mitten with higher lofting insulation. I highly recommend the EMS mitten. It is not waterproof so if that feature is needed, look for a waterproof breathable version of a Primaloft mitten.

Jeff Nadler

Explorer Editor said:

Thanks, Jim. I should have said mittens. That's what I wear.

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(I'm not a Doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...)

Having what I believe to be a mild or moderate case of Raynaud's Syndrome, (my fingers will turn white and feel like I have frostbite, even at about 55 degrees if I'm not careful), I use hand warmers frequently.

There are other ways to keep the extremities warm too. Don't eat and drink a lot of food at the summit. This is the worst time for me. More blood goes to your core, and your fingers get cold. Then you start descending, when you are using less energy, so it kicks in for that reason too. Put more layers on before the problem starts. It's critical to have dry gloves/mittens. I always bring 3 or 4 pairs in winter.

For real cold I use mittens, being a Raynaud's sufferer myself. Also swear by chemical heaters, carrying spares, etc. Even in glove weather, I use waterproof handwear. You stay much warmer when dry, and you're bound to put your hand down in snow or water at some point.

Liner Goves under mittens

This may be obvious to some who have commented but it hasn't been stated that liners of some kind should probably be worn all the time in cold weather. I use thin polypro gloves (blue, and about $5 a pair) and normally have at least one extra pair with me on any outing. When you need to remove outer mittens to adjust bindings, put on crampons, or anything that requires dexterity, keeping these on will help prevent some loss of heat. It's better to prevent your fingers from loosing heat, than trying to recover once its lost.

My winter layers (over the poly liners) include Dachstein mittens (boiled wool - call me a traditionalist) and windproof/waterproof overmitts when it really bad (rarely needed for me). The shake & bake handwarmers do work - start them early, not after you get cold.

To keep my hands warm during the actual climb, I normally use a light pair of WindStopper gloves or mittens from The North face or Marmot. Even though TNF has compromised much of their clothing line to the yuppies, their gloves still rule and are comparable with Marmot and Black Diamond (just my opinion). I do not like my hands too warm and even in –35f weather such as what we experienced at the January gathering, these worked well while climbing. In extreme cases, I add glove shells for better wind protection. I always use shells when bushwhacking to protect against the wetness and to keep the snow out of the sleeves of the coat.

AlpineSummit sent me an email and reminded me that I should mention the one luxury item I carry with me. These are The North face Nuptse Mitts that contain goose down filling and at 5.8 ounces, they are light to carry. I showed them off at the January gathering when the temps dipped to –35f and they were a hit. I use them primarily at campsites or lean-tos to keep the hands warm when the body is not pumping. I would not climb with them, as they would be too warm for me.

When you are not willing to drop big bucks, I found that Saranac Gloves makes a shell mitt and combine that with fleece liners and you get great protection for $30-$40 range.

BobK said:

My winter layers (over the poly liners) include Dachstein mittens (boiled wool - call me a traditionalist) and windproof/waterproof overmitts when it really bad (rarely needed for me).

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I've put frozen Dachsteins on under leather overmitts on mornings when its been cold enough to freeze rum. Within minutes my hands were toasty. You can't beat 'em with a stick!
Now, what do you do to ''melt your cold, cold heart''

I have a pair of REI down mittens that are incredibly warm, also incredibly annoying because they make my hands incredibly useless. They are so bulky that I have difficulty getting my hands through the straps on my poles. For this reason, I tend to use them only to warm my hands up if they get chilled or while hanging out at a rest stop or summit.

My wife and son swear by their Gordinis.

Steve

Most of the time I only use the thin poly pro liner gloves. I bring 3 pair and change them when they get wet. For me, I have found that moisture management is more important than lots of insulation. Usually I can get 1/2 of the day on one pair unless there's alot of floundering. I bring a pair of mitten shells and use them over the liners when I'm getting snow on the liners (typical of 'whacking or floundering) or when I need a little more protection (windy or sub -10 temps). When it's raining I use only the mitten shells. And when none of this seems to work, I take out a pair of Granite Gear Luftkin mittens (3 layers of fleece inside goretex.) In general, I highly reco removable liners to facilitate drying.

I also have a pair of Gates ETP gloves that I love . They are gloves with short stubby fingers designed so you can pull your fingers into the "expanded thermal pocket" of the palm. I don't think they are made anymore so I hope they last forever.

JHS

I use either Fox River three-layer (wool/Thinsulate) gloves or Black Diamond Mercury Mitts with Primaloft insulation.

^MtnMike^ said:

I've been using the Black Diamond Mercury Mitt on really cold days. Very warm! They are a bit large and clumsy though.

^MtnMike^

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I have Raynaud's and I like my Black Diamond Mercury Mitts. I also have used heavy Marmot fleece mitts under my large OR overmitts.
Bottom line....I absolutely need hand warmers regardless.The ultimate test was the week I spent on an expedition with Outward Bounds in MN. I used hand warmers,both day and night, and never had a problem. We used "choppers" to work whild setting up camp, dogsledding, etc. and my hands were fine but I was religious about keeping the hand warmers in there.
I need not comment on the temps in MN in February.
I carried a ziploc bag full of these and kept them stored and protected in by pack. I was afraid that they might freeze and be useless but with a little care they were fine.
There are times when I use only one and move it from one mitten to the other if need be. That works well if it's not bitter cold out.
Can't say enough about them if you have very cold, cold hands.

I've had frostbite on the fingers of both hands and my thumbs are particularly susceptible to the cold.
I've used a pair of mooseskin leather Bean Chopper mitts as a shell for both Dachstein and extra heavyweight fleece mitts. The mooseskin is great as its superlight and impervious to rock, tree, and other damage.

Bean no longer makes the Chopper shells so I've been hunting around for an uninsulated shell thats durable and will fit a bulky liner. Anyone have any more info on the Saranac mitten shell?

Also, agree with John about multiple light liners. When its not too cold, I like to use a series of light fleece liners and change them throughout the day.

Thanks

I have an old pair of EMS shells with massive fleece liners. I can actually shove my hand inside while I am wearing windbloc gloves. I always bring them on overnights and cold daytrips. I have no idea if EMS still carries the shells but I know the OR shells are similar.

windmilling

I've never had any luck with it, and I don't have Raynaud's just cold hands, but I've read that if you rapidly "windmill" your arms 360* with elbow, wrist, and fingers locked, the centrifugal force pushes warm blood out to the cold extremities. Sounds good but like I said I never had any luck with it. I've also read that you can retrain your hands not to vasoconstrict by a complicated process of warming them up and cooling them down. Has anybody had any success with this?

Windmill motion: yes

Last September we were on The Traveler in Baxter State Park and one of us had got cold hands from the wind and chill rain. Spencer was with us and recommended the windmill motion you describe and it seemed to help.

Silk glove liners

When out in the winter, I mix 'n' match between slik glove liners, fleece gloves, wool mittens and Gortex overmits. While at Hancock Campground in early November, I only needed the silk and fleece combo most of the time.

HOWEVER, I noticed that the liners got wet from sweat (not snow or water). Anyone have any comparative info on silk vrs polypro as a liner?

I heard about and tried the windmilling theory for the first time during Thanksgiving up in the Whites. It worked well for me.

Speaking of mittens, does anyone have any experience with the REI Switchbacks?

Waumbek said:

I've never had any luck with it, and I don't have Raynaud's just cold hands, but I've read that if you rapidly "windmill" your arms 360* with elbow, wrist, and fingers locked, the centrifugal force pushes warm blood out to the cold extremities. Sounds good but like I said I never had any luck with it. I've also read that you can retrain your hands not to vasoconstrict by a complicated process of warming them up and cooling them down. Has anybody had any success with this?

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Regarding retraining: I've heard about this too, but I do not know the details. I'd love to find out more about how to do that! I asked my Dr., and he just smiled and said "no".

As for windmilling, it works temporarily for me...