[moooose102]

so, i thought i was all set for cold weather hunting. but, as it turns out, i was wrong. big suprise. anyway, i have heard that us army "mickey mouse" boots work very well, so that may be an answer to my feet. but what is a REALLY GOOD cold weather set of gloves/mittens? when i am having trouble is when i am on stand for hours on end. when your heart rate drops, and the cold really settles in, that is when i have trouble. the first hour and a half to two hours are fine. but after that is when i get cold. my main body stays nice and warm, even my arms and legs. it is just my fingers, and toes that get cold. any suggestions???

[7.62Reaper]

electric gloves

[~z]

move to TX and hunt in shorts
~z

[jak67429]

the chemical hand warmers work great. Also like the ones the have adhesive on them when it is realy cold will stick one on my shirt by my lower back. They also have some for inside your boots.

[Sinixstar]

There's an article I read some time about, about some biomedical engineering lab for the military, and research they were doing about how to warm/cool core body temps quickly. What they found is that the hand has a large amount of blood vessels very close to the surface of the skin, and that using this - they can warm/cool the blood in the hand very quickly, which then circulates through the rest of your body (thus warming or cooling the rest of your body).

There's some devices that have been developed as a result of this that are being used primarily in sports and medicine.

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/features/cool.html

The thing you have to remember - is that as you get cold, your body will not pump as much blood to your extremities. Once this begins to happen, warming your body back up can be a long process, and probably not something that's going to be immediately easy in the field (not without walking for some time anyways).
Your best bet is going to be to keep from getting to that point in the first place.

Now - why I brought up that first bit of info about the glove device, is that while those specific devices may not be all that suitable - something like electric gloves, or some sort of hand-warmers inside your gloves very well may do the trick. I haven't experimented with it much - but perhaps you'd like to. :D
The key is going to be to make sure you're using them BEFORE you get too cold. If you keep your core body temp up - this will help keep blood circulating, and help keep the rest of you warm.

I think that's one of the key problems a lot of people face, even with basic things like layering. They don't think to warm themselves up or even add layers until they're already uncomfortably cold - at which point it's too late. It's like the old saying when traveling through the desert. If you're thirsty - you're already dehydrated.

[Sinixstar]

the chemical hand warmers work great. Also like the ones the have adhesive on them when it is realy cold will stick one on my shirt by my lower back. They also have some for inside your boots.


I use the toe-warmers on cold days snowboarding - absolute life savers. They're sticky on the bottom, and sort of crescent shaped to fit the end of your boot.

[DRYHUMOR]

Those boots are pretty rough on the feet. Partly because they aren't very good to walk far in, and partly because they can cause your feet to sweat a good bit.

The better solution would be to get a good sleeping bag and carry it with you. Get in the stand, get situated, and get into it. Bring it up to mid waist, and put your hunting coat on over it. The warmth coming up has to go into your coat, helping keep you warm.

A warm hat helps as well, a lot of body heat is lost through the head. Some of the poly synthetics are good, as well as wool, and fur. I've got a fur hat for those bitter cold days. Nice and toasty.

[stiab]

I've had the same problem and learned that in the deer blind one should wear a thin pair of gloves for camo purposes only. To keep hands warm use one of the belt on hand compartments, and put the chemical hand warmers in those. They are big enough to contain your gloved hands, so when Mr. Buch appears just pull your hands out and they are still camo-ed and warm.

Using gloves for the purpose of keeping your hands warm has not worked for me after several hours.

[moooose102]

i have been using chemical hand/feet warmers, that is one of the reasons i thought i would be all set. but even with them, and my thinsulate's i get colt extremities. the electric gloves sound interesting. now if they just made electric boots! the boots i have do not allow much room for extra socks (they are not supposed to be needed), so unless somebody make electric socks that are quite thin, like regular socks, they probably wouldnt work. i will have to see what i can find online. thanks for some idea's.

[Sinixstar]

Electric socks are pretty common. They run about $15/pair, run off 9-volt batteries.

I know they made electric snowboard boots - I have to imagine somebody's made an electric liner for hunting as well.

edit:

here ya go:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0005479820754a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=heated+socks&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

[caribou]

If you have to sit still, try flexing your toes and stretching your fingers. Hang them straight and low, allowing warm blood to circulate.

Mittens are best for sitting still, your heart beat will warm your fingers when you have game in sight to shoot.

Black "Mickey's" are for cold wet, and white "Mickeys" are for dry cold, which is usually below Zero.

Wear loos, fluffy socks that fill in the boot with out being tight.

Arctic trick;Seal oil......maby olive oil for you , slather'd on a salad? Both are good for cleaning out your veins, and are redily absorbed for immediate use by the body.

Eat properly befor hunting. Snack often.Take Candy, it will warm you.

Take sweet tea to drink in your thermos.Hold the thermos! Itll be warm, and we often pack them in an insulating bag to keep them warm longer.That should really help, and its quiet...LOL!

We eat Seal Oil with frozen, cooked, dryed meat , cut veggies, roots, berries, dry'd fish and blubber chunks for the immediate Calories it gives.
Actally, oldtimers travled with a pich of salt and a supply of Seal Oil, as it will caloricly make frozen meat worth eating, warming you rather than chilling you, and you dont need a fire to get warm.

Chemical heaters are fine, just make sure they "Breath" for a bit, and heat up. I once put a set immediatly in my boots, and sufferd, untilll the next day, when we got to a village and I took off my boots...then they got Oxygen and warmed...:cuss:PMO!!!! LOL, live and learn!

Good luck!

[Grassman]

move to TX and hunt in shorts
~z



Not so much this year, it's been down in the 20's here at night. Pretty chilly in the daytime too.

[qajaq59]

Wear the warmest hat you can buy. The brain will shut down the flow of blood to your extremities to protect itself, so keep it as warm as you can.

[moooose102]

move to TX and hunt in shorts


i dont know about that. i have seen a lot of hunting tv shows hunting deer in texas, and there arent any of them wearing shorts. but, on the other hand, they dont exactly look like the pilsbury dough boy either!

[moooose102]

Wear the warmest hat you can buy. The brain will shut down the flow of blood to your extremities to protect itself, so keep it as warm as you can
i dont wear a hat, i wear 3 of the danged things! if i walk more than 100 yards, i am sweating like a race horse after running the kentucky derby! like i said, the only part of me that gets cold is my fingers and toes.

[scythefwd]

I got some good thick fleece convertible gloves from Dicks sporting goods for about 10 dollars out of the clearance bin. They are fingerless gloves that have a mitten type flap that can be pulled over the fingers to keep you warm while still leaving you access to your trigger finger when you need it. Inside the mitten flap, my wife sewed in a pocket that will hold one of the chemical hand warmers. The gloves are good down into the very low 30's without the extra heat. Adding the heater will probably get you down into the teens before you really want more. These gloves from cabelas are very similar, but on mine the flap is held back using magnets and not velcro (or thats what it looks like in the picture).

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0021066920007a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all_NYR-perf&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=fleece+gloves&Ntk=Products&Nty=1&cm_cat=Google_NonBrand&nyr=1&Ne=2510&Ntt=fleece+gloves&noImage=0&cm_ven=performics&_requestid=22008&Ntx=mode+matchall&cm_pla=search_search_gloves&N=4746&cm_ite=fleece%20gloves&rid=0180101070502&cmCat=perf

The mickey mouse boots are also known as rocky mountains. They suck. The sole is very unflexable and they feel almost like walking in ski boots. They are way over insulated if you are doing any type of walking. What every you do, dont polish them or water proof them as it clogs the pores and your feet do have to breath. I used them last year but never again. I'd rather have cold feet and use my jungle boots with thick wool socks than those clod hoppers on.

[Loomis]

cold beer.

It doesn't seem to make sense, but it does work. Take one or two cans of beer with you. If you feel like you are starting to cool off, crack one open and drink about half of it...slowly. Then let that settle until you start to feel like the warmth is building inside you. Wait until your mouth and throat warm up then drink the rest.

It works for me. It feels like someone kicks on the furnace, starting in my chest.

Another thing you should check on is your boots. If you are staying warm everywhere except your feet, it could be because you are losing circulation to your feet. Try wearing boots that don't fit so tight. Also, it could be the way you are sitting or standing. If you are sitting on something that digs into your butt or the back of your thigh, it will make your feet cold. If you are standing with your knees locked back, it will make your feet cold.

[scythefwd]

I agree with the second half of loomis post. Tight fitting boots are not really a great idea. Round here getting caught drinking while hunting is considered a big no no with the game wardens.

[Funderb]

Good boots, waterproof, thick socks, check out duluth trading company,
they have some thick boot socks that are amazing.

Thinsulate gloves, type it in on google. for times when you don't need your fingers, mittens over the top.
Layers, layers, one big jacket will not keep you warm.

I have a little experience with the hiking and cold weather to extreme weather variance camping.

DO NOT DRINK.
Drinking only provides your body a faster way to lose heat, if you drink you will die faster from hypothermia. The "warm feeling" is a trap.


Another thing to do is find a local boy scout troop that does hiking and have some of the scouts help you get outfitted.
People tend to look only into scandal, but the scout organization is a phenomenal tool.

[moooose102]

well, thanks for the cold beer sugestion, but i really do not want to end up in jail. we do have game wardens in this area, and if they catch you with alcohol while hunting, your all done, jail, loose your huning privilages, comfiscate your firearm, etc. they really do not have a sense of humor. and probably righfully so. this area is known for alcohol problems. so i would rather freeze to death (litterally) than be carted off to jail.

[Art Eatman]

The "Mickey Mouse" boots we had in Korea worked well. I walked guard duty iin the snow at 17 below. Long johns. Fatigues. Field pants with liner. Parka with liner over field jacket with liner. But my feet were warm, even if my hands were cold. (Promised the Lord I'd find a place without winter, too. If I want hard water, well, I have this big white box in the kitchen.)

My only experience with hand warmers is with the type you fill with lighter fluid. They seem to get too hot, at least too hot to suit me. But, wrapped in a towel with your hands resting on it, might work.

Art

[sd]

my 2 cents, layers, headgear, heavy wool socks, but not so thick that your boots are tight. tight boots are bad news.

[Smokey Joe]

Moose 102--I used to hunt in quite cold weather, say 20's or teens°F, wearing leather mittens with knit wool liners. These are called "choppers," I suppose because old-time loggers wore them. They worked pretty well for me.

Have used the lighter-fluid-burning hand warmers, quite successfully. Never liked how they smelled, but BOY were they nice & toasty! One of my buds swears by the chemical-packet hand and toe warmers. For my own part, I don't like burning up fuel nor having used-up chemical handwarmers to constantly dispose of. But, both do work.

(Electric sox, same deal--they work but you produce a succession of used-up batteries.)

Then I happened upon the trick of keeping my jacked half-unbuttoned, and putting my right hand inside, into the left armpit/sleeve. (A la Napoleon but more so.) This was a big improvement--could get the nice warm hand out in a jiffy for shooting.

More recently my #1 son came up with something even better--a muff! Sounds stupid, and 1880's-girly, but gee whiz, your favorite pro quarterback uses one during every cold game, so, heck, I tried it. This is the solution to cold hands that I currently favor. I keep a good pair of gloves with me while hunting, for the times when I need gloved hands for something, but for waiting on the deer stand or the goose blind, where (I hope!) I'll need a bare hand for shooting, that muff is (Tony the Tiger voice) Grrrrrr-EAT!!! (/Tony the Tiger voice)

The muff I use is poly-fleece insulated, with a knit cuff on each end. It has a neck strap (which I rarely use.) Looking at it, you wouldn't think it was all that warm, but abt. 5 min. after putting my hands in it, they are really nice. When it comes shooting time, I take my right (trigger hand) out of the muff and hold the gun with my left, still in the muff.

Had one day this past deer season where the temps @ the start of the day were in the low single-digits. Muff still worked.

When it's time to go pick up geese, or track deer, then on go the old choppers.

[Big_R]

I've hunted in Northern Minnesota for many years and dealt with everything from shirt sleeve weather to the type of cold where you get ice in your mustache. I've learned that cold hands and feet are a symptom of a cold everything.

What works for me when it's really cold is to wear long underwear inside sweat pants/sweatshirt, then an insulated coverall. Wool hat with "mad bomber" hat over that. For hands, I use mechanix type gloves inside a hand warmer muff with a heat pack. Shoes, I use good Columbia boots, wool socks, and a heat pack made for shoes. Caribou is right about letting the chemical packs breathe for a while although be careful about the shoe ones. They don't need much air to get too hot.

After all that, we installed small wood stoves in our permanent deer stands. Now, that's toasty.

Ryan

[bad_aim_billy]

I second the hand warmer muff with heat pack if you're sitting, works quite well and no gloves to get in the way.

[Sinixstar]

Another thing you should check on is your boots. If you are staying warm everywhere except your feet, it could be because you are losing circulation to your feet. Try wearing boots that don't fit so tight. Also, it could be the way you are sitting or standing. If you are sitting on something that digs into your butt or the back of your thigh, it will make your feet cold. If you are standing with your knees locked back, it will make your feet cold.


One other thing on that note - is do NOT wear two pairs of socks. It's too tight around your feet, and restricts circulation.

[Art Eatman]

Sinixstar, many people choose a size larger for winter use. The inner sock to wick moisture away from your foot, and the outer sock for added warmth.

[Sinixstar]

Sinixstar, many people choose a size larger for winter use. The inner sock to wick moisture away from your foot, and the outer sock for added warmth


There's thin under-layer socks you can use for that too.
That's slightly different then just grabbing two pairs of socks outta the sock drawer and throwin 'em on thinking "2 is better then 1" - which is what I was getting at. :D

[tickfarm]

I have the same problem with my hands and feet. IO got a pair of gloves and a pair of booties from Pro Bass. These are made by Arctic Shield. The gloves have a liner and they work great. The booties fit over your boots and are not made for walking. You put them on when you get into your stand. both of these have worked well for me an keep me warm.

[salthouse]

Try to stay as cool as possible (minimize sweating) while walking and moving to your hunting area. Carry your outer layers in the game pouch of your vest if you have one. Also, ThermaCare wraps for the lower back are just like the little hand/foot warmers, but they wrap around your waist and sit right on top of your kidneys to warm your lower back. Use a second one on the back of your neck if you need to. Finally the toe warmers are best on the bottom of your sock under your toes. Bring extras if you are going to be out more than 5-6 hours.

[NRA4LIFE]

I don't know the brand of them, but both my dad (he hunts in N. WI) and I use the same setup. It's a combo glove. The inner liner is wool and the outer layer is insulated Gore Tex. They can be used with or without eachother. Never have had cold hands with these.

[RB98SS]

I've tried every glove/mitt/chopper conceived by mankind. Keep your gloved hands in your pockets. Nothing works better for me.

[Sinixstar]

For gloves, try either ice climbing gloves (Cloudveil makes some good ones) or snowboarding gloves. For some reason "hunting" gloves don't seem to compare to either of those options.
Anything from the Burton AK line (snowboarding) will definitely keep your hands toasty, especially the mitts. If you look around, you can even find 'em in Camo prints. Something about being designed to spend the entire day in sub-freezing, often times sub-zero temps - makes 'em design gear really well...

a few options:
http://www.burton.com/gear/Default.aspx#/gear/productdetail/mens/gloves/mens-ak-gloves/10788/206646455/

http://www.burton.com/gear/Default.aspx#/gear/productdetail/mens/gloves/mens-ak-gloves/10787/207444036/

These are just utterly insane in terms of dry/warm:
http://www.burton.com/gear/Default.aspx#/gear/productdetail/mens/gloves/mens-ak-gloves/10783/206643353/

Might not be tacticool enough for some people - but they work better then anything else i've ever seen. If you don't like 'em - there's tons of broke college kids that'll buy 'em off of craigslist :D

[jpatterson]

Boy, do I hear ya on that. I was laying in a pine tree the other day with my rifle freezing my glove-less hands off (forgot to take them out of the truck, d'oh!). I actually fell asleep because I sat there so long and didn't move, I woke up face in the dirt, rifle in hand. Don't know how I didn't see any deer that day! :confused: :D

[jpatterson]

Boy, I hear ya on that one. I was laying underneath a pine tree over the weekend freezing my glove-less hands off (left em in the truck, d'oh!). I actually sat there so long without movie that I fell asleep and woke up, face in dirt, rifle in hand. Don't know how I didn't see any deer that day :confused: :D

[jpatterson]

Boy, I hear ya on that one. I was laying underneath a pine tree over the weekend freezing my glove-less hands off (left em in the truck, d'oh!). I actually sat there so long without movie that I fell asleep and woke up, face in dirt, rifle in hand. Don't know how I didn't see any deer that day! :confused: :D

[moooose102]

well, i did some on line digging. Dick's Sporting Goods has electric heated gloves and socks. next chance i get, i am going to run down there and grab up a pair of each along with some rechargable battereis. looks like they use the most expensive batteries made (9 volts) and i do not particularly want to be spending $15.00 a day on batteries.

[sbarkowski]

as far as gloves go the best pair i've ever used are the Underarmour cold gear gloves with the Underarmour liner glove inside. Expensive, but it works. The index fingers fold back to expose your trigger finger when needed.
On a bit of a side note. I stubbled across a great way to keep your body warm while sitting last winter.
I hurt my back at work last year and the wife got me one those light velcro wrap around heat patches for my back. Their large and stay in place well, they just wrap around your abdomen. I had it on while I was out ice fishing. It was damn cold, windy and I had no shelter except what I was wearing. Those things kept me toasty and warm all day and were still giving off heat when I got home and took them off. I think there made by Sunbeam, you can get them at wallmart where they have the knee braces. Dont remember how much it cost but you can get the replacement heat pouches there too.

[MCgunner]

Heated tower blind....:D

[mbt2001]

Get some REALLY good boots, they are one of the most important parts of your gear. I would recommend these;

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0026668812164a&navCount=1&podId=0026668812164&parentId=cat601929&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20564-cat601929&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601929&hasJS=true - boots

and these

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0047596812783a&navCount=21&podId=0047596812783&parentId=cat600967&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat470076-cat600967&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600967&hasJS=true - socks

Get some good gloves - I would recommend getting the below and some of the wool mil-spec type style liner gloves. Between the two, your hands should be toasty. Cabela's might have some good choices too.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=110998 - Goretex insulated mil surp cold weather gloves.

Top it all off with a good thermal, sweater, coat, gore-tex shell and you are set. Layering is the cheapest option. More expensive is buying an ALL in ONE jacket from Cabela's or the like.

Sportsmansguide.com and armysurplusworld.com have good prices on MIL-Surp stuff. I don't know how cold it gets where you are, but I am pretty certain that they have surplus you can pickup cheap that will work in it fine.

I purchased this the other day - http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=59123 I wouldn't wear it on a date, as it looks bulky and long, but in the field, I don't imagine you would get cold. In combo with a poncho, doubt you would get wet either. You might want to try it or something else. ONE FREE HINT about buying cold weather stuff from sportsmansguide, if you purchase say a German Parka - you might want to call or read the comments or carefully read the description as they do not all come with liners and you basically end up with a canvas type jacket with a liner that is MIA and not easy to find. You can of course use a fleece or something else under it, but I like to have it configured the way it was designed to be.

Good luck.

EDIT:

Liner socks also...

Forgot to mention that. Put a pair of liner socks on, then wool socks, then the big boots and you are set. Some boots come a little large others you need to order 1/2 size larger to compensate for your feet swelling and the added bulk of the sock. That is one reason to stick with order the boots from Cabela's as they have really snappy return policies and YOU DO NOT want to skimp on your feet.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

As for hands, a lot of the flop-top mittens you can buy have a specific little zip open pouch in the back of them, for placing the chemical warmers. Use that combined with winter golf gloves underneath and this works well.

[TxState101]

Got a pair of long underwear, wool socks, some Bob Allen gloves that are almost too warm, a balaclava, and a jacket with a collar.

Always worked well for me when it's cold.

[offroaddiver]

If Short amount of time outside. Neoprene socks and gloves are really warm. They strectch and neoprene is designed to keep the warmth when wet. Check out a scuba diving shop for really flexible gloves. Scuba is one of my passions and I love using my old gloves when working outside where some dexterity is needed but too cold for thin gloves.

[sam700]

Often when my hands and feet are cold it's because I'm loosing heat from the other parts of my body. Concentrate on that. I usually wear the thickest poly pro long underwear I can find, then a pair of ski pants and put wool pants over that. I wear a down vest under my hunting coat.

I seem to loose most of my heat from my butt when sitting, therefore, a "heat seat" is critical. At $5 it's well worth it. Also, even with a good hat, putting you're hood up makes a big difference.

A face mask probably makes as big a difference as a hat to me. You'll be amazed at the difference a thin neoprene mask makes.

As for boots, pick up a pair of Baffin boots. Baffin makes several models but you want the one rated to -100C or - 148F. Don't know if they are good to that low but at around 0F my feet stay warm even without chemical heat packs. They go for around $170 at REI. If I don't properly dress the rest of my body my feet still get cold though.

For gloves Black Diamond makes a good mitten for around $80. The nice thing about it is that you can pull the water proof shell off to expose the insoluted liner. The liner is like a mitten for 3 fingers with the trigger finger being separate. They aren't designed for hunting, but they work great for that application. They also sell at REI.

So basically, first dress everything else as warm as you can and use a heat seat. If you're feet and hands are still cold, pick up the warmest boots you can afford. In my experience, most hunting boots aren't nearly as warm as what you can find elsewhere. Look specifically for boots made for arctic use. Not marketed as arctic, but the real deal. To decide what you want, try two on in the store for 20 mins and see which makes you're feet sweat the most. If you're feet are uncomfortably hot in the store, they will be just right when you're sitting in a treestand.

Finally, get some mittens with a separate trigger finger for you're shooting hand. Get them big enough to wear a thin liner glove underneath. I leave the liners off If I need to take the mittens off to do anything with my hands that requires use of all my fingers.