Cold hands ... need glove and hand warmer help

[dogfood]

OK, two things I can't stand while in the woods ... cold feet and cold hands. Thanks to some monster pac boots from Rocky, I think I have the cold feet problem licked.

But I have yet to find any gloves that can keep my hands even remotely warm. I have tried many of the Thinsulate hunting gloves, as well as some made especially for skiers. Anyone have any suggestions?

As far as hand warmers go, I have the solid fuel type from Coghlin. Sometimes the sticks seem to burn fairly hot, other times not so hot. Anyone know of a different solid fuel stick that works better ... or are there better hand warmers out there? I am not a big fan of the throw-away chemical types. I know my Grandfather used to swear by a liquid fuel hand warmer, but my understanding is that others swear AT them, and I'm not sure if they're made anymore. Any help here would be appreciated.

Thanks,
dogfood

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Muff with a neck strap and a handwarmer in it.

Muff with a neck strap and a handwarmer (or 2) in it. Light gloves worn inside the muff.

Adequate gloves might well have to be yanked off with your teeth to take a shot with conventional trigger guards. Jon-E is the lighter fluid handwarmer - depending on use you may want to consider or ignore the scent. Jon-E says their own brand fluid is scentless, maybe it is.

 

[LAK]

Dachstein gloves - very hard to find these days. I have used the mitts version winter climbing over many years and can say without a doubt they are worth every penny. Dachstein gloves and mitts are made in Austria of very thick soft felted wool. A larger pair of mitts can be worn over the gloves, additionally, for hunting a trigger finger slit can be cut and buttonhole stitched on the gloves or mitts. This is the only online seller I know of for the gloves:

http://www.upandunder.co.uk/eshop/c...acturer_ID=35&Activity_ID=9&Description_ID=57

Glove liners; silk or polypropylene - from chain stores like Academy sports or online from a pile of sources. Google "silk glove liners" or "polypropylene glove liners".

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[Nightcrawler]

Back when I lived in frigid upper Michigan, I found that with proper gloves you can't use a handgun of any sort. Military-pattern rifles are usually no problem, but handguns...not so much.

Happily, it doesn't stay quite as cold for quite as long here in Utah. Any good, thin, but warm gloves, that will let you use a pistol or revolver, but will keep you comfortable in about 30* weather?

For hunting, I'd find the best, warmest, thinnest pair of gloves I could, and wear them under a big pair of mittens. You can get mittens that fold/velcro open so you can shoot.

Alternatively you should be able to find some USGI surplus trigger finger mits for a good price. Those should be adequate for most rifles (but not for handguns, I don't think.)

 

[bfhcards]

I have some north face gloves and they are great but too bulky for hunting IMO. Under armour makes some great thin camo gloves that are available at dicks for around 30 bucks. I have loved every piece of under armour I have purchased. I would also recommend the brand Genius for socks. They make super warm and super comfortable socks that kept me warm in 8 degrees(without the wind) two weeks ago.

This is a great time to shop at Dicks because they drastically reduce the amount of hunting gear they carry right after the season start to make room for other stuff. You can find certain items for about 70% off right now. The under armour camo stuff may be reduced silghtly but I find that it never gets redduced in the same manner as the other gloves and clothing.

 

[DWARREN123]

ARMY surplus artic mittens with trigger finger mitten liners. Be advised that some people just have cold feet and hands and not much can be done except for external heat source(s).
Also coat that allows you to put your hands inside next to your body.
Lack of movement can also cause cold hands/feet.
Just some suggestions.

 

[Kingcreek]

I use a glove system called "Polar shield" or something like that.
the lightwt fitted gloves can be used alone or as liners for the over-mits. The mits have a layer that reflects body heat back to your hands and finger and thumb openings. I have used these for bow and gun hunting down to sub-zero temps with no problem. about $35-40 a pair.
The Glo-mits also work pretty well if its not as cold. these are the mitten/glove hybrids with thinsulate. made by several mfgrs.
While we're at it, how cold are we talking? If you can't tolerate cold, do you have health problems? That question would trouble me more than the selection of gear.
Cardio-vascular disease, Reynaud's syndrome, Scleraderma or SLE, hypothyroid, smoker-drinker?
The people that I've had tell me they just can't tolerate cold, have all had some other health issues. just wondering...

 

[redneck2]

May sound goofy, but keep the rest of your body warm and limit overall heat loss. Fleece hood over head & neck and keeping feet warm all help.

 

[LAK]

May sound goofy, but keep the rest of your body warm and limit overall heat loss. Fleece hood over head & neck and keeping feet warm all help.

Not goofy at all - very sound advice. You lose about 30% of total body heat through your head. These are what I use;

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=167621

Before aquiring several Russian versions at a good price last year I have been using the east german version - search ebay.com for;

east german hat

When you get the search results don't forget to scroll down the page and click on "See additional Buy It Now items". They are going for alot less than the Russian ones at the moment; just picked up a couple more myself and recommend those that can afford to do the same.

DWARREN has a good suggestion too; sportsmansguide.com has winter warfare mitts for a few bucks a pair. U.S., Sweden etc.

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[one-shot-one]

don't want to be the joy kill

but have you made sure that there is no medical condition for your cold hands and feet, reduced blood flow to the extreamities could be medicaly correctable?.?

 

[1911 guy]

Mittens

Get mittens with flaps over your fingers. Mittens are warmer than gloves and the flaps let you use your fingers at will. The other thing is smoking. No, I'm not kidding. Nicotine reduces blood flow to extremities and will make you colder in very low temperatures.

 

[sturmruger]

I am a big fan of a good hand muff. I wear small thin gloves and then keep some of the disposable hand warmers inside my muff. During gun deer season I was out in temps down to about 16 degrees my hands were very warm. I have also used some of the big heavy duty mittens with my small gloves.

One thing did when I was a kid was bring up in my tree stand a metal paint can with briquettes burning inside. I would light them as soon as I woke up and then by the time I was in my stand it would give off quite a lot of heat. I also had an old piece of carpet that hung underneath my plywood stand I used that to keep my lap warm. The deer never did seem to notice the smell.

 

[Steve Wynn]

I've been using an insulated muff that has a strap that hangs it around your neck. Stick a couple of "shake and bake" warmers inside, sometimes even my handgun goes in, along with both hands. Add the boot blankets and I've been out in zero weather all day.

Steve

 

[ArmedBear]

If you're in a blind or fancy stand, you've got to try the Coleman propane tent heater!

Sits on a small disposable propane tank and gives off heat.

I've made a few happy campers with mine, and they're inexpensive, too. Not pocket-sized, though.

SportCat, GolfCat, BlackCat, etc. on this page: http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/subcategory.asp?CategoryID=3000

 

[Sharps Shooter]

I managed to get some pretty severe frostbite on a few fingers of my right hand when I was doing a Denali (Mt. McKinley) climb back in 1995. Since then, those fingers talk to me November thru April. And because of poor blood circulation in those 3 previously frostbitten fingers, more frostbite is a very real possibility.
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news either, but I agree with one-shot-one. Have a doctor to check you out. Poor blood circulation to you hand and feet can be a medical problem. Diabetes comes to mind, but maybe it’s something easier to deal with.
If blood circulation is not a problem, keeping your body core temperature up where it should be is your first line of defense against cold feet and hands. As soon as your brain senses the slightest drop in body core temperature it starts shutting down blood circulation to your extremities. As someone else mentioned – wear a warm hat. You lose a heck of a lot of heat though your head. That heat loss drops your body core temperature, your brain senses the drop and begins shutting down blood flow to your extremities in order to prevent further drop in your body core temperature – your brain tries to keep you alive at the expense of your fingers and toes.

 

[1911 guy]

How I stay toasty on cold stands.

Since others are touching on the body core issue, I'll share my secrets. I'm the warmest guy in my camp every November. I wear:

1) regular underwear, t-shirt and athletic socks.
2) Wool socks and thermal underwear.
3) jeans and flannel shirt.
4) button down sweater.
5) Pac boots, Carhart overalls and parka, fleece hood and shooting mittens.

Everything but the t-shirt is capable of being unzipped or unbuttoned to regulate heat. Overheating and sweating will chill you on a good day and kill you on a bad day. The fleece hood can be shoved down around your neck to vent heat, yet keep the wind from penetrating your parka. The boots are not waterproof, but the wool socks will insulate your feet even when wet.

I've come in well after dark before looking like a hairy icicle with boots and overalls frozen together. I've had my hood freeze to my hair. The action on my pump gun froze shut one year. My last bout with frostbite, however, was as a teenager after a snowmobile accident. I don't like being that cold and dress to avoid it. When ice water feels too hot to bear, you've had more than your limit. I dress for comfort now, not speed.

 

[GMAN]

I had the same problem, the backs of my hands freeze and thinsulate gloves make my hand sweat. I tried the muff and handwarmer, helped some. This year I got Under Armour socks and gloves and they work. I put the gloves on then Thinsulate gloves over the top and their great.

 

[ZeSpectre]

I use light gloves and put a small, single use type, handwarmer inside the back of each glove. Seems to do wonders for keeping my whole hand warm.