Warm gloves needed

[379 Peterbilt]

--WARM GLOVES---

We have all gotten cold while afield, me included. There seems to be high quality gear to keep most of our body parts warm. Except hands. Well, at least my hands, as I've yet to obtain gloves or mitts that keep my paws warm for any length of time.

Who wants to share their best pair of hand gear?

[Graybeard]

There is no such animal as a warm pair of gloves. At least not with my circulation. Long years ago I had a pair from pigskin with rabbit hair lining. I guess they are the warmest I've used. Even those with thinsulate and goretex don't quite match them.

These days I've given up on gloves keeping my hands warm. Mittens are better but still don't quite cut it. So what I do is one of two things depending on how cold it is.

I wear a thin pair of leather gloves usually lined with a thin insulation and then stick my hands inside either mittens or an Icebreaker brand Hand Blanket. If really cold I'll use a chemical hand warmer pack also.

Can't honestly say the hands feel warm as toast even with these but it's the best I've come up with.

[379 Peterbilt]

That gots me to thinkin- with all the rabbits I have runnin around my place, mabie I should think about making my own gloves. Better yet, I could make up one of them trapper style hats for my moose hunt trip to Alaska this year.

Now if I only knew how to sew....

[Graybeard]

We have a leather making forum here. I'm sure the guys there could give you some tips or point you in the direction to get help.

[jvs]

The closest I ever got to having warm hands for an extended period is when I bought a pair of those green woolen glove liners and black Leather Gloves at a Military Surplus place.   Even then a good chemical warmer needs to be slipped down the palm.  That is the only system I have found that works up here.   It usually come to under $20 for the complete set up.

It's a thick trigger finger but it usually fits in the triger guard on most models.

[Siskiyou]

My cold weather hunting is normally between 32 degrees down to zero.  I do not care for leather gloves for wet hunting because they soak up moisture and become part of the problem.

My favorite gloves are a light to medium wieght wool shooting glove.  If it is getting nasty I will wear a heavier glove on my left hand.  If the weather is cool but dry I might wear a pair of nomex flight gloves but I am trying to save my last pair.

I have a few pairs of Thinsulate gloves in verying weights. but I do not wear them except on the coldest days because I consider them clumsy.  They do a good job.  I love them when snowmobiling which is the extreme chill factor test.

As a country boy years ago my hands were always freezing when out bird and deer hunting in sub freezing weather.  All we had was those cheap cotton gloves.  

When the weather is not real cool, and it is dry I will wear good fitting leather gloves at times.  They protect the hands from thorns, and it helps to have them when pulling yellowjackets off the dog.

[mrlizzzard]

Surplus mittens larger than one would normally buy with the fur on the back are the warmest and best for hunting,They have a liner,you can wear a thin pair of gloves if it's real cold.

Why I like them for hunting is I can quietly slip one off and shoot with a warm bare hand.Nothing beats them for warmth and quietness.My son took mine,he's off the Christmas card list.

lizzzard

[willysjeep134]

A while back I traded a few deer hides to a hide-buyer for a great pair of snowmobile choppers. They are made of suede, but thick. They come up to my elbows with enough room inside for some great big liner mittens. I believe they are lined with faux sheep or pile or something of that sort. The trick is to get something big enough that you aren't pinching off the circulation in your hands. These big choppers are at their best with a very thin liner like an Army shooting mit liner. I just let the chopper slip off my hand when I need my fingers for something and put it back on when I'm done. A little Sno-Seal on them makes them a little more glossy, but it is nicer for when I have to get down in the snow for some reason.

 I also have a pair of elkskin wrist length choppers with wool knit liners that I like for milder weather. They are supple enough to not pinch or restrict circulation, and still offer a great deal of wind protection.

For hunting in the fall, when temperatures hover around freezing, I will wear a pair of buckskin gloves and keep my hands in my coat pockets when I'm not moving.

[Woodbutcher]

It may help to pay attention to the wrist area. If that area is protected, and the back of the hand is given extra insulation, the fingers get more heat.
 Try a wrap made from an old sock, around the wrist and over the back of the hand. Couple of holes for the fingers to keep it in place. Then put your gloves on. It's like long underwear for the hands.
 I've gone with and without, it helps. It might sound awkward, but if you take it off, you'll put it back on as soon as you feel the cold. Don't cost much to try, and still leaves the fingers free if you remove your gloves.
                                                                   Woodbutcher

[SAWgunner]

The closest I ever got to having warm hands for an extended period is when I bought a pair of those green woolen glove liners and black Leather Gloves at a Military Surplus place.   Even then a good chemical warmer needs to be slipped down the palm.  That is the only system I have found that works up here.   It usually come to under $20 for the complete set up.

It's a thick trigger finger but it usually fits in the triger guard on most models.

 :eek:   You actually think our Black Utility gloves with the OD wool liners are warm!!!!  You should write the pentagon, because you are the first one I have ever heard give them a superlative.  Those black gloves are great for summer work requiring gloves.  We even wear them doing PT, and my hands still froze.  I am glad someone likes them.

The best gloves I have ever had, were the ones I was issued in korea.  They are the shooters mitts that have the trigger finger only on both hands away from the rest of the fingers.  They were camo on the back with blonde leather palms.  They came with all sorts of different liners.  Good stuff.


SAW

[jvs]

I'm not sure if they are the Utility Gloves which you allude to.  These have some sort of insulation layer inside and were available as a surplus item.  With the green woolen inserts, they were warm with a chemical hand warmer stuck down the palm.

I can't get used to Mittens, even though I believe they are a much warmer glove but they don't allow trigger access without removing them.  I realize there are all different styles of Mittens to let you get your finger on the trigger, I prefer five finger gloves.  Those 'Choppers' that willysjeep posted about may have possibilities for me.

My latest purchase is a thing you wear around your waste, and stick your hands inside.  A Muff I think they call it.

[willysjeep134]

There are a few types of trigger finger mittens i've seen. The ones I had were canvas with a leather palm. The trigger finger was all canvas. There was a loop that you could tuck the trigger finger on the golve under and pull your finger inside with the others. The other styles i've seen are the ones with a leather trigger finger and a fur backing, and the rubber coated Navy issue ones. Of all of them I think the type with an all leather trigger finger are best. You don't need to pull your trigger finger inside with the others to keep it warm, and they aren't all sweaty like the Navy ones.  My surplus store occasionally gets foreign trigger finger mittens too. Some of them are OK and some are pure junk.

[williek]

Buy a big pair of choppers that have very large gauntlet type wrists, probably two sizes too big. Place a 12 hour chemical handwarmer in each chopper.  Put a pair of those nylon gloves with dots on them on your hands.  The heater goes in the toe of the mittens on the back side of your hand.  The nylon glove protects your hand from excessive heat of the warmer.  When you see the deer shake the oversized mitten off your hand.  The hand is nice and warm, the bumps on the glove grip the gun nicely, and you will never have cold hands again.  This really works well.  I have used it for the past three years in temps well below zero.

Chemical toe and foot warmers end the cold feet.  I slip a pair in the toe of my Sorrel boots and cold feet are a thing of the past.
 
Take your hunting jacket and sew a pocket at belt level in the middle of your back.  Make it large enough to hold a 12 hour heat pack.  Walk out to your stand, slip the heat pack into the pocket and the heat radiates up your backbone and in your kidney area and you stay warm all day.
These three little tricks sure put a lot of enjoyment back into a cold hunting day.

[EsoxLucius]

For moderate to extreme cold (below 20 degrees F highs) the Cabelas Big Game Mitt works pretty well for me.  I use a military surplus wool glove and the chemical heat packs with them.  They have a slit in the palm which you can get your fingers out.  I do much of my hunting practice with them on and get funny looks when others show up at the range.  If its not so cold I have used the Cabelas Deerskin GoreTex/Thinsulate gloves with a heat pack with success.  Last Wisconsin deer season on the deerstand thats all I wore. 11 degrees F low and 28 degrees F high on the coldest day.

[wolfsong]

I USE SILK GLOVE LINERS, FIND THEM AT ANY SKI SHOP, ABOUT FIVE BUCKS A PAIR, GET TWO PAIRS. VERY THIN, WICKS AWAY MOISTURE, AND DRYS QUICKLY WITH PROPER HEAT. THEN I PUT ON 100% WOOL FINGERLESS GLOVES WITH A PULL-OVER MITTEN AND LEATHER PALMS. GET EM AT WALLYMART, ABOUT TEN BUCKS. WOOL WILL STILL HOLD YOUR BODY HEAT AND INSULATE EVEN WHEN WET. I ALSO PICKED UP A BELTED HAND MUFF WITH A GORETEX OUTER SHELL AND THINSULATE LINER, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT THIRTY BILLS. I CUT THE BELT OFF AND AND SEWED ON PLASTIC HOOK SNAPS SIMILIAR TO A CARABINER, AND SEWED D RINGS TO MY JACKETS TO ATTACH THE MUFF TO. IF I'M GOING TO BE SITTING FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OR MY WOOL GLOVES ARE WET, I USE TWO OF THOSE CHEAP SHAKE EM TYPE HEAT PACKAGES AND PLACE EM IN THE MUFF, ONE FOR EACH HAND. NOT EXACTLY TOASTY, BUT DEFINITELY COMFORTABLE ENOUGH. AND IF IT'S REALLY SNOWING/BLOWING, I ALWAYS CARRY A QUALITY PAIR OF SKI GLOVES THAT WON'T ALLOW FOR SHOOTING BUT WILL KEEP FROSTBITE AWAY WHILE I TRUDGE BACK TO CAMP. I PAID A HUNNERT BIG ONES FOR EM, BUT WHEN BAD GETS TO WORSE IT'S A SMALL PRICE TO PAY. EVER TRY TO BUILD A FIRE WITH WET, FROZEN, NUMB FINGERS? ALSO, WEAR WOOL SOCKS, NEVER COTTON, EVEN IN THE SUMMER/EARLY FALL SEASONS. JUST BUY THINNER ONES OR THICKER ONES DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER. NECK GAITORS AND A WOOL OR SYNTHETIC WATCH CAP ARE A MUST, AS THE HEAD, FACE AND NECK AREA LOSE THE MOST HEAT THE QUICKEST. LASTLY, I USE SILK LONG-JOHNS FOR A THINNER, LESS BULKY LAYER AND FOR THE WICKING PROPERTIES OF SILK. THAT COVERS IT FROM HEAD TO TOE. BUT THE BEST HEAT SOURCE (AND INSTANT, I MIGHT ADD) IS GETTING AND MAKING THE SHOT ON A NICE BUCK. SEEMS I FORGET ALL ABOUT THE MANY HOURS OF HIKING, SLIDING, FREEZING  AND WAITING, AND HEAT UP INSTANTLY! AND GETTING THE BUCK BACK TO CAMP OR RIG DEFINETLY CRANKS UP THE OL INTERNAL FURNACE. HAPPY HUNTING AND BE SAFE.

[JPSaxMan]

IMO nothing beats ragg woll gloves. I wore buckskin leather gloves for a whole hunting season. Hands stayed warm for a bit...then they ended up getting ice cold anyway. Borrowed a pair of these ragg woll mittens from a friend once. Wow, my hands were more or less like toast the whole time.

Here are some on Cabelas

 

[acearch72]

http://www.glmerc.com/arctic%20shield/asmaster.htm

you won't be disappointed........