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avgDude

Booting up
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land of misfit toys
I have trouble keeping my hands warm, particular in gloves. Not so bad with mittens. It's really what sends me in to warm up.

I use a glove liner inside of mittens with a chemical heat pack that fits in the back of the hand on the liner. The fingers stay warm enough (barely), but my thumb gets really cold, painfully.

So for this winter I'm thinking about get the battery powered heated glove liners. Anyone have experience with those? Recommendations?
 

Bad Bob

I golf worse than I ski.
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Just an idea from the peanut gallery.

How tight do you grip your poles? Try a couple of runs on a blue without poles and see if there is a difference. Occasionally you will se cold feet caused by curled toes, same idea.
 

LiquidFeet

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@avgDude, your hands sound like they are not average. Neither are mine. People who have warm hands don't understand how awful it is to have cold fingers. Here's what I do.

Mittens, without any cloth divisions between the fingers, are warmest. Manufacturers will insist that some sort of glove inside the mittens is warmer than fingers-against-fingers in there, but not for me. Been there, tried that. Same for battery-heated gloves; didn't work worth beans for me. Chemical packs on top of the palm, separated from my skin by a little pocket, don't heat my fingers or my palms either; that pocket places them too distant from their target.

I put the chemical heat pack in the mitten so it rests directly on the top of my fingers. No, it doesn't burn them. And no, it doesn't get in the way of gripping my poles. And no, with mittens, I don't grip my poles so tightly that the tension prohibits blood flow. My fingers get cold all by themselves, for no apparent reason. Some people's hands are made that way.

I ski in New England where it gets really really cold, and the wind does blow. When the temps are around 20 (and on down to -10ish), I put three chemical packs in each mitten. I place two chemical packs on top of each other over the fingers, and put the third one, folded lengthwise in half, inside the thumb part of the mitten. There isn't much room in that thumb area, so it takes me a few minutes of re-trying to get a chemical warmer in there just right, so that it will sit on top of my thumb.

This is the only thing I've found that works for my very sensitive fingers. I buy the hand warmers by the case every year from the same shop. YMMV.
 
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coskigirl

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I only wear gloves on the warmest of days. Some days I use a chemical heat pack with them and tuck my thumb into the main compartment while on the lift.
 

Decreed_It

I'd rather be skiing
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Good liners and mittens when it's cold, heat packs sometimes, but for me it's always about circulation. First couple of runs are tough, have to move and get heart rate up. this southern boy's blood runs for the core when we land in cold, dry mountainous west. got to convince it to get back out there to the extremities and get to work.
 

Winks

AKA "Gary".
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I don't wear gloves but if I did more than likely I would opt for the Mitten or 3 finger gloves. Try finding a thin membrane liner along with the mitten
 

KingGrump

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OP, where do you normally ski?
 

Analisa

Making fresh tracks
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Might also help to size up in your gloves or mittens. I struggled a lot with keeping my hands warm, but 2 years ago, I was looking for my mittens at the start of the season, found mold growing on the nose wipe (grosssss), and stole my boyfriend's men's large mittens and haven't given them back since. They're a pair of the Black Diamond Spark Mitts - leather keeps wind from cutting through them, the liner inside manages moisture well (I'm really impressed with how well they wick & dry), and the extra room holds more warm air.

As for heated gloves, my friend worked at Outdoor Research's warranty department and matched me a pair as returns came in with issues on only one of the gloves. I haven't worn them yet, but it sounds like the technology still needs improvement from a durability standpoint. But if you buy from a manufacturer with a really comprehensive warranty, you can just get them replaced as needed.
 

Core2

Making fresh tracks
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went to waxed full leather gloves and never looked back. i haven't had a cold hand day since. they also have little vent zippers for the warm days.
 

David Chaus

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As a diabetic, my hands get cold easily, and don’t heat up again easily once they’ve gotten cold. Pretty much @LiquidFeet’s experience, though not as cold in the PNW.

I have tried battery heated liners, there’s so many things that go wrong with them and it’s easy for the wires to get disconnected in between the layers of fabric where the batteries sit.

Now, heated gloves, that’s another story. I’ve had good results with the OR Lucent mittens, and when I had a warranty issue after almost a full season they were replaced with the OR Capstone gloves, with two batteries per glove. Totally love them, a couple of seasons later.
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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I find going into the lodge is often the source of cold hand problems. On a ridiculously cold day last year (-20F at the summit) I was cold but ok until I went into the lodge. After a break, my fingers were so cold that they hurt and I could barely ski. Gave up after that run.

I tried to figure out what had gone wrong, and realized my hands were dry before my break and just slightly damp afterwards. I think it might have gotten snow on them putting my skis on the rack, which melted when I came inside. Or maybe I started to sweat in the warm cafeteria before I got my layers off.

Since then I've kept careful track and I've found it is very difficult to keep your gloves completely dry through a break. Now I keep a spare pair in my bag and swap them out if they are even the slightest bit damp
 

pais alto

me encanta el país alto
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Two things, the simple one first - warm your core, put on another (or thicker) layer like an insulating vest. The reason your fingers get cold is that your blood is cooling too much in your extremities on the way out to your fingers, so it doesn’t warm them. If your core is a little too warm your body will open the blood flow to send the warmer blood out to cool in the extremities, thereby warming your digits. Also be sure your head is well insulated - “If your feet are cold, put on a hat.” - my grandma. Point being, makes sure your core and other extremities are well-insulated so that warm blood is circulating everywhere.

If you decide to go the heated gloves route, I like these:
https://chavalusa.com/
Chaval uses membranes as heating elements instead of wires, giving a very even heat. And I’ve had great luck with the battery life and self-regulating heat. Also, looks like they’re on sale right now.
 

graham418

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I buy myself a new pair of gloves every other year or so, Christmas present to myself. They become my super cold weather gloves. Lots of loft in new insulation. As they pack out and become less warm, they move down in the rotation for warmer days, until eventually they are nasty, duct taped fingers and palms, spring gloves. Having a collection is good for trips , you always have dry gloves for the next day. If your hands sweat a lot, keep a second pair to put on after lunch. Dry = Warm
 

Scruffy

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"what is your cold fingers solution?" Keep them wrapped around a hot toddy :D
 

CalG

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Two comments.

Leather gloves saturated with waterproofing are MUCH COLDER than untreated but dry leather gloves . Wet, the untreated leather gloves are miserable.

Second, Everyone should know of the "hand warmer shoulder shrugg".

When your fingers are cold, a bit of additional circulation helps, and the tension that usually develops in your shoulders due to the cold does not help.
So... let your arms relax and allow your hands to fall to your side. Shrugg your shoulders up to your ears as high as you can. No need to pull your shoulders forward however.
Then let your shoulders and arms freefall with gravity, or even help them fall a bit. Immediately RELAX as much of your upper body as you can.

This action releases the tension that inhibits circulation. You will feel the warmth flow into your hands and fingers when it comes together for you.
Repeat as necessary or desired.

Works for me!
 

EricG

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As @CalG mentioned when it’s super cold I stop and get the blood flowing in the extremities. But when it’s super cold I only wear mittens, no gloves. If it’s too cold for mittens I sit by the stove and read a book.
 

Pat AKA mustski

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I suffer with cold hands for sure. One thing that does help me is putting my poles under my legs so I don't have to hold metal and then balling my hands up inside the mitten/glove to let the fingers warm each other. It does help somewhat.
 

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