what is your cold fingers solution?

[David Chaus]

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.

Also, bamboo poles are helpful.

 

[Henry]

I like the Chaval electrically heated gloves or mittens. They have a self-adjusting thermostat and an all-day battery. Friends like the Outdoor Research electric gloves or mittens, and they carry an extra pair of batteries for the afternoon. The Chavals have a nice extra--during the recharge period there is heat inside the gloves to dry them. Chaval's early season sale: https://www.chavalusa.com/

As noted above, it's mainly about blood circulation. The brain needs to keep itself warm, so it draws warm blood to it at the expense of the extremities. Next in line are the vital internal organs in the body where the brain sends warm blood and cuts off flow to the extremities. Fingers and toes and hands and feet are expendable--we don't need all of them for survival. Try wearing more head insulation than you expect to need--an extra warm helmet liner or balaclava and your hood up over the helmet. Wear more body insulation than you think you'll need--an extra down vest or whatever works for you. See if this helps. Caffeine can have an effect on vascular flow, so try a morning without caffeine (no one said this would be easy) and try normal morning caffeine plus coffee or tea during rest breaks--see if it makes any difference for you.

Raynaud's disease is an extreme lack of blood flow to the extremities in the cold. If your hands are white when they're cold, consider it. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/raynauds-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20363571 More heat added to the affected areas with heat packs or electric source as well as more head & body insulation probably is the best route. For the cold thumb, try mittens big enough to wear warm wool or poly gloves (not thin liners) inside.

 

[pais alto]

...try a morning without caffeine (no one said this would be easy)...

You can take away my morning caffeine when you pry it from my cold, stiff fingers.

See what I did there?

 

[avgDude]

OP, where do you normally ski?

My local hill (in Iowa) is 300' about 45mintes away. old slow lifts, so spend most of the time on the chairlift. Occasional excursions to MN and WI. and then normally one big trip out west - generally CO.

 

[Posaune]

When it's really cold try skiing bumps instead of groomers. It'll slow you down so the wind isn't so cold, and it'll make you work harder which helps to warm the body, hands included. It can help when combined with technological fixes like folks are recommending.

 

[Jilly]

Thermos heated mitts...

 

[Ken_R]

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?

There are a few things you can do. First, make sure the gloves do not fit too tight, that is key. After putting the gloves on make sure you cinch or close the cuff properly. You can add thin wool liners if its really cold. Dont take the gloves off to check your phone or take pics (Im guilty of doing that constantly). Lastly, while on the lift take the thumb out of its place and slide it in the palm pocket, that really helps on cold and windy days.

 

[David Chaus]

When it's really cold try skiing bumps instead of groomers. It'll slow you down so the wind isn't so cold, and it'll make you work harder which helps to warm the body, hands included. It can help when combined with technological fixes like folks are recommending.

Yeah, I have noticed that on the first chair lift up, my hands are always warm, and if I’m skiing at a slow pace, there’s no issues, but if I’m skiing solo or with other advanced skiers at a faster pace without stopping a lot, the wind chills my finger tips by the time I’m back at the bottom of the lift.

 

[Ogg]

When it's really cold try skiing bumps instead of groomers. It'll slow you down so the wind isn't so cold, and it'll make you work harder which helps to warm the body, hands included. It can help when combined with technological fixes like folks are recommending.

This works great while your doing it but getting sweaty on a cold day is going to make you colder on the lift. Usually if my hands are cold it's because the insides of my gloves are wet from sweat/condensation.

 

[Scotty I.]

I have cold, painful finger problems as well. Nevertheless, spending $500.00 on a pair of heated gloves just seems excessive to me. So, I was in Costco a couple of days ago and sure enough, they were selling heated ski gloves for $100.00. Thinking that they might be junk, I was hesitant to buy them. However knowing their return policy, I decided to go for it.
It would make me really happy to find out that they work well and I didn't have to spend Chateau Lafite Rothschild type money on them.
Will keep you updated.

 

[coops]

For the really, really cold days I have now got a three glove system...plus

• Got the dry-guys neoprene covers for the boots along with Zipfits to keep the feet ok.
• Got an Arcteryx superlight down gilet (that can pack into its own pocket) to boost the core warmth also
• A Dissent balaclava which is wonderful, full face coverage so no frostbite.

So it was the gloves/hands on the absolute most cold days that was the last thing - and worth getting a fix as its on those days that while everyone else is shivering and trying to warm up in overcrowded restaurants etc, you can stay outside enjoying the squeaky snow and empty lifts - if you're comfortable.

Already had a good glove liner, but then got a good mediumish 'spring' type glove to wear on top (and use when its warm) and then put those on to get the right size 3rd overglove - a serious warm mitten. Mittens also mean slipping in a hand/foot heater pack is easy, and if you need to take the mitten off for a moment at least you still have those two layers to preserve some hand warmth...

https://www.glovesmag.com/mittens/

 

[trailtrimmer]

How warm is your core? Ever warm enough to break a sweat or need to unzip?

Decent mittens that have plenty of wiggle room in them is a start, but if your body thinks it's cold overall, it's not going to pump lots of blood to the hands and feet. Keeping your overall temp up is crucial.

 

[Rod MacDonald]

Nobody seems to have mentioned it yet, but I notice that my hands tend to get cold after I've eaten, in other words the blood has gone to the core to aid digestion. That's when I am at most risk.

 

[dbostedo]

I have cold, painful finger problems as well. Nevertheless, spending $500.00 on a pair of heated gloves just seems excessive to me. So, I was in Costco a couple of days ago and sure enough, they were selling heated ski gloves for $100.00. Thinking that they might be junk, I was hesitant to buy them. However knowing their return policy, I decided to go for it.
It would make me really happy to find out that they work well and I didn't have to spend Chateau Lafite Rothschild type money on them.
Will keep you updated.

Brand and model of the Costco ones?

 

[Scotty I.]

Brand and model of the Costco ones?

The brand name is Fieldsheer. Not a model number that I could find. They are nicely boxed.

 

[Steve]

I used the Outdoor Research Capstone gloves last season and was very happy with them. They've made some improvements in this year's model which will make them even better.

Before that it was chemical heaters and having to move them to my thumbs during lift rides.

The Capstones might be my favorite piece of gear these days.

 

[Noodler]

I like the Chaval electrically heated gloves or mittens. They have a self-adjusting thermostat and an all-day battery. Friends like the Outdoor Research electric gloves or mittens, and they carry an extra pair of batteries for the afternoon. The Chavals have a nice extra--during the recharge period there is heat inside the gloves to dry them. Chaval's early season sale: https://www.chavalusa.com/

As noted above, it's mainly about blood circulation. The brain needs to keep itself warm, so it draws warm blood to it at the expense of the extremities. Next in line are the vital internal organs in the body where the brain sends warm blood and cuts off flow to the extremities. Fingers and toes and hands and feet are expendable--we don't need all of them for survival. Try wearing more head insulation than you expect to need--an extra warm helmet liner or balaclava and your hood up over the helmet. Wear more body insulation than you think you'll need--an extra down vest or whatever works for you. See if this helps. Caffeine can have an effect on vascular flow, so try a morning without caffeine (no one said this would be easy) and try normal morning caffeine plus coffee or tea during rest breaks--see if it makes any difference for you.

Raynaud's disease is an extreme lack of blood flow to the extremities in the cold. If your hands are white when they're cold, consider it. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/raynauds-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20363571 More heat added to the affected areas with heat packs or electric source as well as more head & body insulation probably is the best route. For the cold thumb, try mittens big enough to wear warm wool or poly gloves (not thin liners) inside.

These Chaval gloves look fantastic. I guess I'll "suffer" through the season with my new OR heated gloves, but I'm putting these Chaval's on my radar for next season.

 

[Ogg]

The brand name is Fieldsheer. Not a model number that I could find. They are nicely boxed.

It looks they’re motorcycling gloves. I’m curious how waterproof they are.

 

[Talisman]

It looks they’re motorcycling gloves. I’m curious how waterproof they are.

I don't know about the Fieldsheer brand, but my wife has successfully used electrically heated motorcycle gloves for skiing for the past four seasons. Waterproof was not a concern, but it may be drier in MT.

 

[Ogg]

I don't know about the Fieldsheer brand, but my wife has successfully used electrically heated motorcycle gloves for skiing for the past four seasons. Waterproof was not a concern, but it may be drier in MT.

Yeah I have leather gloves that aren’t waterproof and they’re not a problem most of the time. It probably wouldn’t be wet if it’s cold enough to wear the heated ones anyway.