lowkick Loc: Connecticut

I hate the cold weather, primarily because my muscles react badly to it. That being said, I have sub zero boots, warm hat, a long, heavy jacket and earmuffs, but I have never found anything that works to keep my hands warm while I'm out trying to take pictures. I have glomitts that have pockets for chemical hand warmers. They do keep my hands warm, but I find them clumsy to wear while shooting. I have gloves with "caps" over the thumb and forefinger that you can remove and replace to have a more tactile experience when shooting. However, they are not warm below 32'. Do any of you have hand coverings that are both warm and allow reasonable use of your hands on cold days? What do you use or recommend?

KTJohnson Loc: Northern Michigan

It was -10 degrees here yesterday morning, so I know what you mean.

My best shot at it so far was to get a good pair of gloves from a local snowmobile store. They are just leather with a thin cotton liner, but they work pretty good.

I've found that anything with any kind of synthetic material is mostly worthless. They get cold quick below 20° and then just get colder.

Good luck.

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

When I was skiing (14 degrees) I used the boot warmers which are rechargeable battery packs clipped to the boot with a wire that ran to a warming pad in the sole of the boot. They worked great and the charge would last all day. For hands we used the chemical warming packs which again lasted all day, but they are not reuseable. You could look at the boot warmers and just run the wire up your sleave. They do have settings for the amount of warmth.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Thanks, Ill look into them.

Najataagihe

Get the battery-powered heated gloves designed for motorcyclists.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Thanks for your reply, but boots aren't my problem. I have warmers for gloves, but the gloves themselves are big and don't allow any dexterity. By the way, the chemical hand warmers can be reused until their effectiveness wears out. All you have to do is seal them in a baggy, removing as much air as possible. They are activated by exposure to air and, when you cut off the air supply, they stop emitting heat until you expose them to air again. For example, if the warmers have an 8 hour effective time and you use them for 4 hours, seal them in a baggy when you are done and you will still be able to use the remaining 4 hours.

tramsey Loc: Texas

Pack your bag and come to south Texas. You have to come all the way south to get the fifties and above. That's one reason I'm here another is the snow. We've been here since 1985 and it snowed once Christmas Day 2004. Great weather I can shot all day in shorts and tank top

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Believe me, I'd love to move south. But we have family up here, and some of it depends on me. Our kids and grandkids are all here. Our friends are here. Our life is here. In the cold, boring state of CT is where we will stay. We used to take about 5 weeks (most of Jan. and a half of Feb.) and go south each winter, but Covid has put an end to that for now. That used to mitigate the pain of winter for me.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I am communicating with yoy from CANADA . It's col up here. What's worse, is since the pandemic, most of my commercial work has been out-of-doors on construction, demolition, excavations and similar industrial sites. The work goes on through Winter. Last week I was out all day in -30 degrees C. + the wid factor.

So, this is what I have discovered over 2 Winter of doing this. You enter the body is affected by extreme cold but your extremities, the head and feet feel it the most. Thermal under he's because it helps maintain total body temperature. Furry or well-islulated gloves or mitts don't necessarily help unless the fur or insulation is in contact with your skin- that is where their action occurs. I fon that high-quality gloves with "Thinsulate (tm.) will prove good thermal action and flexibility. Battery-powered hand warmers and gloves will help as long as they are thin or flexible enough to operate the camera. I have a few pairs of theses- see link:

https://www.westonstore.com/products/heated-gloves?msclkid=2c2f5ba07294141a80d63a5322aca4a1

Here's another source that some of the construction guys has recommended to me:

https://www.edcmag.com/best-heated-gloves/

Pack the old Thermos bottle- soup works better than coffee- better nourishment and less caffeine keep you warmer!!


A good hat, muffler, sox, boots, and well-insulated help- the gloves will not work as well of those articles of cloth are insufficient for the ambient low temperature. temperature.

My relative in New York, not exactly a tropical paradise in Winter, thinks I live in an igloo so I had to post this cartoon.

Good luck with your winter shooting and I hope this helps!

MDI Mainer

I second the recommendation for gloves with Thinsulate as the best combination of warmth and dexterity. Was -9 to -11 Fahrenheit for several hours here yesterday, with a stiff breeze, which is bad along the Maine coast! Too much nasty air from Canada.

Laramie Loc: Tempe

Come to Arizona! (But don't stay, you'd hate the heat more)

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

83yrs old here In Missouri, I worked a good number of years outdoors and was able to dress for the weather and had trouble keeping my hands warm when shooting in below freezing weather as I aged I tried the hot pack gloves, gloves designed for firearms shooting etc.I finally found mittens designed for shooting, They are called mitten /gloves the tips are held in place by velcro and flip back freeing your fingers, with a little practice they worked very well for me.
Mittens are much warmer than gloves!!!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I live for winter. For 21 years I was a ski instructor in NY, MA and VT. Some days were brutally cold, -15°F real temp. This is what I arrived at - driven by experience and desire for comfort. Base layer of long underwear - either medium weight for temps down to +15° or expedition weight for colder. This was mainly to wick out moisture - so I had a head covering (balaclava), top, bottom, feet and hands covered with a wicking layer (thin for feet, hands and around the head).

A second layer to fight heat loss, was used on very cold days, usually Polartec 100 or 200. Then if I anticipated teaching beginners where I would be standing around - another warming layer to keep my core warm. And finally an unlined shell with a Gore-tex or Helly Hansen HellyTech inner layer for the top, and bib overalls made of the same material for the bottom. Finally, I would use a regular high-quality gauntlet ski glove or mitten/glove combo with the part covering the fingers was like a mitten, but it could flip back to expose gloved fingers. All upper body clothing had turtleneck head openings and the sleeves would be long and had thumb holes to prevent the sleeve riding up and exposing my wrists to cold. My neck had a fleece "neck gaitor" to keep my head warm. When skiing I wore a helmet with adjustable venting - kept my head warm. If there was a lot of wind, I would also wear a neoprene face mask to cover exposed flesh from just below my eyes to my neck. I would use a pair of wool socks on my feet - which together with the wicking sock layer would keep my feet warm and dry. I could be out for 4 hours at a time and I never felt cold.

I use a similar get up for winter photography, substituting a leather "Mad Bomber Hat" for the helmet.

Now for the rationale for so many layers and material choices. To keep warm it is critical stay dry. The wicking layer is critical, as is the Gore-tex or Helly-Tech breathable membrane on the outer shells. Keeping the face, neck and wrists covered is critically important because these areas are major areas of heat loss. Keeping the head, neck, wrists and core warm means more blood flow to the extremities. Keeping the multiple warming layers thinner is better than fewer thicker layers. If you get too warm/cold you can remove/add layers to adjust for comfort.

Finally, Hot Hands chemical warmers - my gloves have pockets over the knuckles to help keep hands warm, and a foot warmer adhered to the bottom of my socks completes the setup. These typically last 3-4 hours, and they are small and thin - easy enough to bring spares.

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John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

This isn't the solution to your problem, but might provide one.
The problem with gloves and mitts is that they LOSE heat. I'm going to suggest a different line of attack.

I do a lot cycling and paddling in the colder weather. And I use pogies. Essentially Pogies are large bags that the hands fit into. On my kayak they fit around the paddle shaft. On my bike they fit over the handlebar and enclose the brake lever and gear changer.

I have not seen a version specifically modelled for photography so my suggestion is clip a pair to a belt or pocket and keep hands warm inside, withdrawing when you want to take a photo, then slip them back in. When paddling I NEVER need gloves, when pdalling I'll often start out with gloves but will take them off after a couple of miles.

Paddling ones look the part, pedalling ones like like big bags - but both work better than any glove / mitt that I've tried.

I will admit that I've not tried them out on a 'slower' activity like walking - but I would imagine a thin silk inner glove just to keep the wind off the bare hands might add a little bonus.

Take a look at this U.K. site, I feel pretty confident that somewhere like R.E.I. would stock something of this nature.

http://www.hotpog.co.uk/

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

I would have taken some Z9 shots yesterday but my hands were sweating because of the winter here in Miami-86 degrees, unseasonable. However, I am heading to Tampa where the temperature is going to be in the low 30's and no warmer than the 40s. Ahhh we will both feel the same frigid pain!