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?

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.

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!

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?