Post by leadbelly on Nov 1, 2023 10:29:03 GMT -8
Setting aside hiking/climbing in super-cold weather, pretty specialized (I wear a pair of Outdoor Research Alti-Mitts and Black Diamond guide gloves for that), what have you been wearing to keep your hands warm? my current stuff, from warm to not-so-warm:
-Black Diamond Soloist gloves: pretty capable as an all-winter glove. Arguably a step down in durability and warmth from their Guide Glove, which I use in very cold weather. dexterity isn't great, but the fingers are really well-insulated.
-Hestra Army Leather Heli 3-finger: picked these up on super-sale years ago. The liners were deficient, but Hestra sells a good primaloft liner. Not waterproof so need to be treated regularly. pretty warm with the replacement liner, but lack of finger and thumb articulation, and a perpetually cold index finger, relegated these to backup or lending status.
-Dachstein boiled wool mittens: thick, very tightly-knit wool mitts. Very little stretch to the knit, sized to fit over a liner glove. In really cold weather, they benefit from wearing under a shell mitt. Old school. I wear these 'around' quite a bit in cold weather.
-Kinco pigskin ski glove: reasonably warm, super-durable, great value for the price. Treat them liberally with leather conditioner, both to make them more water-resistant and to soften the leather, which is not very forgiving. Took a while for my fingers to have much mobility in these, and when the leather wasn't as well-conditioned, my fingers felt a little confined & therefore a tad cold sometimes; these have improved with age and use. A warm work glove, another one that I wear in general use quite a bit.
-Give'r classic: a leather work glove in the Kinco mold, moderately warm, sized to wear a glove insert & extend the temperature range. The leather is much more forgiving than pig leather. Another one that benefits from periodic conditioning (I use Obenauf's heavy duty LP).
liners, I've had a series of lightweight fleece gloves from various sources - black diamond, patagonia, mountain hardwear. current pair is patagonia, i like that they have a sizeable loop to clip to a carabiner or S hook.
en route: Kinco Hydroflector Lined Water Resistant Premium Buffalo Mitts (wow, that's a mouthful). Another outstanding price for function purchase from this company, hopefully. Added benefit, there is an overlap opening in the leather, back of the hand, where you can insert a chemical heat pack. Figure these will be useful this winter, and hoping the buffalo leather is more forgiving than pig leather but still durable.
used in the past: Eddie Bauer/First Ascent Guide Gloves - a decent glove, could be warmer, and I felt the insulated compacted and compromised the warmth sooner than I would have liked. Price has escalated a lot over the years, these retail for nearly $200 - $300 if you buy the battery-powered heated version, which I haven't tried, but 4 1/2 hour battery life? seems like a mistake for a cold backcountry trip, fine for day-skiing. Buy them on one of Bauer's 40% off sales if you don't need a great deal of warmth, they're a fine glove, but not at full price. Marmot light guide glove - pretty durable leather, but barely warmer than an unlined leather work glove. in that context, also overpriced/underperforming. REI Switchback mitts - I used these so many years ago that they bore little resemblance to the model REI sells today. shells on mine weren't gore tex like today; they had a good removable liner, some sort of synthetic palm that was a bit slippery in cold weather. a good basic mitt.
-Black Diamond Soloist gloves: pretty capable as an all-winter glove. Arguably a step down in durability and warmth from their Guide Glove, which I use in very cold weather. dexterity isn't great, but the fingers are really well-insulated.
-Hestra Army Leather Heli 3-finger: picked these up on super-sale years ago. The liners were deficient, but Hestra sells a good primaloft liner. Not waterproof so need to be treated regularly. pretty warm with the replacement liner, but lack of finger and thumb articulation, and a perpetually cold index finger, relegated these to backup or lending status.
-Dachstein boiled wool mittens: thick, very tightly-knit wool mitts. Very little stretch to the knit, sized to fit over a liner glove. In really cold weather, they benefit from wearing under a shell mitt. Old school. I wear these 'around' quite a bit in cold weather.
-Kinco pigskin ski glove: reasonably warm, super-durable, great value for the price. Treat them liberally with leather conditioner, both to make them more water-resistant and to soften the leather, which is not very forgiving. Took a while for my fingers to have much mobility in these, and when the leather wasn't as well-conditioned, my fingers felt a little confined & therefore a tad cold sometimes; these have improved with age and use. A warm work glove, another one that I wear in general use quite a bit.
-Give'r classic: a leather work glove in the Kinco mold, moderately warm, sized to wear a glove insert & extend the temperature range. The leather is much more forgiving than pig leather. Another one that benefits from periodic conditioning (I use Obenauf's heavy duty LP).
liners, I've had a series of lightweight fleece gloves from various sources - black diamond, patagonia, mountain hardwear. current pair is patagonia, i like that they have a sizeable loop to clip to a carabiner or S hook.
en route: Kinco Hydroflector Lined Water Resistant Premium Buffalo Mitts (wow, that's a mouthful). Another outstanding price for function purchase from this company, hopefully. Added benefit, there is an overlap opening in the leather, back of the hand, where you can insert a chemical heat pack. Figure these will be useful this winter, and hoping the buffalo leather is more forgiving than pig leather but still durable.
used in the past: Eddie Bauer/First Ascent Guide Gloves - a decent glove, could be warmer, and I felt the insulated compacted and compromised the warmth sooner than I would have liked. Price has escalated a lot over the years, these retail for nearly $200 - $300 if you buy the battery-powered heated version, which I haven't tried, but 4 1/2 hour battery life? seems like a mistake for a cold backcountry trip, fine for day-skiing. Buy them on one of Bauer's 40% off sales if you don't need a great deal of warmth, they're a fine glove, but not at full price. Marmot light guide glove - pretty durable leather, but barely warmer than an unlined leather work glove. in that context, also overpriced/underperforming. REI Switchback mitts - I used these so many years ago that they bore little resemblance to the model REI sells today. shells on mine weren't gore tex like today; they had a good removable liner, some sort of synthetic palm that was a bit slippery in cold weather. a good basic mitt.
