Cold Hands

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pilgrim

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Saturday was a beautiful day for a little winter tune-up hike to Kearsarge North, during which I was reminded that I need better mittens for my chronically cold hands. Does anybody know where I can buy Dachstein or Ortovox boiled wool mittens, or equivalent?
 
DougPaul said:
Thanks, Doug, did that before posting. Campmor doesn't carry them any more, nor, it seems, does anybody else.

DougPaul said:
Also hands and feet are kept warm by excess body heat, thus the standard advice "if your feet [or hands] are cold, put on a hat" (even if your head does not feel cold). Additional body insulation can help, too.
I'm aware of that. My hands are particularly sensitive because of cold damage done a long time ago, and it's not getting any better.
 
I have a heavy pair of Charlet Moser wool gloves that are awesome, but I can't find them listed anywhere. Petzl Charlet doesn't work either. I carry these, cheap rag wool gloves and army surplus wool shooting mittens in winter (along with a waterproof shell I rarely use). I think wool has been overlooked as retailers seek to sell fancier, more expensive gear that does not work as well.
 
There are some old threads about this, but if you search for hand warmers here or elsewhere, you will find lots of info. Toes warmers are great too. In spite of DP's maxim, I kept my hat on this past weekend and still had very cold hands and feet. I have a moderate case of Raynaud's syndrome, so I try to be careful not to make it worse.

That reminds me, I was going to start a thread about re-using hand warmers! :D
 
Tom Rankin said:
There are some old threads about this, but if you search for hand warmers here or elsewhere, you will find lots of info.
I've been using hand warmers for a long time. I now buy the Little Hotties brand in bulk at Costco. The packaging is better than the more commonly available Grabber Mycoal brand, which I have never been able to open without tools or teeth.
 
pilgrim said:
I've been using hand warmers for a long time. I now buy the Little Hotties brand in bulk at Costco. The packaging is better than the more commonly available Grabber Mycoal brand, which I have never been able to open without tools or teeth.
Agreed! :mad: Your hands are numb and you're fumbling with a bag that you can not open! :eek:

Hmmm, maybe I should just repackage all my hand warmers before I ever start out! :D (See other thread)
 
pilgrim said:
Campmor doesn't carry them any more, nor, it seems, does anybody else.
Too bad--Dachsteins are great mittens.

I tried another search--this time on "boiled wool mittens" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=boiled+wool+mittens&btnG=Google+Search and came up with an article on how to make them yourself from cast-off wool sweaters: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/evangelista84.html

I guess that leaves fleece liners and shells or expedition mittens.

FWIW, I use wind-blocking fleece gloves most of the time (hiking or skiing). (I have fairly warm hands, so they may not be adequate for you.) You might try wind-blocking fleece mittens if you wish to avoid using a shell over some temp range.

Doug
 
One thing that I forgot when I did my other rants was keeping your hands dry.

I try extremely hard to not let snow stick to my gloves. I try not to touch anything that would get snow on my gloves. I wear mitten/glove combos so I can vent excess heat/sweat from my hands. If my hands or gloves get wet, I usually need to start using hand warmers immediately or switch gloves.

Along with this goes the extremely simple solution of bringing multiple pairs of gloves. I bring up to 6 pairs with me of all shapes, sizes and thicknesses.
 
Pilgrim -

Dachstein is sometimes referred to as "Himalayan", so a Google search on Himalayan socks turned up this along with other hits.

You might also call Climb High in Shelburne to see if they have anything. They were purchased a few years ago by Mammut, so their whole line has changed, but they sometimes still have stock in their warehouse.

Hope this helps.

Kevin
 
Fleece gloves stay home

Tom Rankin said:
One thing that I forgot when I did my other rants was keeping your hands dry.

I try extremely hard to not let snow stick to my gloves. I try not to touch anything that would get snow on my gloves. I wear mitten/glove combos so I can vent excess heat/sweat from my hands. If my hands or gloves get wet, I usually need to start using hand warmers immediately or switch gloves.

Along with this goes the extremely simple solution of bringing multiple pairs of gloves. I bring up to 6 pairs with me of all shapes, sizes and thicknesses.
I no longer carry any fleece gloves in winter. Between sweat, water, snow, gear, ice, etc. it's nearly impossible to keep fleece dry for long.
 
I've been thinking about getting a pair myself. I found a pair of Ortovox McKinley mitts here:

http://www.wildernessexchangeunlimited.com/products/apparelaccessories.html

(Scroll down the page.) The good news is that their on sale for $19.99. The bad news is S/H is $10 and there is a 20% restocking fee, plus they come in strange sizes (6.5, 7.0, 7.5, ...9.5). When I called to ask about the sizing, the person I spoke to was no help. Anybody know what these number corrospond to? Wrist to fingertip? Hand circumference?

John
 
LOL - I never noticed it until you pointed it out Tom. And only my second post here at VFFT. I better be careful or I'm going to get a bad reputation.

:eek:
 
I wish you the best of luck dealing with this.
I have had cold hands for years and as I get older they seem to get even more sensitive. I have Raynaud's and I noticed that my entire body is more sensitive to cold now. Lots of layering and I always wear a hat.
I bought a nice pair of Black Diamond well insulated gloves thinking they would be good for the "transition"season. Had them on in So NH last week for Bernie's 2 hr class. It took an hour for my hands to start to freeze up. Wore them again next class with hand warmers and they were OK. Temps in the 20-30's.
I normally wear only Black Diamond's best mitten and also the very thick fleece with gortex overmitts. I NEED handwarmers in both 95% of the time.
I almost didn't get accepted to my winter Outward Bound course in MN in 03 but I did convince them that I knew how to handle the problem. We used "choppers" and I made sure that I had hand warmers in 24/07. My hands were always moving on the course so that helped a lot keeping them warm.
It's really a lot of trial and error to see what the best systems are for you under a variety of different conditions. Hand warmers have really saved me because I could do next to nothing outside in those cold winter winter months without them.
 
Maddy said:
Hand warmers have really saved me because I could do next to nothing outside in those cold winter winter months without them.
Sounds like you have hands like mine. I no longer wait until my hands are getting cold; I start hikes with hand warmers now.

Updates:

Ortovox has a website. They list the products in which I am interested under Classic Wool, but no retailers. Their US office is just outside Concord. I sent them an email, to which they have not yet responded.

DougPaul said:
I tried another search--this time on "boiled wool mittens"...and came up with an article on how to make them yourself from cast-off wool sweaters...
Further research on my part turned up some BBS chatter with other DIY options. Some suggest buying ordinary wool mittens (6 bucks at Campmor) oversize and boiling them 2-10 minutes. One person suggested letting them cool a bit and wearing them dry, sort of a custom fit.

Others say that the same effect can be achieved by washing them in hot water and running them through the dryer.
 
Or ... you could just buy the Dachsteins which was your original request via the link I cited above ;)
 
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