Hi Guys

I just returned from a caribou hunt in northern Quebec.  I've always struggled with ways of keeping my hands from freezing. Some people seem more prone to this than others, and I guess I'm one of the susceptible ones....  I think I finally found something that works.

Cold weather can turn hands numb.  Numb hands don't work, and simple tasks, like lighting a fire, become very difficult. Keeping your hands 'functional' is critical.  I've long used huge snowmobile mittens, and these work well.  The issue is dexterity:  You need to remove the mitten for some tasks, and in the minute or two without cover, your hands freeze and seemingly never recover.

This time, on this trip, I found something that works:  The same old huge snowmobile mittens, with ultra thin liner gloves.  The liner gloves offer some protection when the hand is removed, and 'recovering' from a couple minute exposure was easier.  We had some extreme weather (Wind chills down into the -50's) and the liner gloves were a dramatic improvement.

Oh, and by the way, a butane lighter seems useless at those temps.  They burn really low for a second and die out.

Fro

Here's why your butane lighter fizzles out...

Been discussed here many times.  Keep it next to your body and warm.

I have always kept what I call my "driving" gloves around in winter time. They are simple, light duty cotton work gloves. They take that little bit of chill off doing quick things, or for when the steering wheel is ice friggin cold. I keep them in my jacket pocket.

I have some hand made Big old Gauntlet mitts Out is made from Caribou and the liner is made from That super-duper thermal fleece They ARE WAY to HOT.   All  hand cut sewn and  I love them


Thanks MOM

When I did land surveying we worked all winter and regardless of the temps or weather.  You needed fine dexterity to run the total station but when working out int he wind motionless for hours it could be problematic.  I finally ended up using thin wool or polypropylene gloves beneath mittens or GI type trigger finger shells.  You just shucked the shells off when you needed to revert to gloves for fine work. If it was super cold you could get by with the index finger and thumb while using the trigger finger shells with the gloves.  Another big help was having a coat with hand warmer pockets that you could quickly stick a gloved hand into to warm up in downtime.   Carry extra liner gloves in case they get soaked with sweat or snow.

Another trick from back in the football days was to wear nitrile gloves under your gloves. they keep the wind out and do a lot more than you would think.

I've always worn the GI wool inserts with the fingers cut off for winter hunting.  The following trick has always worked for me.

Buy a pair of cheap tube socks.

Cut two holes in the end.  One hole for your fingers, one for your thumb.

Put the socks on your hands and pull them all the way up.

Put the wool inserts on over them.

This works because it keeps the blood in your wrist warm.  This is the key to having warm fingers.  If it is windy or extremely cold a hand warmer placed inside the sock on the wrist will warm your hands.

My hands get cold very easily.  When we were kids we'd play in the snow.  When our fingers and toes went numb we ignored it.  When we couldn't feel anything below our wrists or knees it was time to go in.  Now later in life I'm paying for all that mild frostbite I got when I was young.

Thin liner gloves are great. A hand warmer is nice too inside that mitten, why not? And the click it reusable heatwarmers are the tits. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/677996_Personal_heating_solution.html

Butane follows the laws of physics. Too cold and there's no vapor pressure. It's boiling point is only around 0° C. Below that it stays liquid. Ergo, you'll need to keep it near your body to stay warm.

I do a lot of snowmachining (snowmobiling) and dog mushing in the worst Alaska has to offer, and the best hand protection I've come up with is a pair of fleece gloves(I like Heatrac brand) with large beaver fur over mitts. This is, in my experience, the most effective system for extreme cold and wind. My hands stay toasty to -60f and beyond.