Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

Warm gloves Bill, insulated...

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

When I was stationed in the Army up there in the 80s we were issued big oversized mitten shells with a nylon shell insulated mitten liner. I wore a thin pair of gloves inside the mitten liners.

Not sure what they are using these days, but those mittens were really warm - our major winter exercises were always in Dec or Jan in the interior, and trust me, it was cold.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

I check out fleece gloves many types and models out there.

At least in cold country.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

Well, she may have to wear mittens instead of gloves. But shooting a gun with mittens is out of the question

Anyway, I bought a set of these for my wife at Big Ray's, Fairbanks, but the leather is yellow color instead of black:
https://www.amazon.com/Womens-...id=1570997801&sr=8-7

Here is the one I got for my wife (more expensive at Amazon, but S&H is free):
http://gordini.com/gloves-mitt...omens-polar-ii-mitt/

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

Gloves or mittens with the little heat packs shoved in on the back of your hand

Mittens with a cord to hang around your neck. Then a good pair of insulated gore-Tex gloves when ready to shoot or grab something.

I had some of my fingers frostbitten as a kid. They start throbbing and hurting long before the rest of my hands and fingers.

A cold hand (your own) down the front of your pants helps in an emergency.

Good luck.

BH63

Especially important for my youngest daughter and me - we with have Raynaud's disease. Overreaction to cold in your fingers and toes!

Austin, I had Raynaud's for years and it finally just went away, along with those numb, blue fingertips.

I like the DAKINE Titan mitts. You wear a thin glove/liner inside and you can slip out of it quickly to use your fingers.

It’s not the best for off the grid, but there are now rechargeable battery gloves that snowmobilers and motorcyclists use.

I got some, and they work great as long as the battery holds out. I could hunt coyotes in -15 F with no issues here for 6 hours- not interior Alaska cold, but cold enough.

They are not the most durable items. The ones I brought from cabelas ran about $200 and one has stopped working, and they are only 3 years old.

But if you have that kind of problem, it might be worth a shot.

Living in Northern MN I have found that the following works pretty well.......super thin shooting gloves followed by a pair of wool fingers gloves or wool mittens and then a good mitten with an outer shell that blocks the wind.

When it's super cold, I may just try these......USB rechargeable hand warmers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Can you buy seal skin mittens or no because of the marine mammal act ?

They are not really made of seal skins.

You might want to check out gloves made by Refrigiwear. They make gloves for serious cold. They are fantastic.

Brett, I see that Celestron also sells a rechargeable handwarmer. Hear good reviews.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought I would ask here. I have a friend who suffered frostbite as a teenager, and her fingertips start to go numb when the outside temp gets much below 60. I know, that's a nice warm day in much of Alaska. But I figured those who hunt in cold conditions might know what the very best and latest technology has come up with to keep fingers warm.

When I was stationed in the Army up there in the 80s we were issued big oversized mitten shells with a nylon shell insulated mitten liner. I wore a thin pair of gloves inside the mitten liners.

Not sure what they are using these days, but those mittens were really warm - our major winter exercises were always in Dec or Jan in the interior, and trust me, it was cold.

Couldn’t agree more.
Sitting in the snow and it’s cold.....these work......Coleman’s Surplus has them new.

I’ve given a few as presents. I got a “Are you kidding? These are huge and klunky”

Then I’d get a text on a cold day”THESE ARE FREAKIN AWESOME!!!”

L.L. Bean down mittens. I've carried my rifle in subzero weather still hunting in cedar forests in the Adirondacks, can quickly swing on an animal while the mitten is caught under your left armpit. Hand is bare and warm on the safety and then trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
They are not really made of seal skins.

You might want to check out gloves made by Refrigiwear. They make gloves for serious cold. They are fantastic.

They are indeed seal skin, unless you buy one that is a sea otter that identifies as a seal.

It appears you are incorrect. As you can see on the website of the Company, they clearly state they are not made of seal skins.

https://www.sealskinz.com/customer#

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
They are not really made of seal skins.

You might want to check out gloves made by Refrigiwear. They make gloves for serious cold. They are fantastic.

They are indeed seal skin, unless you buy one that is a sea otter that identifies as a seal.

It appears you are incorrect. As you can see on the website of the Company, they clearly state they are not made of seal skins.

https://www.sealskinz.com/customer#

Larry, Milo is not referring to the "Sealskinz" brand of gloves. He is referring to gloves made from the actual skin of seals, which can often be obtained here in Alaska. I myself, am hoping to get a seal skin trapping hat this winter to use in our extreme cold conditions.

Josh

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
They are not really made of seal skins.

You might want to check out gloves made by Refrigiwear. They make gloves for serious cold. They are fantastic.

They are indeed seal skin, unless you buy one that is a sea otter that identifies as a seal.

It appears you are incorrect. As you can see on the website of the Company, they clearly state they are not made of seal skins.

https://www.sealskinz.com/customer#

Larry,

I have over mitts made from spotted seal by a Yu'Pik woman from Goodness Bay that I bought back in the 90's. There is nothing warmer. They come with a connecting cord and you wear light gloves under them and when you need your dexterity you simply flip the mitts over your shoulder.

Jim

Not sure exactly what kind of gloves your friend needs. Before synthetic gloves became widely available, I wore cotton hunting gloves. Unless they got wet, my hands kept warmish.

These days lots of choices. If your friend just needs basic gloves to keep warm, OR/Outdoor Research makes several types of gloves. Thin with touch pad friendly finger tips, which I wear all the time in winter; light and medium weight fleece gloves that are also good for every day, all day use. And of course heavy weight fleece and shell combo gloves and mittens suitable for mountaineering.

Not a glove - layers.

I prefer layering- a liner and then an outer glove. A lot of companies make a lightweight merino glove (I like Sitka), which are slightly thicker than liners and then a second pair of gloves as an outer. I also carry a pair of lined, insulated crabber gloves for the rain.

The merinos are quite warm on their own and are dexterous enough to shoot with.

A good set of mittens compared to a good set of gloves: A good or well designed mitten will always keep your hands warmer than a good or well designed glove. The reason for this is that in a set of mittens your fingers are next to each other, much like being inside a sleeping bag. The problem is that firing a gun while wearing a mitten is out of the question

Something else: I would never depend on gloves that require electric or chemical warmers to keep your fingers warm. However, having a few hand and foot warmers, in addition to good gloves or mittens, are an excellent idea when spending extended periods of time outdoors. I do this when photographing some of the dog sled races around Fairbanks.

Gloves have never worked to keep my hands warm in cold weather. Mittens are the only way to go, possibly with light gloves within.
Cal

I use Stormy Kromer Tough Mitts (wool outer layer, sherpa liner with goat skin palms) along with medium weight merino wool glove liner. They have worked well for me. I've never hunted AK but Have used them in SD and CO for deer and elk hunts.

Where do you get those Marino wool liner gloves,anyond got a email or web page for them..

Ray, I got my Smartwool merino wool glove liners from Amazon. I believe they still carry them.

Whatever one decides to wear, bring 2 pair. Wear one and shove the other in the front of yer pants. Switch as needed. As boys we got a lil frosty, so much so we couldn’t unwire the gate we ourselves had wired. Ran across country to the house and writhed in agony on the floor. Also when on a quad or snowmobile use the exhaust from muffler for quick heat.

my wife made a pair of mittens with the cord around the neck in black bear skin and fleece. they re really warm for the weather we have in yukon but alaska it colder so i cant say lol . we always say we live in the tropic of the north here lol ..

Each to their own. I have hunted in minus 50 deg F in northern Manitoba. Leather mitten outers with pure wool liners. A thin glove under that. One of the best thin gloves are golf gloves. If it gets colder than that I'm staying home.Another good mitt is the Canadian military extreme cold mitts. The mitts have leather palms with nylon uppers and wool felt liners. You can occasionally find surplus ones in good condition or find them new online

As you age, keeping warm gets harder and harder, apparently your arteries reach a point therein the don't open and close and Hypothermia is the killer...One of my doctor clients explained all this to me in medical terms, basically their is no cure, its just part of aging and damn dangerous, too man people ignore the symptons of teeth chatter, shakes, and inability to stop..get to the car and turn the heater on or into a warm room.its serious..Hunters die I Idaho every year apparently and are not found until spring.

Cold hands with thick warm type gloves is a early clue of the feature according to doc. My hands stay cold with most any glove.

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:

Absolutely, you can buy seal skin handicraft.
Best best is to purchase in a village with cash in hand. I have used seal skin mittens but do not own any.

I do have a seal skin hat, paid $200 for it in Shishmaref. Very good price. Problem is, that it is seldom cold enough to actually wear it.

I am all about a super warm hat. Do you, or anyone else know of a place online or a phone number for a local vendor I may contact to order a Seal Skin hat ? Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Cold Zero:

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:

Absolutely, you can buy seal skin handicraft.
Best best is to purchase in a village with cash in hand. I have used seal skin mittens but do not own any.

I do have a seal skin hat, paid $200 for it in Shishmaref. Very good price. Problem is, that it is seldom cold enough to actually wear it.

I am all about a super warm hat. Do you, or anyone else know of a place online or a phone number for a local vendor I may contact to order a Seal Skin hat ? Thanks.

A little late for this winter, but if you're in Anchorage the week before the Iditarod (during the Fur Rondy), go to the Dimond Mall. The mall corridors will be filled with Native folks selling crafts for a lot cheaper than the stores down town. That's where I bought my seal/sea otter hat. Never done it, but I hear folks sell stuff in the parking lot of the Native Hospital on the weekends (Anchorage).

Yes, Fur Rondy is amazing and so are the items and furs. Then there's the running of the reindeer....... Ice sculpters-amazing! I believe that it usually occurs during the very last week of February through the first week/weekend in March. If you're in Anchorage at that time-don't miss it! It's free as I recall.

I too have frostbitten fingers in the past. Feels like I hit my fingertips with a hammer after they get cold.
I wear fleece gloves inside of a leather gauntlet type mitten. Inside the fleece gloves, on the back part of my hand, I put a "Hottie" hand warmer. Just that little bit of heat when it's very cold makes all the difference.

quote:

Originally posted by dian1:
I too have frostbitten fingers in the past. Feels like I hit my fingertips with a hammer after they get cold.
I wear fleece gloves inside of a leather gauntlet type mitten. Inside the fleece gloves, on the back part of my hand, I put a "Hottie" hand warmer. Just that little bit of heat when it's very cold makes all the difference.

Years ago my hunting friends an I started using fleece liners inside our sleeping bags. My wife sewed the liner for my bag like this: folded the fleece material in half, sewed the bottom to close the area like a sock on my feet, then up about knee high and stopped there. The rest of this liner is open since you don't want a zipper in there. Just sew the liner around the bottom to about knee high, with an upper body that is roomy enough to cover you chest with plenty of room left (remember no zipper on your upper body, just two flaps or sides like a blanket). You won't believe how much warmer you will be inside your sleeping bag. A thin layer of fleece is all you need, because heavy fleece material is just too hot and will make you sweat. I only use the liner when it's below freezing and don't have a heater in my tent.

Outdoor research mittens are the catz azz. They are pricey, but very warm with extended cuffs. -20 in MT proved their worth.

King of the Mountain wool gloves out of Wyoming. Pricey but well worth it.

Light pair of pure silk gloves and then seal skin or caribou mitts.

I use Hestra Hunters Gauntlets when it's very cold in the Scottish Mountains or in the Alps. Sometimes with a pair of slik liners on under neath. Our biggest problem is that it is often only a few degrees below so its damp and wet.

https://hestragloves.com/sport...-gauntlet-czone/861/