I need warm gloves, any recommendations?

[Topher925]

Its December again and its freezing cold. I have about 6 pairs of gloves and they all suck. None of them are all that warm and the ones that are somewhat warm are very stiff and have poor dexterity. I mainly looking for a pair that I can use to go observing with my telescope out in the freezing cold. I know there are some other astronomers on here, what do you use? I'm literally willing to drop a buck fitty on a nice set of gloves right now.

 

[klimatos]

Its December again and its freezing cold. I have about 6 pairs of gloves and they all suck. None of them are all that warm and the ones that are somewhat warm are very stiff and have poor dexterity. I mainly looking for a pair that I can use to go observing with my telescope out in the freezing cold. I know there are some other astronomers on here, what do you use? I'm literally willing to drop a buck fitty on a nice set of gloves right now.

Unless you shop at Salvation Army, I don't know where you can get decent gloves for a buck-fifty!

I got an excellent pair of snowmobile gloves (Head) from Costco for about fifteen bucks. They're very warm, and you should be able to make adjustments to your telescope without much difficulty.

 

[turbo]

Watch out, Topher. I bought a nice pair of gloves at a big-box store a year back, and now I feel compelled to get my money's worth and use them, though they are crap. The problem is that they are "waterproof", and though I don't get wet down from the outside-in, I sure have a problem from the inside-out direction. I use them when clearing snow, and other cold-weather chores, but once you start exerting yourself in the cold, you will have to start sweating somewhere. For me, it is my hands. I hate the smell of sweaty gloves. They can't be turned inside-out properly for a good washing, either.

 

[turbo]

BTW, for astronomy, I would buy a pair of silk or soft cotton gloves and a pair of lined deerskin gloves to fit over them. You can remove the outer gloves to change EPs or make focus adjustments, etc, and slip them right back on. Deerskin is quite soft, and it will give you a good grip on smooth hard objects.

 

[rhody]

Topher,

Here you go a couple of choices for your star gazing, here and here. Electric battery gloves are cool. Like anything else, you get what you pay for, so, my recommendation is to forget the 29.95 $ thinsulate ones and move up to the next price range. BTW they decent heated vests are also available here. I know Gerbing is a good company, well established. I am pretty sure they will stand behind their products if there is a problem. Good luck.

Rhody...

 

[ArcanaNoir]

If you can spend some time with your hands in your packets, there's always... hearts for your hands! http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/9e29/?srp=1 :)

I feel you on the glove issue though. Darn hands being all cold all the time... just don't make hands like they used to...

 

[rootX]

I usually tuck my hands in the big arms of my winter jacket and it always works I don't like big gloves that won't let me do anything so I just have soft woolen gloves and I use them in as extreme cold as -20 C.

 

[arabianights]

i was at local mall a couple weeks ago to shop for a new pair of ski pants. and that store i went in has some marmot winter gloves hanging at the end section of purchase aisle . i tried one pair (Marmot Altitude Glove) on, they're very warm, i didn't buy them though

 

[lisab]

BTW, for astronomy, I would buy a pair of silk or soft cotton gloves and a pair of lined deerskin gloves to fit over them. You can remove the outer gloves to change EPs or make focus adjustments, etc, and slip them right back on. Deerskin is quite soft, and it will give you a good grip on smooth hard objects.

I've used tight latex gloves as a first layer - they work surprisingly well, at least short-term. Very little loss in dexterity, too.

 

[Drakkith]

How bout mitten gloves? The kind that are gloves than only go up past the first 2/3 of your fingers and then have a mitten that folds over them that you can simply fold back whenever you need to use your fingers.

 

[Kinase]

As a skier, I recommend Hestra gloves. They've been making gloves since well before I was born and they're great at it. The dexterity they provide is amazing too.
http://hestragloves.com/en/

 

[Topher925]

Mitten gloves don't work, I've already got three pairs. They're OK for warmth but one you take the mitten thing off they become useless.

I use nitrile gloves as liners and they work to an extent but they're not as good as latex.

The Hestra gloves look nice. I just found out there's a Moose Jaw really close to me so I'm going to check them out along with REI.

 

[navynuclear]

I use the Switchback gloves from REI. I have never had a problem with my hands being cold snowboarding in WA.
http://www.rei.com/product/825261/rei-switchback-gloves

 

[arabianights]

I use the Switchback gloves from REI. I have never had a problem with my hands being cold snowboarding in WA.
http://www.rei.com/product/825261/rei-switchback-gloves

i was at REI winter backpacking class on Wednesday, the instructor who's an experienced mountaineer, uses the exact same pair of gloves like this, completely waterproof with removable liners

 

[Danger]

How bout mitten gloves?

I thought about mentioning those, but I agree with Topher; they're as useless as tits on a nun.

My serious recommendation is to use decently dextrous gloves with a nice pair of snowmobile mittens over them.
Mitts are always better than gloves, but the two together covers the field. (The reason that mitts are superior for warmth is because they don't segregate the heat patterns of your fingers.)

 

[turbo]

I use the Switchback gloves from REI. I have never had a problem with my hands being cold snowboarding in WA.
http://www.rei.com/product/825261/rei-switchback-gloves

Nobody ever needs to experience cold hands while snowboarding. That's easy. There is not a lot of exertion involved there. Do you have to shovel a half-foot of snow off your driveway, clear the snow off a couple of vehicles, or do other strenuous stuff in cold weather? That's a whole other situation, and one that I have not yet found a perfect solution to. When I was a kid, the normal solution was to have a few pairs of gloves/mittens and when they got damp, run them back into the house to dry by the stove and go back out wearing a dry pair.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Deerskin is quite soft, and it will give you a good grip on smooth hard objects.

I made sure to let my girlfriend know about this

 

[Chi Meson]

I suggest a 2-layer glove system, I think that's what Turbo said first (He's in Maine: Listen to him re gloves).

A thin glove-liner is absolutely necessary if you need to do anything, even quickly. Without them, you take the big gloves off, and your hand begins freezing immediately. With liners, you get a 30-second, to 1-minute window of "oh that's not so bad."

Going to REI or another proper mountaineering outfitter is your best bet. Some gloves come with special pockets to put those chemical warmers. They saved my fingers once when another climber loaned them to me, just for 5 minutes, one January, on Mt. Washington.

 

[Drakkith]

Man, and I thought I was in the cold when it was 29 degrees out and I had to sit out with my telescope for 5 hours. I mean, that's like REALLY cold for me. Glad I'm in the south.