Snow, cold, and Gloves - the good and the ugly

[Mrs Baggins]

I live in central Maryland and we had about 4" of snow overnight, so I had to shovel the driveway and sidewalks. Decided to try out the new gloves I bought last month - Seirus Windstopper/Weatherstopper. Within 10 minutes my fingers were not just cold, they were hideously painfully cold. I hadn't touched any snow, just the wood handle of the shovel. I got them off and found my old OR Windstoppers and put them on. Took about 3 minutes for my fingers to thaw and get snug and warm. I spent another HOUR our there shoveling and my fingers were quite comfy. The Seirus are going back to REI tomorrow. $45 to have my fingers nearly die - I don't think so.

Should add, it's also quite windy out there and the new gloves did nothing to stop the effects of that. "Windstopper" indeed.

[Raul Perez]

Roger that I had the exact same experience last year with these gloves at 20*F. More importantly these gloves failed me in the RAIN in the spring as they were soaked through.

I give these gloves an epic fail for an epic price.

[10-K]

Amazing... I have the same exact pair and never use them for the same reason.

I've switched to mittens with wool glove liners - never get cold fingers now!

[nitegaunt]

I really don't like cold hands, either. Got a pair of Columbia ski gloves for about 30 bucks at the local outfitter earlier this year and they are great. Lined with fleece seriously warm. I've walked with them several times this year and have to take them off once I start to warm up.

[Mrs Baggins]

I'll be posting a scathing review on the product on REI's website. I did read the reviews after I bought them (a mistake I don't usually make) and they did get bad reviews for the same reasons. But sometimes some people just can't be satisfied and the REI clerk told me "These are favorite gloves!" I am very very thankful that I did not wait until the 8 mile hike I'm doing on Saturday when the temps will be the low 30's.

[SouthMark]

Mrs B, I made the same mistake. My hands would freeze on just a morning walk with my dog in low 30's. I just bought them two weeks ago and was going to use them this Saturday at SORUCK for the hike. Would have been a BIG MISTAKE!

[jcazz]

I have a pair of the Serius Extreme I got them out of the returns "as is box" at EMS for $15, 2 years ago. I have used them for running and hiking with no problem teens-20*s they are too warm for >30* -i usually run at night through the winter. I will wear them out today in the "blizzard" -keep returning them -so i can buy them -all gloves that "breathe" wet out although the EVENT rain mitts look promising.

[Mags]

I've switched to mittens with wool glove liners - never get cold fingers now!

Ditto.

I was ski touring in -15F (that's NOT the windchill) over New Year's weekend and my hands were warm.

Simple and inexpensive. It also happens to be the best combo I've found.

[beartripper]

Do the mittens need to be waterproof? The Seirus gloves did not work for me.

[BrianLe]

There's a BPL thread along this line going lately. I think my own approach is a common one for cold weather: thin glove liners, then mittens, not gloves for an insulation layer, and then some sort of shell. I was just at a couple of outfitter stores and can attest that mittens are still harder to find, and often sold as part of a mitten plus mitten shell system. I think some of the OR brand combinations aren't bad if I recall correctly. I use rag wool mittens and MLD eVent shells most of the time, though for local, short trips I like a more durable mitten shell.

I wish there was more demand for mittens, so that as a result there were more options to select from! One can always go online and look; even there, gloves seem to far outweigh mittens, which seems to me to be just a user education issue. Thin gloves make sense; thick gloves don't give that much more useful dexterity than do mittens, IMO. Then there's the hybrid sort of lobster hand thing; I have no experience with those, I suppose that the utility is based on particular activity.

[gravityman]

Love my possum down gloves. Warmest gloves with fingers I've ever had, but just not that durable if you are doing a lot of hand work although fine for trekking poles. Also they seem to do really well in the wet conditions for some reason... much lighter than wool, although wool is a lot easier to get.

[nox]

I have those same gloves and they work great for me. When its cold and windy they definitely help me out. I keep a pair of mittens in my pack for when i'm not hiking or I get cold and need to thaw out a bit. They are water resistant, not waterproof. They breath well so my hands don't get clammy, which would make them colder. Overall I'm glad I bought mine. Bummer they don't work for you.

[hobbs]

I'll be posting a scathing review on the product on REI's website. I did read the reviews after I bought them (a mistake I don't usually make) and they did get bad reviews for the same reasons. But sometimes some people just can't be satisfied and the REI clerk told me "These are favorite gloves!" I am very very thankful that I did not wait until the 8 mile hike I'm doing on Saturday when the temps will be the low 30's.

Mrs Baggins it would also be hepful if you would be so kind as post one on trailspace as well please, Alot of people search for gear reviews and your personal opion as a hiker helps alot.... REI has truly starting to lose employee's who are testing the gear...Unfortunately...

[Jeepocachers]

Same thing happened to me last weekend with the same gloves. My fingers felt frozen just 5 minutes into my walk. I thought they would warm up after a bit, but they never did. I was so disappointed.

[Wags]

army surplus trigger finger mitts underneath some OR shells... those mitts are crazy warm...

mrs. baggins, perhaps type your review up in word, and then hit all the big online stores (rei, backcountry, altrec, campmor, etc) and just /paste. i don't ever shop rei so i'd miss your head's up...

[STICK]

I have a pair of the OR PL150 gloves I wear. I also have a pair of MLD eVENT mitts I can layer over them in times of fear of them wetting out. However, after the last few days, I am very impressed with the OR gloves. I played outside with the kids twice during the day for about 2 hours each time in the snow! I wore only these gloves on my hands and my hands were almost constantly in the snow. Making snow forts and snowmen as well as snowball fights. I dug all in the snow with these gloves and never noticed them being wet while wearing them, and my fingers never got cold. now when i took them off I could feel that they were wet on the outside. So, I brought them inside and they dried out in about 45 minutes. After the second time though I put them on the vents and they obviously dried out faster...

Anyway, I am very impressed with these gloves.

[Camping Dave]

Vapor barrier (really a sweat barrier) like latex gloves or rubber kitchen gloves, then gloves or mittens depending on what I want to do. VBs rock!

[BradMT]

I've got all the expensive gloves a man can find... my favorites are Chilly Grips with a thin liner. Have worn them as low as -27F and as long as I'm moving my hands have been fine. Remove the liner for less cold. They're cut fairly large and can accommodate a liner... get your normal glove size.

Simple, cheap, effective.

http://www.oxarc.com/desc.ydev?prod_id=14057

[Snowleopard]

For mild conditions, wear nothing or thin gloves.
On the left, single layer ragg wool mittens for medium temps, http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___92881
On the right, Dachstein (boiled wool) mittens for cold temps, http://www.sweatersintl.com/store/WoolGloves.html

For colder, windy or wet conditions, a Goretex shell mitten over the above.
For when it's cold and you're going to need to work a camera or other gear, always wear a thin polypro liner glove under everything.
For a day of xc skiing or snowshoeing in New England, I'd carry at least two pair of mittens because they get wet.
The Dachstein mittens are very warm, pretty windproof and work OK in the wet. Dachsteins make a great winter backup, but are too warm for xc skiing for me above 10F.

[gungho]

dang... must be tough shoveling in waist deep snow