Winter Gloves ... any recommendations ?

My own winter walking / climbing gloves are Mountain Equipment gauntlets, but not easy to pick up locally at the moment. Previously I used Dachstein mitts and Belstaff waxed over mitts, but I guess that's both old hat and very expensive these days.

Not sheepskin products, but is Decathlon Stockport within your reasonable travelling distance?
Only open for Click & Collect though, but they look to have a number of suitable contenders.

I think the link above will work, but if you search for gloves, pick the store-in stock only, and price high to low, there are some interesting options.
Not least the Simond Makalu down filled mitts , or something from the higher end of the Wedze or Forclaz range.

Bill

Thanks for the thoughts, Bill

The practical purchasing problem is, as mentioned earlier, that I have unusually long thumbs and really need to try-on gloves/mitts before I buy.

MichaelG.

Not a glove wearer but have done so in the last few days! Thinsulate (3M) - highly recommended!

The pair I have look like normal woollen gloves - and because of that not very effective but they are the best most effective gloves I've ever had.

Don't remember them being expensive either.

Alan

Thinsulate is fine when used for its design purpose .... thin apparel such as "dressy" gloves. If you don't need that, there are much better ways (as discussed here).

I don't use Thinsulate in a Canadian Winter.

Edited By Peter Greene on 15/02/2021 01:33:45

Electrically heated gloves and jackets. Not cheap but will keep you warm.

The gloves are made by Milwaukee and have a battery which is charged via a USB plug. The jacket shown is by Bosch, Markita, Milwaukee and uses the same battery as a cordless drill.

As I age I increasingly suffer from cold fingers. I have always been a keen walker and climber and, like Michael, I walk 6+ miles nearly every day.

I have tried 'thinsulate' gloves but was not favourably impressed; likewise battery-powered heated gloves (admittedly a budget pair).

In addition to walking I also indulge in archery which places a peculiar demand on gloves in cold weather!

I do not think that any single pair of gloves deals with all situations and hot, sweaty hands are nearly as bad as cold, aching fingers. I have found natural fibre - wool - suit me best. I most frequently use a thin pair of merino wool gloves supplemented, when necessary, by Dachstein mitts on top. When it is chucking it down I use Sealskinz waterproof gloves for walking poles.

I first used Dachsteins fifty years ago. I try 'modern' gloves but always revert! However, I have just looked uo the price of Dachsteins and received a shock. God forbid that they are now fashion items! I thought that they were the mark of old has-beens ...

I have used Buffalo Pertex/ fibre pile mitts for some years with every success. They are flexible and give reasonable manipulation ability. they are lightweight and showerproof warm when wet, and they dry while you watch. Buffalo are made in Sheffield and AFAIK don't have retail outlets so are well geared up for mail order and exchanges etc. There is a website.

Watch the sizing though. AFAIK Buffalo only make one range of mitts. So the Small fits a smallish child, the Medium fits a smallish female hand and the Large fits my small man's hand. They make sizes up to about XXXXL One good feature is that one can wear one size on top of the next smaller. So I wear Large in normal bad weather and put Extra Large in top in the worst weather.

I have also found that if I wear really warm clothing on the rest of me, my hands don't seem to get cold at all even without gloves, unless there is a very strong wind or freezing rain. So many jumpers and a thick woolly hat makes for warm hands - which is handy for manipulating things.

I have not had much success with Thinsulite. This seems to make thin dress gloves, OK in reasonable conditions around town or as inner gloves, but little use in real cold, wet or wind.

Rod

Edited By Rod Renshaw on 15/02/2021 11:45:27

I have found that 'thinsulate' and other types of gloves are too bulky. My preference is for a pair of shooting gloves, my favoured ones are a pair of Dents 'Classic Shooters' which are supple and well fitting. They are made from chamois leather with a silk inner lining. These types of gloves were issued to fighter pilots during WWII and I believe that Dents were the sole manufacturers of them.

Shooting gloves have the added bonus of a fold back 'trigger finger' - handy for using your phone when out and about. They come in left hand or right hand 'trigger finger' styles. Dents, being a old established business, do a made to measure service as well for people with 'unusual' digits. Expensive but will last a lifetime if looked after. I treat my gloves with a neats foot oil concoction to keep them water proof and supple.

What I also have as an added bonus is a charcoal fuelled hand warmer, again a shooting accessory that lasts for hours and is safe and cheap to run. Sits in a palm shaped tin and is easy to use.

Martin

Edited By Oily Rag on 15/02/2021 12:33:38

Thanks for the recent comments ... all greatly appreciated, and they will be ‘in the pot’ for when I am in a position to actually try-on some gloves or mitts.

Good news is that it was significantly warmer today, and my fingers were reasonably comfortable without gloves !

... I wonder what the freezing point of synovial fluid might be

MichaelG.

Going off piste a little - you may have a touch of Reynards to add to the grief. I get it two ways, peeling spuds from the fridge under the cold tap which gives me white fingers which only lasts 10 mins longer than the job and when I go walking and my body gets cold, this lasts a nearly an hour after getting somewhere warm. An extra jumper makes a big difference.

As a general point I prefer mittens with a water- & wind- proof surface to gloves; and very often my thumbs move in with the fingers next door for mutual warmth.

I concur with no hands in pockets, but I've found when wearing a sufficiently loose-fitting jacket or cagoule with sleeves long enough, the sleeves drawn down can be a surprisingly effective extra "wind-break" for the hands, when walking as normal (arms-down).

You could consider moving to Australia Michaell. After 14 days quarantine and a little jab the cold would be the least of your worries.

Lathe and mill parts are expensive but the locals are very friendly

* Danny *

.

Thanks for the thought, Danny

... but this title page haunts me

.

.

MichaelG.

This is the road sign to take heed of when driving in the bush Kangaroos.

Yuppies in Melbourne do not understand why my feral ford has a roo-bar fitted, but they never traveled in this great and vast country.

Michael , For what it's worth , l suffer similar problems to yourself and l have always been pleased with my Merino wool Sealskinz glove liners , which are frequently used on their own in mild/cold weather , and also their Extreme gloves .

Trevor.