Cold Hands

[Dave Fritz]

I'm good to go with the ski pants and layered clothing but my hands get really cold. Has anyone tried heated gloves and if so, any recommendations?

[Paul F Franklin]

My wife and I have heated gloves that we got for walking the pup in really cold weather and they worked well enough. Don't remember the brand, but we bought them years ago from Cabela's and they are no longer available.
Things that I would look for:

Ability to recharge the battery without removing the battery from the gloves. Ours require the batteries to be removed to charge and while not a huge deal, it was a pain and seemed to be hard on the wiring to the batteries. Not sure if there are actually any brands that allow this. I would be hesitant to buy a model that uses non-rechargable batteries; I think you would burn through them fast.

Lithium Ion batteries for their high energy density, fast recharge, and lack of memory effect with frequent charge/discharge cycles. Downside of Lion batteries: they are less efficient the colder it gets, so the charge lasts for less time when it is really cold, and ironically, that is when you tend to use them on the highest setting and when you need them the most.

Removable batteries so if you need them for longer than a few hours you can swap out the batteries. Buying an extra set of batteries isn't a bad idea anyway, because like most "techy" things these days, models come and go and battery availability over the long term isn't guaranteed. We struggled to find new batteries for ours just a couple years after we first bought them.

We got the best results when we kept them inside instead of in the car in the cold garage, so they were warm to start with. And we turned them on a few minutes before heading out to give them a head start. They work better if they are just keeping your hands warm and not having to warm them up when already cold. In addition, the Lion batteries work best when they are warmer.

But probably the best way to avoid cold hands is to do some exercise before heading out to get your core warm.

Most of them seem to have hi-med-low settings. Nice, but I don't think we ever used anything but high because we only used them in colder weather.

[Jim Becker]

I have not used heated gloves, although I'm sure my hands would appreciate them if I had to be in the cold a lot. (That's not been an issue for years here, but this winter might be different due to the El Niño weather pattern that is now upon us) But what I do have is a pair of heavy mittens to use when I'm using the Big Orange Power Tool for clearing the driveway. Mittens are warmer for me due to their nature. Yes, not good for "detail work" where fingers are required, but for turning a steering wheel and operating the control stalk for the FEL, they do a fine job and my hands stay warmer that even with the heavy Thinsulate filled gloves I also happen to own.

[Edward Weber]

Glove liners do help
IMO the ones made from silk work best and are the thinnest.

[Kevin Jenness]

With cold hands due to neuropathy I wear mittens with Hot Hands chemical warmers. They do an adequate job, cost about $1 per package in quantity, take 10-15 minutes to warm up, last 4-6 hours and can be shut down and reused by putting in a ziploc bag. The heated gloves I have looked at were quite pricy.

[Warren Lake]

what did Cool Hand Luke do?

years back we took down a 90 foot spruce bent over a cottage. I ended up going into frostbite territory. That cause I walked down carrying my gear from the road no gloves on first of all so it set me up and not getting how truly cold it was. As I started working with gloves on pain started. I was unable to stop it, all kinds of colours and fingers had no feeling and were mush. My friend said put your hands on the chain saw exhaust. I went back and forth in gloves to mitts then back on the exhaust and after five minutes pain lowered. We were over half an hour from the nearest hospital but all worked out fine. Now though my fingers are not the same, super sensitive to the cold compared to before that.

[Jim Becker]

Glove liners do help
IMO the ones made from silk work best and are the thinnest.
True, but it's important that there is enough room in the outer gloves to accommodate them without making things tight. Without any airspace, it's kinda like a "thermal bridging" problem and one can less or little benefit from the liners. BTW, many of the glove liners make great "driving gloves", too.

[Edward Weber]

True, but it's important that there is enough room in the outer gloves to accommodate them without making things tight. Without any airspace, it's kinda like a "thermal bridging" problem and one can less or little benefit from the liners. BTW, many of the glove liners make great "driving gloves", too.

This is specifically why I stated that IMO the silk works best. It takes up almost no room inside a glove or mitten and is breathable. The "thermal bridging" or conduction is not realized.
No different than wearing long johns
They worked for me, YMMV

[John Stankus]

What I really need is a heated computer mouse. My office is about three doors down from an outside door, and when classes change the temperature drops 10 degrees (at least now when we are having this cold snap-San Antonio doesn't deal well with the temp in teens (or even the thirties :) ) But even when it is warmer my right hand gets colder than my left since I am using the mouse so much.

John



EDIT: After I posted I googled heated mouse, and low and behold such things exist. The ones I saw look like they heat where your palm goes, but its my fingers that get cold.

[Alan Lightstone]

What I really need is a heated computer mouse. My office is about three doors down from an outside door, and when classes change the temperature drops 10 degrees (at least now when we are having this cold snap-San Antonio doesn't deal well with the temp in teens (or even the thirties :) ) But even when it is warmer my right hand gets colder than my left since I am using the mouse so much.

John



EDIT: After I posted I googled heated mouse, and low and behold such things exist. The ones I saw look like they heat where your palm goes, but its my fingers that get cold.
I'm charging my cordless mouse now as I type. It's quite warm. So there's that...

[jared herbert]

My son has Renauds syndrome. He now has electric gloves and socks. It has changed his life

[Jim Becker]

This is specifically why I stated that IMO the silk works best. It takes up almost no room inside a glove or mitten and is breathable. The "thermal bridging" or conduction is not realized.
No different than wearing long johns
They worked for me, YMMV
Sorry, i missed the reference to silk. My bad...

[Bill Howatt]

Obviously, there is a range of sensitivity, reasons, etc why a person's hands are cold so we can eliminate on-size-fits-all right away.
My only comment is, if you haven't, try a pair of good mitts first and not the ones that have internal liners that keep fingers apart.
When I was a student, I had a summer job for a few years working in the ice-cream freezer of a large dairy and mitts were the thing we all used.

[Barry McFadden]

I bought a pair of KARBON gloves at Costco last year and they have been great.

[Kevin Jenness]

My son has Renauds syndrome. He now has electric gloves and socks. It has changed his life

Jared, do you have a source/link you can share?

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I also have Raynauds Syndrome, and have to wear heated gloves in spring and fall on the motorcycle. I saw the heated gloves today at Costco, but wasn't able to grab a pair (time).
I'm very wary of gloves when working with machinery.

[Terence McGee]

If you're looking at options, go for those with adjustable heat settings. This way, you can adjust it until you settle at the right temperature for you. Also check the battery life. Some can last for hours and if you're taking long walks, this is great for longer exposure to the cold.

Years ago, I've tried a pair from Outdoor Research. They're heated gloves with great insulation. They're a bit of a splurge, but if you're frequently in the cold, they're absolutely worth it.

[Barry McFadden]

If you're looking at options, go for those with adjustable heat settings. This way, you can adjust it until you settle at the right temperature for you. Also check the battery life. Some can last for hours and if you're taking long walks, this is great for longer exposure to the cold.

Years ago, I've tried a pair from Outdoor Research. They're heated gloves with great insulation. They're a bit of a splurge, but if you're frequently in the cold, they're absolutely worth it.

The gloves I mentioned at Costco have a low,medium and high setting and last from 6-4-2 hours.

[roger wiegand]

I hate to say it, but the heated steering wheel in my new car is the best thing since sliced bread.

[Tom Bender]

When snowblowing my hands are always on the cold handles. I tried mitts with liners. Can buy oversized but the thumbs are always cut the same, not room for enough liners.

A friend is outside a lot with horses. She wears heated gloves by Wasoto. I got a pair and they work pretty well. Well made too.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

When snowblowing my hands are always on the cold handles. I tried mitts with liners. Can buy oversized but the thumbs are always cut the same, not room for enough liners.

A friend is outside a lot with horses. She wears heated gloves by Wasoto. I got a pair and they work pretty well. Well made too.

Anyone remember the chain saw that Paul Harvey advertised? It had heated handles. It was supposed reduce your chances of getting some kind of disorder.

[Warren Lake]

lady friend had that. I think she was able to minimize it in some way but her fingers used to change colour right away in the cold. I took my starter motor out in the driveway last night it was -25C with the wind. Didnt make it more than a few minutes before the sting was too much. No feel and finger tips useless. No time pressure just come in and had the wood stove going. Could not wear gloves enough of a bother to be working on it and not have it on a hoist . Small area and one bolt not seen so longer to get a socket and extension onto it.

[Bill Howatt]

Working with metal objects like wrenches etc. is a real heat sink on the hands and fingers. When I was in high school I worked in my father's garage and cold was not usually too much of a problem since it was in the Vancouver BC area. Often cars were worked on outside. When I moved to Ontario, I quickly found out why the garages never had anybody working outside in the winter. I don't have a heated garage and I never bother trying to do work on the car myself in the winter.

[Paul F Franklin]

Anyone remember the chain saw that Paul Harvey advertised? It had heated handles. It was supposed reduce your chances of getting some kind of disorder.

My snow blower has heated handles. They help, but I still wear my heated gloves when using it if it's really cold, or especially if it's windy. Although, I didn't need to run the blower at all last year, and not so far this year either. We have a few inches on the ground now, enough to clear...but it will be back in the 40's next week so I probably won't bother.

[Ed Aumiller]

My son also has Renauds syndrome. He found that some (not all) motorcycle gloves also have heating elements in the fingers !!! Big help...
Also some gloves have connectors that can use the batteries that are used to charge your phone which makes getting spare batteries easier.
Sorry, do now know brands... Check with a good motorcycle dealer or snowmobile dealer...

[Alex Zeller]

I have heated gloves, socks, and a vest. The heated gloves work well but the battery only lasts a few hours on high. I've only used them twice now and I didn't charge them after the first use so I can't exactly say how long. I used them for a couple hours while clearing snow with my tractor. About 2 hours in I noticed that they shifted down from high to low and then just shut off. They use the same batteries as the socks (which are wonderful).

Like you both my hands and feet no longer do well in cold temps. After a half hour working outside with normal heavy gloves I can start feeling pain in my fingers when the temps are below 20. I doubt I would have bought anything heated if I had to pay full price but now I'm looking at a second set of gloves.

[Steve Demuth]

My wife was given heated gloves (with batteries) for Christmas a few years ago. She is a small, thin woman who does a lot of outdoor chores here in winter, and has always struggled to keep her hands and feet warm, and in addition has Reynaud's syndrome in her hands that is exacerbated by leukemia, make the cold hands problem worse. She absolutely loves the heated gloves. Says they have transformed being outdoors for her. I'm considering getting myself a pair, because as I age, I have started to have trouble keeping hands warm myself. Based on her experience, I'd highly recommend them.

[Terence McGee]

Appreciate you bringing those particular gloves to my attention! Costco isn't normally on my radar for that kind of specialized winter accessory but seems they have a compelling product.