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Thread: Warm mitts

  1. #1
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    Oct 2003
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    Warm mitts

    I am looking for something warmer than my BD Guide Gloves for when I am skiing in really cold temperatures. (Single digits or lower, Fahrenheit.) I was wearing the gloves in Big Sky the week leading to Christmas and was having serious issues with my fingers freezing. I will add a small liner (I have silk liners that I had forgotten) but I think mittens would have been awesome then. Mountain Hardware used to make a down mitten that seems to have been discontinued... What do yo guys like? Also, just because I am placing an order with Scott for some poles, I wonder if anybody has tried the Scott MTN Free WS Mitten (what a name!). It doesn't look super burly, and Scott does not list any temperature ratings on anything, but if someone has tried them, I'd like to know what you thought.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Mitts are way warmer than gloves, any day. Even regularly insulated ones. FWIW you should try your silk liners in some regular mitts before throwing down on expensive down mitts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Warm mitts

    I'm a mitten man!
    Have battled cold hands in just about every glove known to mankind incl Hestras, BD, OR and FTP. Now I just wear mittens in anything under about 30f and my hands are happy and warm. Currently use a couple of different pair Marmot mitts (randonee and old big mtn). Thin and warm. Dexterity ok but happily take em off for a minute if needed. Also have thicker bulkier bd mercury that I rarely use (low single digits F and below). I prefer mitts without the finger dividers inside - others may differ.

    Bottom line - just about any mitt is going to be warmer than even the best and most expensive gloves. Get some!
    And chances are pretty good that you wont really need a big bulky down insulated pair - any known brand with half decent insulation is going to be much warmer than a glove.

  5. #5
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    Sep 2010
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    Another fan of mitts here. Any set I have purchased are always double layered - some mix of g-Tex and leather shell with an insulated inner mitt. I usually save the inner mitt for the sub -25C days, and just use wool or synthetic liner gloves with the outer shell mitt as the weather dictates. Lots of options for well under $100 out there, currently using some generic MEC (Canuck REI) mitt.

  6. #6
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    CRASH!
    Daniel Ortega eats here.

  7. #7
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    the surgical glove thing really works...try it for those colder days
    (just don't try to take them off mid mountain...do that inside)

    box of latex or nitrile gloves is super cheap (worth a shot before laying down much bigger money on new mitts)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    Agree with all the above. I have found mittens to always be warmer, and more comfortable for me, than any gloves I've ever owned. To me there is nothing better than a nicely worn in mitten. Had a pair of Burton's that were all shearling inside that were the best I've ever had. Not a fan of the separate finger slots (defeats the point of a mitten?) those Burton's had separated fingers but after a season or two the broke in so nicely. Great in any temperature.

    Switched to Swany's when the Burton's gave up the ghost. They have been pretty good as far as temps go but a little disappointed in durability. They are showing their age more than I expected after 3 seasons but for the price I can't complain too much. Free the Powder gets lots of love in here. I am going to give the new RX mitts a try. The look like a quality mitt and I'd rather spend my money with them. http://www.freethepowder.com/collections/mittens

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Do you just get cold, or do you have Raynaud's syndrome? Google it if you're not sure, but simple version is it's a condition where temperature drops cause the capilaries in your fingers & toes to restrict, limiting blood flow, causing them to get white and cold. It's very difficult to warm them up then without external heat.

    I have that, and tried all sorts of thick gloves, mitts, and lobsters, none of which worked. On a whim, I tried a pair of the OR Lucent heated gloves because they were on sale on Black Friday, and they're fucking awesome. I can have my fingers go completely numb at a transition, put the gloves on and crank them to high, and in like 10 mins they're warm again. In the past if that happened, the only way to get them warm again would have been to either go into the lodge, or simultaneously sticking my bare hands in my armpits while blowing hot air into the mitts. Only downside is the batteries are kind of heavy, about 1 lb each.

  10. #10
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    Nov 2011
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    1lb each doesn't sound fun. What about those hand warmer things. Like a dollar or so each. The only time I've ever had to use them was this past Feb. when it was 10-20 below. Threw one in each mitt before going out and the heat was on!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    Search JONG; this has been covered before.

    The RBH VB mitt is the best I've found: http://www.rbhdesigns.com/category/1...9/handwear.htm

    Works for my mom with Raynauds. She uses the hybrid liner (for improved dexterity) and sometimes needs a chem pack for the morning but can discard after a few hours. Much improved from her previous down mitts that were barely warm enough with the chem pack all the time.
    "Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers

    photos

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Viva View Post
    CRASH!
    Hola, old friend. Life is good? Wearing warm mittens?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by auvgeek View Post
    Search JONG; this has been covered before.
    Amazingly, gear companies release new gloves and mittens every year. Prior coverage of the subject is not a good indication of what are good current models. I switched to gloves from mittens a long time ago and well, want to go back at least in some temperatures...

    Looked at your recommendation, thanks. I am not looking for a totally crazy warm, shapeless mitt. (Though pictures may be lying). Just something not too obnoxious. Also not a fan of double layer mittens (or gloves, except for my BD Guides which are very well made) with a big/insulated inner glove.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Crash View Post
    I was wearing the gloves in Big Sky the week leading to Christmas and was having serious issues with my fingers freezing.
    Yeah, it got cold that week.

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpnz View Post
    I'm a mitten man!
    Me too. Hestra Heli Mitts are my everyday mitt, I wear gloves only if it gets above 30F. When I first switched from gloves to mittens I hated the lack of dexterity. I got over that in half a day.
    "Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin

    "Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters

  15. #15
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    Shearling lined leather choppers with wool liners - GAME OVER.

    Maybe $50 tops?
    Last edited by axebiker; 01-12-2016 at 07:16 AM.
    Gravity. It's the law.

  16. #16
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    I have some 8000 meter mitts used 3 days in perfect condition. Red XL for $150 shipped
    I need to go to Utah.
    Utah?
    Yeah, Utah. It's wedged in between Wyoming and Nevada. You've seen pictures of it, right?

    So after 15 years we finally made it to Utah.....


    Thanks BCSAR and POWMOW Ski Patrol for rescues

    8, 17, 13, 18, 16, 18, 20, 19, 16, 24, 32, 35

    2021/2022 (13/15)

  17. #17
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    Colorado
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    Hestra Heli for cold weather when the vertical cuts can't keep my hands warm. On really cold days (< 0F) I picked up a pair of BD Mercury Mitts. My hands have NEVER gotten cold in these, but I will tell you they are not very dexterous and a pain in the ass if you want to to do anything other than hold a ski pole.

  18. #18
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    I have Dakine Rover mitts for when it get really cold. Gore-Tex + Insulation. Even on the coldest days my hands are dry and warm.

  19. #19
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    A hunting company with skier roots called First Lite is coming out with some mittens called the Grizzly. Not many details on the web right now but I've tried some early models on and they are going to be warm and awesome. Hopefully they'll have them in black.

  20. #20
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    make sure they are roomy- I don't think my hands are particularly big but I always need XL or XXL gloves/mittens to be warm. The airspace is key!

    I don't really understand standard glove sizing and charts- measuring my hand by the methods they recommend (circumference of hand)would put me in a medium but I can't even get my hand into a medium and larges are always too tight

  21. #21
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    Nov 2005
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    I recently bought some Hestra Army Leather Extreme Mitts and my hands are warm and happy even on the sub zero days. Dexterity, not so much.

  22. #22
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    I have these, they are silly warm:

    http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/mens-alti-mitts.html

  23. #23
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    Yeah, those are expedition mitts, IMO overkill above 0F. We have the OR Mt. Baker mitts, one step removed from those, use them only in really cold weather. Inner glove is a 5-fingered glove, which is nice or zippering, camera, etc.

    +1 to whomever suggested wearing a nitrile glove as a VB liner. Adds at least 10F, maybe 20F.

  24. #24
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    Dec 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by Big Steve View Post
    +1 to whomever suggested wearing a nitrile glove as a VB liner. Adds at least 10F, maybe 20F.
    Interesting.
    How well do those nitrile gloves work when you need to pull your hands out of your mittens and deal with skins, skis, edges, scrapers, dynafit toe pieces, &etc - do they get cut/shredded in <0F ? are they brittle out of the mitten in the cold?

    do you wear the nitrile inside a regular thin liner glove which then goes inside the mitten?

    can you work a phone touchscreen with them on?

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Big Steve View Post
    Yeah, those are expedition mitts, IMO overkill above 0F. We have the OR Mt. Baker mitts, one step removed from those, use them only in really cold weather. Inner glove is a 5-fingered glove, which is nice or zippering, camera, etc.

    +1 to whomever suggested wearing a nitrile glove as a VB liner. Adds at least 10F, maybe 20F.
    I have cold hands. I wear them from about 15f down. But he did ask for warm mitts!

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