Cold Weather Shooting Gloves

The short eared and snowy owls have just started showing up and I know that soon I'll be prying frozen fingers from around my D2Xs body after hours out in the marsh.

For the past two years I've worn Lowpro gloves and while they are comfortable and great at gripping, they are horrible when it comes to keeping my hands warm.

I've tried various Kayaking gloves, cheap old jersey gloves from Hom Depot with the little rubber nubbies on them (they are actually the best as they to a tad better job of blocking to wind....but there must be a better solution somewhere.

Suggestions, short of buying big klutzy mittens or gloves with fingertips exposed?

Thanks in advance

Jim Fenton

www.pbase.com/soonipi1957

Some ideas - wear a light pair of polypro or silk gloves under heavier ski type gloves so you can take the heavy one off and have only the lighter ones on when shooting. I find I don't often take my left glove off. Also, you might try some of those chemical hand warmer packs. Some gloves have a pouch to slip them into, or you can put them in your pocket and slip your hands in when not shooting to keep them warm while waiting for the next shot.

I'm with Keith. I have heavy gloves/mittens with light liners underneath, and almost never take off my left hand glove. I just wear the cheapest stretch synthetic fabric gloves I can find underneath, usually costing about $1. When not actually shooting or poised to shoot, the right hand is in my pocket, where there's a hand-warmer. Also, the wool glove/mittnes with the flipover mitt, which leaves the fingers exposed when it's open and covered when it's closed, usually have plenty of room in the mitt for a chemical hand warmer. So in truly cold weather I can wear the light liners, the wool flipovers over them with the hand warmer in the mitts, and can flip over the right hand one to expose my fingers when it's time to shoot.

In really cold weather (--20) I wear the liner glove on my "shooting" hand while taking the photo. Otherwise I wear some really nice Thinsulate gloves made for duckhunters that aren't bulky and are water proof. Any hunting supply store, such as www.cabelas.com, will also have heavy gloves that you can open the palm and stick your fingers out of. They also have very warm gloves with a built in trigger finger that works well for pushing the shutter button (but not the tiny little buttons.) To push tiny buttons consider using a stylus or something while wearing gloves.

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Kent in SD

I concur with above, a glove system is the best way to go, and has kept me shooting in some rediculasly cold and windy weather. I go with a thin polypro liner, followed by an OR PL 150 fleece liner. These two are thin enough to shoot through. I then wear a Coulier glove from OR, and on really cold days, an overmitt on my left hand.

Other ways to keep your hands warm when shooting...insulate your tripod and camera grip. It's amazing how fast conduction through the metal robs your hands of heat, and pipe insulation around the tripod legs, and a foam secured over the camera grip really makes a difference.

Stay warm,
Jim

My choice is a wool or polypro glove liner first. And then add a fingerless wool fishing glove over the liner. This works very well for moderate cold. When it gets real cold I keep the liner and add a fingerless glove mitten combo. That way you can keep your finger covered with the mitten end and when ready to shoot photos flip open the mitten your hands and finger are still covered with the finger tips exposed with only the liner still covering them. With this combo you can keep your hand warm and have your finger free when need to work your camera. I have used that combo for years of late season hunting and fishing. And in now works great for photo shooting. Keeps your hands toasty and gives you freedom to work your camera. As Kent stated, Calelas has a large selection of glove mitten combos to choose from if you can’t find them at a local sporting goods store.
MK

I use a fingerless glove with a mitten cover that folds back. Used as intended it exposes all the fingertips which is OK when it just cold. If it's bitterly cold, add a liner and only expose the index fingertip when pressing the shutter and then retreat to the warm again The gloves I used to use had a windproof fake-suede outer which was great against my face too, but I lost one so now I use some wool ones that are lined with Thinsulate. Available at a local surplus store for about $15 CAD and they work very well. Hunter supply places would be the logical place to try I think. Good luck.

These are the polypro liners we are talking about. They are thin, like a dress sock, and it's easy to manipulate most camera buttons while wearing them. They are effective enough to keep your hand from getting frostbite for 10--30 minutes, depending on how cold it is and how hard the wind is blowing. They don't take up much room so I keep a pair in the pockets of all my winter coats. They won't take the place of really warm waterproof gloves, but for the length of time it takes to get a shot off they are perfect.

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I once was out on a frozen lake in a stiff wind, temps was around zero (F). I was using a medium format camera and it took me about 5-10 minutes to focus and set exposure. My bare hands became so frozen I couldn't move them. I had difficulty starting my truck. After ~20 minutes of warming in my truck, my hand began to hurt. I mean REALLY hurt! It took them the rest of the day to regain full movement. Ever since then, I don't go barehanded in low temps with a high wind.


Kent in SD

I'm with Ed on the fingerless ones with the fold back mitten covers. Like everyone else it seems, they're part of a system for me, with polypro liners beneath. For the ultimate comfort, buy some of the little disposable hand warmers. I get them for a buck a pair around here, and they stay toasty for 8-10 hours. Really toasty! Instructions suggest putting them in the gloves on the backs of your hands, but I like them better in the palms where I can curl my fingers and grip them for a quick rewarm. Can't be beat!

Jim Fenton, I would reccomend you do the same as I did - go to a nice women's fashion store and buy their women's super-thin gloves made of material I have no idea of - but is that stuff warm!

They do a much better job of keeping my fingers from freezing than thinsulate gloves.

Below -20C, I tend to wear a pair of mits with exposed fingers but a flip-on cover in addition to the women's gloves.

I have a pair of North Face gloves. They are great. Not sure the exact name, but you could probably find out more info @ their online store.

I really like my Crazy Creek Therma Bands along with thin gloves. The Therma Bands help keep your hands warm by warming arteries in the wrists and keeping the blood flowing.

Jim,

How cold? I have used the Swany mitt at -45C. They make two types, one with the liner sewn in and the other with the liner as a removable glove.

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Dave

Go look at the Cabellas catalog. They have some gloves that are the best I have ever seen and they come up on the forearm. I don`t remember the model name I bought but will look and if I find out will add that info. I don`t get the chance to go play in the cold you deal with but I`ve got some cool star trails that were shot at -10 in Western N.C. some years back. The wiener dog would not get out of the sleeping bag. My tent looked like a glass dome from the spray from the water fall above me. Never did get that thing back in its bag on that trip.

I vary my hand covering based on how cold it gets. This depends on temperature, humidity and wind.

Until it gets quite cold I use a pair of gloves designed for cross country skiing. These have Thinsulite lighning and leather on the palms and finger tips that give enough dexterity to make most camera adjustments. Gloves made for mechanics who work outdoors in winter are also good.

When I gets colder I pull a pair of overmits over the gloves and only take off the right mit while I am actually shooting.

Next step is a pair of overmits over a pair of wool or synthetic fleece mits that have a slot in the palm to allow the fingers out. I remove the right overmit to shoot.

Next step is the above with a wool or synthetic glove underneath. I then have to remove the overmit and stick the glove clad index finger of the right hand out to manipulate the shutter. I try to use an auto mode so no other camera adjustments are required.

If it get too cold for that, it is time to go inside and get a cup of hot chocolate.