Cold weather photography, which gloves?

I lived for five years in Florida where I only wore winter gloves a few times and then not while photographing. Now that I live in Utah and the temps are dropping down into the teens I am looking for suggestions on gloves that will work well for photography and still keep my hands warm.

Most of the time the temps will be between 10 to 40 degrees when I will need the most protection for my hands. At times I will be shooting from a tripod just outside the vehicle.

Looking forward to the wonderful advice I am sure I will get here, thanks.

Hi Lia,
This is one of my favorite gloves for photography, the Marmot Power Stretch Glove:
Marmot
I am a cross country skier, so I'm used to the cold. You may need something more, but I've found that this is one of the best gloves for moving your fingers. It is a liner glove, so on really cold days (-10 degrees F or less) I'll wear these gloves under a thicker pair, and take off the thicker ones when I need control of my fingers. Hope this helps!
-Cam

My wife and I use Mountain Hardwear Powerstretch Gloves for fine work. If it's too cold, we wear the gloves inside Outdoor Research Mittens, without liner or with the liners, as weather dictates. We use idiot cords with the mittens so they never get dropped. So you can drop the mittens and still have some warmth. When your hands get cold, pull the mittens back on.

Hi,
I use gloves that hava a flip top on both the fingers and thumb which converts them to mittens whilst I'm actually photographing and gloves (fingers are not separated) when I'm not; they are available in Australia but I don't know a US supplier but you might try one of the ski shops.

Hey Lia

The OR mittens Jim linked above are top of the line, I doubt you'll find anything better anywhere. They're well priced over at Everest Gear right now. $150.00

I haven't found a glove that works for me to photograph with - I end up taking them off most of the time, til it hurts so bad I cry, then putting mittens back on til the pain subsides. Dealing with a tripod in the cold is the WORST.

And don't breathe on any of your camera gear, or breathe anywhere near it; GND filters will fog up immediately.

I have a pair of these REI fliptops that I wear a lot, and they're decent. I just wish the thumb part flipped open too.

Cheers

Carl

Gloves are a very personal thing.

That said, here is a lesson I learned a long time ago. Just because your hands are cold, it does not mean you need warmer gloves. In fact, your gloves may be too warm.

What I found was that warmer gloves were causing my hands to sweat earlier in the day, and then the glove would lose its ability to insulate. These days, my preferred glove for most conditions where I'm moving is a "spring glove" as most ski shops call them. They have leather palms with cloth on the back and light insulation. I'm fine for my hands being out of them for a few minutes and then back in. The only time I want a much warmer glove is when I'll be stopped or the temps are in the negative teens. In these cases I like a liner glove and a mitten and possibly a hand warmer pack.

That my 2 cents.

I use the same system the Jim D suggested, works the best in really clod weather, and if it's brutal cold throws some handwarmers inside the mitten.

I swear by this line which I have had out at -50C. Perhaps a bit colder than you may encounter.
They have a waterproof zipper to get your fingers out and for dropping in heat packs. Like Jim I use the idiot string so I can drop the gloves and use just the liner gloves if required.
http://www.swanyamerica.com/cat.php?k=134469

Lia: I have a pair of Outdoor Research mittens that allow the finger and thumb compartments to fold back. They're very warm by themselves and if its really cold I put on a pair of liners underneath that still allow me to handle the camera adequately. One thing about them that is unique is that there are small magnets that catch the compartments when they're open so they won't flop around. They're effective and disengage easier than velcro. A funny thing happened to me when I first bought them. I was in Rocky Mountain NP in December of 2006. I was scouting a location for a potential sunset. I had researched the compass heading but when I got out the compass I could not get a proper reading. It finally dawned on me after I had practically spun myself into the ground that the compass was reacting to the magnets in the mittens! The magnets also caused the analog function on my watch to misbehave as well. I don't know if this model is still available but its very versatile. >=))>

Whatever you wear on the outside, do yourself a favor and spend small $'s on something else. We buy the thin polypro liners for around $10 a pair, then put a little disposable handwarmer in the palm of each hand inside the gloves. At around $1 a pair, the handwarmers are incredible and last for a full 8 hours if you keep them dry. Pull whichever outer glove appeals over the top for additional warmth, but you can wear those liners with the handwarmers even when you pull off the bulky outer gloves. They're thin enough for manipulating any camera control, too.

I live where winters are COLD (near the Quebec border North of the Adirondack Park) and I've yet to find gloves that simultaneously keep my hands warm and provide the kind of dexterity I need for photography. What I have found and recommend is the hand warmer packets that hunters use. The brand I get around here is 'Hot Hands'. They are little dry chemical packs that generate heat when unsealed from their foil pouch. They last 8 hours or more and they don't really get hot (not enough to be uncomfortable or burn skin) but they do put out a significant amount of heat. You can keep them in your pockets to warm up your hands or even stuff one into each glove (they are small).

These are all very good ideas and I appreciate the suggestions very much. Like the technology of our cameras & gears, 5 years can really make a difference in advancements and it appears to be much the same with some thing as simple as gloves.

It is crucial that I keep my hands (and body) warm due to an illness I have otherwise my hands will cause me pain and I will lose some dexterity (temporarily).

Bill, your story about the little magnets, compass & watch made me laugh, I would have spun myself into the ground too wondering why my compass didn't work!

Lia, here is a glove/mitten I use from LL Bean. I like the fact that the thumb also swings out of the way.

Glove / Mitten

The difficulty with handwarmers is that they introduce yet more chemical gunk into landfills. There are reusable handwarmers but, frankly, they aren't very good in my experience.

As Mel noted above, if mittens over gloves aren't keeping your hands warm, probably you don't have a warm enough coat or need a better hat/hood. I live where it is no fooling, seriously, painfully cold. I know it can be cool in upstate New York, and that southern Canada can see temperatures below zero. But for seriously cold I acknowledge only Dave Pritchard. I think he'd agree: If you dress right, you simply don't need handwarmers. Carry them for emergencies if you want, but you shouldn't need them.

Hey Jim,

True - but it does depend on the person. Some people simply feel cold differently to others, and some people don't quite have the same circulation as others.

That said, I'm not a fan of the chemical packs either, for the exact reason you mention.

Cheers

Carl

Jim,

I've blackened my fingertips more than a couple of times wearing gloves. Not here but at Ottawa latitudes. As I consequence I've lost some sensation in my fingers and can't tell if they are getting cold. At about -20C I switch from gloves to mitts and below -40C get out my Canadian army mitts. At below -30C I will use the chemical warmers if I know I'll be out over an hour.

For the reason you mention, I do try to avoid their use, but I do know those who have lost fingers and toes, so I always pack some just in case! :)

Lia--

Most of these gloves are too extreme for what you'll encounter. Anything above +20F really isn't all that cold. www.cabelas.com has a great selection of functional gloves at various price points. Here's the ones I use myself down to about 20F. They are thin but warm. Also waterproof so snow won't get them wet. Very nice for using cameras.
http://tinyurl.com/ybo6t32

I have heavier gloves for when it gets really cold. I will use chemical warmers if needed and dont' worry about it. The chemicals are just simple salts. I do a lot of my photography at night now, and have been out last winter when it was 30 below. I have the Arctic clothing (Mountain Hardwear, Marmot) for that but my gloves were the weak link. My heaviest ones are warm to something like --25F. It can hit 40 below here, and I've been out taking shots when it was that cold. The air gets very clear! I will check into the mitts Dave Pritchard mentioned, and take a second look at the medium duty Mountain Research mitts too. I too use the polypro liner gloves quite a bit. They are surprisingly warm for the ten minutes or so it usually takes me to set up my lights and adjust camera settings. They are OK by themselves down to about +30F.

http://tinyurl.com/yhetml4



Kent in SD

My memory is getting rather arthritic, but a few years back I asked a friend who's a chemist with an environmental firm about the chemicals in those hand warmers. Like Kent, he said they're simple salts that react with air. I can't remember which ones, but he said not to worry about them in a landfill. It's not nearly as bad as the landfill contributions of treating people for frostbite.

That's my big hassle with cameras in cold weather- cold metal, plastic and carbon fiber suck the heat out of your hands in a hurry. Without the addition of an external heat source, it can take forever for your blood flow to rewarm your hands. My hands are more beat up than my brain, and cold below about 20 degrees requires the handwarmers or other heat source to restore the com links between hands and brain. Above that I'll use the plain liners inside a heavier glove.

You'll probably find your combo of circulation, weather and gloves results in a different critical temp for adding heat, but find it you will. Even if you never need them, the hand warmers are a cheap, compact emergency heat source to keep in your pocket.

Lia,

I'm one of those persons who's hands are usually cold on normal days. Instead of gloves, I get disposable hand warmers from a local sporting goods store. You take them out of the package, shake them a few times and they produce heat for about 6 hours.

I've shot with my 4x5 camera in 18 degree weather for a number of hours and whenever my hands get cold, I put them in my hot pockets for a few seconds and then go back to work.

When I'm done, I put on a good pair of sky mittens to carry my gear.

- Dan.

Hi Lia-
I did a review of some OR Meteor Mitts back in March - still loving them every time I use them. Here's a link if you want to read the review. Hope this helps

http://sixtyonenorth.com/wp/2009/03/gear-review-outdoor-research-meteor-mitts/

This is an interesting thread and I have been in cold climates long enough to find something in the way of gloves to work for the short periods of time that I am shooting. This is somewhat off topic but I have been wondering how my Nikon D60 is going to react in really cold weather. I guess I am more afraid of the camera not working when I need it to than the cold in my extremities which I can somewhat control.

John Vaughan

John--

Define "really cold." I'll define it as --20F. I was using my D300 last winter at temps in the minus 20F range, down to -32F with no problem. I keep two spare batteries in an inner shirt pocket, turn the AF off on the camera and use the LCD screen VERY sparingly. Be careful to not breathe on the viewfinder. I'm guessing that the Nikons like D60 and so on will work OK down to --50F if you keep the spare batteries warm. I know for sure that there's no problem at all down to 0 degrees F.

Kent in SD

Hey John,

Down to minus 20˚ the camera should be fine .. once you start getting down around minus 30˚ and colder, you can run into trouble - the LCD screen can get funky, and all you get is an Error message, even though the picture was actually taken OK. I doubt you'll get great performance out of the camera at minus 50.

Like Kent said, breathe anywhere near the viewfinder, your lens, your filter, etc, and it's game over. :)

Cheers

Carl

Hey Lia...one other note ( I know this about gloves) but coming from deep Texas back to New England was a shock as well. I use a 'Neck Gator' which helps me retain tons of heat throughout, I never go anywhere without that thingey:)
Enjoy...stay warm and shoot away:)

Mike