Winter/Cold Hand Issues

Hey gang,

Does anybody know a really reliable source for gloves that have electric warming capabilities AND are thin enough to adjust camera settings with?? I have something called Raynaud's Disease (inherited...thanks Mom!) which causes my fingers and toes to turn white, then purple, go numb, and possibly have permanent tissue damage as a result of the cold. This is not something that only happens in freezing temps. It happens when I hold a cold bowl of cereal in my own home!! It's painful and extremely annoying. I still want to get out and shoot when it's cold but the traditional "hand warmers" don't do the trick because my fingers turn white in seconds when exposed to anything under 40 to 50 degrees...pathetic I know...so as soon as my hands come out of the pocket to shoot...it's too late! I found something on line but it's from a company I've never heard of so I'm reluctant to try it.

Thanks in advance!

If you have deep pockets you could try the black diamond cayenne glove, which is an electricly heated glove. Not sure how easy a camera is to operate with them, but from your description of how your fingers do in the cold it's probably worth a shot! I've never used them, just saw them in a store and was intrigued, but discouraged by the price.

cayenne glove

I know of no thin gloves that are truly warm like you need. I live in the North and photo at night in winter a lot, and keep up with glove technology. What I do is use two gloves. The warmest gloves I've found are Black Diamond guide gloves, which have worked for me at temps colder than 30F below. (Warmer yet are Outdoor Research mittens, used on polar expeditions.) I wear the Black Diamond gloves when out in the cold, but then switch to Under Armor glove liners when I need to operate my camera. These are thin enough that I can easily operate the camera but still protect my fingers from the wind & cold for awhile, depending on conditions. Not sure these will work for you because they aren't really warm gloves, but they might if you also have a chemical heat pack taped or held in place over your wrist with something like the top half of a cut off sock. Another thought might be some thin neoprene gloves such as duck hunters wear. If they don't constrict your blood flow they might work.


Kent in SD

"I found something on line but it's from a company I've never heard of so I'm reluctant to try it."

Can you post a link to this product?

I have more experience with cold fingers and camera gear than I want. The best combo I've found is also relatively cheap. I wear cheap, thin polypro liners on my hands, then put those inside insulated gloves, even mittens for real cold. In between I put the cheap little disposable chemical hot packs (usually less than $2/pair and they last around 5 hours). It's one thing to keep your hands from getting cold, but once cold, another matter altogether to get them warm again in a timely manner. The hot packs work better for that than anything else I've tried, and if you keep them in the palms of your hands between the two glove layers, they really aren't in the way for other jobs. When you have to pull off the thicker gloves for small jobs, those thin liners are priceless against cold cameras, even as the hot packs are waiting inside the thicker gloves to rewarm your hand when you're through.

Thanks Gang! I see I'm not alone in the pursuit of warm hands! I am one with the L.L. Bean Wicked Good Toe Warmers...one on top and one on bottom and my toes are fine. My hands however...different story. I love the Under Armour gloves for the dexterity and have tried wearing them under glo-mits with hand warmers inside...keeps the fingers from turning white for a longer period of time...but not a solution if I'm out for a while. That company I mentioned, John is Verseo. They're called Verseo Thermo Gloves. But for $150, I'd like to at least have one good review of them from a fellow photographer. I attached the URL below. All of this will be a mute point here soon as it is getting warmer every day...but next winter I'd like to be better prepared.

Thanks for the suggestions folks!

http://www.verseo.com/thermogloves-rechargeable-heated-gloves.html

There is a new product out there, Columbia Omni Heat. I recently bought a pair of the heavyweight long underwear. Omni Heat is a thin polyester fabric with reflecting foil on the inner surface. The idea is the fabric is thin but reflects your own heat back to you. I've worn the long underwear in moderate cold (+10F) and it did seem to work. Not nearly as well as 800 fill goose down, but considering how thin they were I'm calling them a success.

http://www.columbia.com/Omni-Heat/Science_Omni-Heat,default,pg.html


http://www.altrec.com/columbia/womens-ascender-ii-gloves

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11667736&010=SKU-10380868&003=3933188&camp=CSE:GoogleBase&camp=CSE:GoogleBase

http://www.outeredgemag.com.au/reviews/item/columbia-omni-heat-range-launch

Kent in SD

I have no direct information but I am aware the motorcycle folks have quite a number of electrical heated things that might work in your case but I suspect they may be too thick. Myself, I have a pair of mittens that have an openning for the fingers to come out which are incased in a fingerless glove so only the tips are exposed. On 20+ degree morning I also have heat packs inside but still you have the bare skin issue. Maybe also having the thin liners on that Hank mentioned might work in that there would be no bare skin. I do hope you can find something that works for you.

Thanks for posting the link to ThermoGloves, Kate.
These actually look like what you may need. Looks awfully tempting to me anyway. They do note that you can return 'any item at any time for any reason' for a full refund. If you end up trying them, I'd love to hear a review from you in the future!

Kate,

My daughter is a photographer and she was diagnosed with Raynaud's Disease too. Real bummer. She couldn't eat ice cream, and swimming in a lake or stream (she lives in the Pacific Northwest) had the potential to be fatal. Nevertheless, she races hobby cats, snowshoes, and does winter hikes. I'll be seeing her next week and I'll ask what she's done regarding gloves, etc.

You may already know this...I had a problem with "purple toe" in winter which was probably a Raynaud's type reaction to cold. A podiatrist I was seeing at the time told me to take B Complex 100 vitamins because the niacin in it is a vasodialator (opens up capillaries) which spasm shut in the cold. Seemed to help

You want "Hot Hands" They are dry chemical packets that generate heat up to 10 hours. They come in pairs. Usual price is a buck but if you buy them in bulk or at the end of winter you can get them half price. Amazon carries them in bulk http://www.amazon.com/HeatMax-Hot-Hands-Handwarmer-Pairs/dp/B0007ZF4OA.

Open the sealed foil wrapper and shake the packet to mix the chemicals. They will warm up in 10-15 minutes. Get some thin gloves that allow you to work the camera controls. Slip one in each glove and put the gloves on so that the packet is over the blood vessels on the back of your palm. In colder weather have some windproof overmittens that you can slip off when you are actually using the camera. I don't have your problem but I do have trouble keeping my hands warm and this works for me down to -15 or more below zero Fahrenheit.

From the original post:

" ...the traditional "hand warmers" don't do the trick because my fingers turn white in seconds when exposed to anything under 40 to 50 degrees."

I got a pair of electric gloves from Warn Things. I'm able to operate my D 300 while wearing them with no problems. The only problem I have is it's a little tricky turning off AF on and off my Nikon lenses, but with a little care, I'm able to do that too. They were not cheap, and I wish the quality was better, but they do work. I've tried the chemical hand warmers in mittens and they do work too, but my thumbs always got too cold. And if you're out every day like I am, the cost of the hand warmers makes the cost of the gloves look not that bad. The coldest I've been in with them is 18 degrees and they were okay. I've read that when turned up to high, the batteries don't last more than an hour, but I'm usually not out for longer in weather that cold.

Thanks for the advise everyone! It's helpful! If I find an awesome solution I'll definitely post it here!