Save $100 on the Leupold VX-3HD

Tired of Cold Hands

Jape

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
1,721
I've tried several "winter" gloves for mid to late hunts, but my hands always seem to freeze when glassing. I have been disappointed in Sitka's offerings, and some ski gloves I have tried. Ideally, I prefer a merino base layer glove with a waterproof insulated outer glove combo, but it needs to be WARM. Thinking about Kuiu's Northstar glove. Anyone tried that one or have recommendations? I could also get the down glassing mitts, but I prefer not to have 3 sets of gloves if I can help it. Any help is much appreciated.
 
I consistently roll with Little Hotties in my palms and more in my backpack and when it's really cold I switch to mittens.
 
I have a pair of the down mitts. They kept me warm last fall in single digits, but it sounds like your hands might get cold easier than mine.

Kuiu really needs to put some rubber on the hands/fingers of the gloves. They have no traction.
 
I've been happy with the Sitka traverse as a base layer, and then adding a pair of Simms Glomitts w/ windstopper fleece for truly cold weather. Never had a complaint with that pairing. I too add the little hotties in the palms or on top of the hand if it's going to be super-cold & windy.
 
I have a pair of the down mitts. They kept me warm last fall in single digits, but it sounds like your hands might get cold easier than mine.

Kuiu really needs to put some rubber on the hands/fingers of the gloves. They have no traction.

I also picked up the down mitts last year and was very happy. Adding a pair of the merino gloves under was really nice and kept me a lot warmer. I also try to put on an extra jacket and possibly pants to keep my core warm which also seems to help. To be honest, my rain gear gets used more for a wind stopper than it does for rain gear. It stinks putting it on and taking it off, but if you are going to be in one place for an hour or more its worth the extra 60 seconds.
 
I consistently roll with Little Hotties in my palms and more in my backpack and when it's really cold I switch to mittens.

I have knuckle cut goves with a mitten cover that can be pulled back. Inside the mitten portion is a slot to slip hand warmers inside. I wear a thin pair of black diamond gloves so my fingers, when the mitten cover is off, still have some warmth and able to hold my rifle appropriately.

Edit added:
https://www.carhartt.com/products/TS-Flip-It-Glove-A557

649248_ts.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've tried several "winter" gloves for mid to late hunts, but my hands always seem to freeze when glassing. I have been disappointed in Sitka's offerings, and some ski gloves I have tried. Ideally, I prefer a merino base layer glove with a waterproof insulated outer glove combo, but it needs to be WARM. Thinking about Kuiu's Northstar glove. Anyone tried that one or have recommendations? I could also get the down glassing mitts, but I prefer not to have 3 sets of gloves if I can help it. Any help is much appreciated.

Here is the problem; "glove."

"Glove" and "warm hands in cold weather" do not equate. It's simple physics. Gloves have way more surface area than mitts/mittens, therefore you will have way fast rates of heat dissipation. Each fingers extended in a glove represents a way small mass than a hand and fingers combined in a mitt/mitten and results in far different heat/energy retention.

There is a reason folks who live/work/play in cold climates use mittens and not gloves. They have know since infancy that gloves are not going to keep your hands warm in cold weather. They know that dexterity is lost when your hands are freezing a glove.

When I see a guy out hunting in cold weather with gloves I wonder, does this guy likes cold hands, or this guy that clueless, or this guy is from a warm climate, or this guy thinks cold fingers inside a glove operate a firearm better than me shedding my toasty warm mitten to operate with my warm hands? Serious stereotypes I know, but probably parallel to the person from Georgia who sees me walking around in jeans in August wondering why I'm so damn hot.

Point being, get rid of the glove idea and go with chopper mitts or some sort of mitten. You will be glad you did.
 
Thanks Randy! I plan on using them for a bison hunt in Wyoming and I recall you had some mittens for your bison hunt. Did they work well?
 
I doubt there are many things that I have wasted more money on that gloves. I keep trying - I'm stubborn, maybe stupid.

What does work for me - most of the time is a thin glove or no glove at all in a large mitten that is easily flicked off. Burton makes some good, loose leather mitts that are well insulted. Or you can go the chopper route of course, but they are hard to find around here.

It is bird hunting where I find mittens the toughest to adapt.
 
Best will be mittens. If you want leather, I prefer the LLBean chopper mittens. I find they run big but are great. The best mittens are made by Outdoor Research. Black Diamond is second warmest. If you must have gloves and are willing to deal with the trsdeoffs, Black Diamond guide gloves are the warmest you can get but they run small. Outdoor Research also makes very warm and durable gloves. I don’t like gloves from hunting companies for extreme cold weather but if I was going to have a pair I’d buy the Aegis exteme glove from Kryptek which is on clearance now for $42. The Kryptek merino glove is the best mid weight glove I’ve found.
 
Mittens with light wool/fleece glove liners. If I'm hiking I stash the mitts.

Insulated heavy gloves suck for lots of reasons. if you are doing anything that requires dexterity you have to take them off anyway, besides they are cold.
 
The last thing you want to do is over insulate. Once your hand or feet get damp NOT GOOD.
 
Big Fin is right. If you want warm hands no matter what, go with mittens. If you NEED to have gloves, get the Cabelas Pinnacle gloves. I ice fish in Canada every winter. We don't bring shelters with and fish off of our snowmobiles. My threshold is -30F temperature (not windchill). If it's warmer than that, I fish. If it's colder, I don't. Mittens aren't an option because I need to have a good grip on my rod and reel. The Cabelas gloves are, by a long shot, the best I've found (and I've tried them all). I keep a spare set in my bibs, warming up, and switch them back and forth as needed. Everyone that makes the trip with us has switched to them.

If I don't need gloves, my preference is always chopper mitts with a light liner glove beneath to help keep my hands warmer while my mitts are off and I'm waiting to pull the trigger.
 
Back
Top