Mosquito-proof Gloves

I need to be able to operate the tiny buttons on a camera, so I found a good combination at 1.6 oz. total. Wear thin synthetic liner gloves with a vinyl or latex disposable pair over those. The disposables help with bugs and rain. The liner gloves provide a bit of warmth.

–B.G.–

Great idea. Thanks for the input!

You could always treat any old pair of gloves with permethrin to keep the skeeters at bay…

Simple and no need to change from a pair of gloves that are otherwise effective.

Yeah, Bob's idea will probably give the best dexterity. I use MLD rain mitts for both rain and bug protection. I also have a pair of BuzzOff (http://www.buzzoffoutdoorwear.com/products.htm) bug mitts for day hikes but it doesn't look like they make them anymore. They don't provide much dexterity, but they breathe really well.

For backpacking I generally use some Thinsulate gloves from Rite-Aid/Target/similar stores, they are fairly light (63g per pair, less if you cut off the wrist strap and label). Nylon outer, polyester inner shell, lining 65% olefin, 35% polyester (fuzzy). They provide a little warmth, but are still relatively comfortable in the mountains during the day, and keep the mosquitoes off. A little clumsy, but not too bad.

"63g per pair"

That's over two ounces. Are they made out of iron or lead?

–B.G.–

but especially bug dope and sunscreen so, I will be trying out some lightweight sungloves soaked in permethrin on the PCT. Hopefully they will work on both sun and blood suckers, if not there will be a very nice UL setup somewhere on the PCT attached to the bloodless body of me.

You're making it too hard on yourself Greg. Just drain all the blood out of both hands. That'll keep the mosquitos at bay…..

gloves for bugs:

it is a problem. synthetic glove liners don't seem to hold enough permethryn to do the job. the buggers just keep humping away until they get thru. stylish thicker fleece gloves in blaze orange work great .. but these can be a bit warm on some occasions.
manzella sells a cuffed glove made of windstopper (old N2S fabric) that work exceptionally well over a wide range of temps and offer decent dexterity and wear. no bugs will get thru.

you can carry a spray bottle of permethryn and touch up synthetic liners every day .. and you'll still get bit. plenty.

don;t forget to sew up half the cuffs on yer shirt sleeves and velcro the other half. move the buttons in if it seems prudent.

use a glove with enough cuff on it to cover the gap to the shirt.

or …
go in winter.

i just read jerry kobalenko's book. apparently there are mosquitos even on ellesmere island, which is about a far north as one can get, and still be on dirt.

In the olden days, people used leather gloves in the northern forests (adirondacks, etc) in bug season, especially for black flies. Perhaps permethrin soaked cotton gloves on dry warm days and thin vinyl gloves over thin liner gloves on wet days. Be careful with soaking gloves in DEET when handling plastics that DEET might destroy.

I have similar problems with skeeters. Permethrin can bead up on synthetics, but you can immerse a fabric until it takes say a few days. Permethrin for clothes application is usually water based in terms of inert ingredients. It is usually oil based in terms of inert ingredients for animal applications . That might work better with a synthetic. I tight cotton or wool glove may absorb better yet. I wore cotton gloves last fall soaked in a water based solution and they never got through. These were vicious snow melt skeeters in the Cascades.

yeah, Bob, but they're not sweaty like latex (OK, maybe some like that sort of thing ;) and no chemicals needed (I prefer to avoid where possible), and they keep me insect protected in warmer temps and warm enough down to near freezing, so for me it's worth the exhaustion of hauling all that extra weight. YMMV.