Dangerously Cold Hands

[Adam Salinger]

Hi All,

I’m throwing this out to the group as for almost two decades, you all have helped me problem solve.  This one is a biggie.

I’ve got a condition (that doctors can’t seem to diagnose) that is similar to Raynaud’s yet a bit different because my fingers don’t actually turn white.  In short, at very cold temps, my hands get SO cold that it affects me cognitively making decision making tough but more importantly, taking away my ability to speak clearly (slurring my words very badly).  I’m down the rabbit hole on heated gloves for Raynaud’s and ski gloves.  The key is I need gloves that heat all the way down each finger and allow me to conduct camp chores like setting up/breaking down camp and then just holding my trekking poles while walking.  I’m open to anything that will work.  Looking now at glove liners by Toasty Touch https://toastytouch.com/  and just wearing an over glove for insulation as well.  Most heated gloves won’t let me charge directly with a USB to rechargeable battery that we all carry.  I can work around that as well with a Female DC to USB converter.  Does anyone have experience with heated gloves (or know anyone with experience) that can share brands, models, techniques, etc??  Thanks ahead of time for the wisdom you share.  The other day on Whitney at 27 degrees with winds at about 50mph and thus a windchill in the single digits was my final straw.  Solutions must be found.

[YoPrawn]

This might sound silly, but try also bulking up the insulation on your arms, even if you have to look like Popeye. Heck, you can even take sheets of Apex insulation and just stuff them into your jacket or shirt arms. I’ve done literally exactly that and it works great for adding heat to the hands.

Otherwise, you should be looking at a mitten system. Gloves of any type are vastly inferior to mittens. You can run glove liners that can be taken out of the mitten shells when needing to use your phone or other stuff. You can also toss hand warmers into the mitten shell and get so hot the flesh melts off you bones like cheese. ;)

[John S.]

I don’t have raynauds. Most persons hands get uncomfortably cold near freezing. On a few trips this winter my hands were very cold with a numb little finger and didn’t warm up for hours..while wearing a 200 weight fleece glove.

Agree with Johan above that it would take mittens, vapor barriers and hand warmers, just like it would for me.

[Bruce M]

My hands chill easily but not as bad as yours! I work outside, and always had problems with cold fingers. Two years ago I discovered wrist warmers. My first ones  were military surplus wool  (because I thought they’d take the abuse of construction work) and man did they make a difference!  There is an online source called Wristies that sells several different weights and fabrics. Baselayers that have thumb loops in the wrists serve a similar purpose.

Another suggestion is loose fitting gloves. I can’t stand tight gloves, and find loose fitting keeps my hands warmer. There’s not much blood flow in fingers when it’s cold, so and tight gloves can be restrictive.  I also found with the wrist warmers, I needed a glove that was open at the wrist so they would allow my hands to easily slide into the glove without constriction. Added to that – my hands perspire when they are comfortably warm, so I change gloves at least once a day. Hopefully at least one of these suggestions may help!

[Todd T]

Another suggestion is loose fitting gloves. I can’t stand tight gloves, and find loose fitting keeps my hands warmer. There’s not much blood flow in fingers when it’s cold, so and tight gloves can be restrictive.

Amen!  Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to find non-tight gloves anymore.  All the mfrs are hell-bent on squeezing every last drop of blood out of your hands.

That’s no help, I know.

[Roger Caffin]

I used to always have a cold left hand while ski touring, despite having good mitts. But my right hand was fine. Weird!
Eventually on one trip I took my wristwatch off and put it in my pocket. Happiness (ie warmth) was soon restored.

My ‘wrist’ watch no longer even has a strap on it, just a loop of cord threaded through the butt end of what used to be a strap. And it travels in my front (chest) pocket, which keeps the LCD display warm too. The cord is tied into a loop in the pocket so it cannot get lost.

Cheers

[R L]

As a NorCal transplant from east coast snow country, I know the blood has thinned.  I’d be frozen solid if I one day ended up on Whitney.  Acclimation takes time.  Every year it seems when we do get into a winter season, at least by the calendar, I go through my own shiver session for a week or so.  Then I’m good until spring.  Just some thoughts.  ~RL

[Roger Caffin]

And another acclimation at the start of the (Australian) summer. (40 C and all that).

Cheers

[R L]

Yep.  We get our fair share of 35’s for periods of time.  …it’s a shook up world except for Lola

[Bruce M]

After rereading your post, I’m puzzled. You spoke about being so cold that you had difficulty making decisions, and that your speech was slurred. Those are classic symptoms for hypothermia. What are you wearing to keep the rest of you warm? I’m sure you do understand what happens to the human body when it gets that cold. The first place it starts drawing blood away is your feet and your hands. If you’re not dressed well enough, and well fed for those kind of temperatures, you’re going to be cold all over and your hands are going to feel the worst of it.

The times that I personally have been near hypothermic, my hands were in pain because they were so cold.

Also what I have learned is I have aged is that if I want warm hands my core has to be warm. Really warm.

 

[Adam Salinger]

Thanks for all the input so far… I’m waiting on an order from Toasty Touch today and my hope is that I can use these heated liner gloves with mitts over the top and have hand warmers for a backup to place inside the mitts.  Using hand warmers with a ziplock, I can make the 8 hour length last 8 one hour days just by using the zip lock to “starve” the warmers from oxygen.

At Johan and Bruce…the rest of my body is insulated and warm.  Even at 14,000+ with the windchill down to single digits, my core was warm.  I can keep the rest of my body at a pretty comfortable temp…it’s literally just my hands and mostly my fingers that get so bad.

In terms of acclimation….I’d been above 10,000 for 4 days last week before getting onto Whitney.  I was fully acclimatized the day of the climb.  The next morning…at only 10,000 feet was in the high 20’s and I once again struggled with my hands.  Because there was no wind, my hands did improve after about 45 minutes worth of walking (as they usually do). It’s the ultra extreme conditions, always including wind, that I’ve struggled with the most.

My hope is that the new combination I’ve put together will be the ticket….but it will take getting into those kinds of conditions to really know.

 

[R L]

Good on ya.  I hope you find a solution.  Wishing you safe journeys.  Brrr though, up that high for me.  But I get chilled reaching into the bottom of a freezer for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.   ~RL

[Bruce M]

Yes please keep us posted on progress. I’m interested in seeing how this works out. Only other thing I might add is the warmest gloves I have are Hestra Falt Guide Gloves. Leather, with a wool terry lining, but it sounds like you really do need an outside source of warmth!

[Roger Caffin]

My experience with leather ski gloves is that they are soaking wet by 4 pm.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

If you’re so cold it affects thinking maybe put on more jacket.  And hat.  If your body is cold, it will restrict blood to hands.

My hands sometimes get cold, white, and numb.  When it’s maybe 20 F or 25 F.  Especially my fore finger.  If I ignore it, it’s probably not good, damage to fingers?  I make sure I have enough insulation on my body, wear fleece fingerless gloves, and put my hands in pocket until they’re no longer white and numb.  It seems like the last couple years I’ve avoided this more.

[Steve S]

Hypothesizing here. High diastolic blood pressure in the hands/ fingers/ lower arms might be the reason. Relatively slow blood delivery would result, causing the cold fingers. But if a generally high diastolic pressure to cold could affect thinking and more.

[Author]

Posts