OT: Winter Gloves Repaired, Recommendations Wanted For Future Replacement

dbCooper

Best gloves for warmth I have ever owned, "Zero HeatFlow System", they have served well for over 15 years, mostly notably on the ski slopes.  Hoping to keep them going as replacements seem to be non-existent.  Unique feature is a bag filled with mineral oil in the palm area, between the inner/outer layers.  The bag has  a runner tube that extends to each finger tip, making a fist forces warm fluid from the palm area to the fingers.  If your body heat is not keeping the fluid warm, the inside cuff has a pouch in which to place a air-activated iron/charcoal/salt warming packet, will artificially heat the oil for 5 hours or so.  No cold hands with these. 

Problem is, they are wearing out, various places on the non-leather outside shell.  I've been patching with good results using liquid electrical tape but, all good things will end sometime. 

For the folks that spend six or more hours in below freezing temps, snow optional, what is your choice for keeping hands warm? 

Some pics to show what I described above...

Sea2Ski

As I am sure you are aware, different people have very different tolerance to cold. Just so you have some idea about me: I have Eastern European blood going though me and I usually only put on a winter shell when it drops below 30 or it is raining/snowing otherwise it is a base layer and a sweatshirt outside.  When on the slopes, I only have my gloves on the first one or two lift rides up, after that I only have them on when going downhill. I rarely get cold. (For the record, mixing 40 lbs of sausage when the meat is 30F is still painfully cold to me.)

Left to right in the picture: I loved my Marmot gloves.  They were a great set for warmth and durability. Once the waterproofing wore out and the loft of the insulation was lost after 8-9 years. I went onto the Swany triplex gloves. My first set was the nylon/synthetic shell those worked good for 4-5 years until they fell victim to the snowblower muffler and partially melted.  My new set is nearly all leather which I like a lot better. I would not hesitate to get another pair. 

dbCooper

Sea2Ski said:

Thank you, that is good info.

AprèsSki

I use Hestras, I think they are the "army leather pro" model. Leather palm and fingers with gore tex lining and removable insulating liners. My wife swears by their similarly constructed "glittens" as she calls them; the middle, ring and pinky fingers are in one compartment for added warmth. 

I run hot so it has to be under 25ish or deep for me to break them out. Most of time I ski in a spring glove or leather work glove with a liner. Much cheaper to replace when you lose one (it is always 1) or slice with an edge burr.

FWIW, you see a lot of paid skiers (patrol, ski school) using Hestra and Marmot. 

Botch

As a former skier, ammo troop, and current motorcyclist, I pay a lot of attention to gloves but I've never heard of the glove system you described, Coop.  Pretty cool!  
My warmest gloves were motorcycle gloves branded "Held", I don't think they're available in the US anymore.  I've had mine for several years and they're still great.  I installed heated grips on my beemer, but with my (former) 15 minute commute they weren't worth turning on, the Helds were fine.  I've not gone to directly-heated gloves, although the electric socks look very appealing, especially the rechargeable-battery types.  
 
Sadly, extremities naturally get colder the more we age; would love some info on how to prevent that.... 

Legume

Botch said:

As a former skier, ammo troop, and current motorcyclist, I pay a lot of attention to gloves but I've never heard of the glove system you described, Coop.  Pretty cool!  
My warmest gloves were motorcycle gloves branded "Held", I don't think they're available in the US anymore.  I've had mine for several years and they're still great.  I installed heated grips on my beemer, but with my (former) 15 minute commute they weren't worth turning on, the Helds were fine.  I've not gone to directly-heated gloves, although the electric socks look very appealing, especially the rechargeable-battery types.  
 
Sadly, extremities naturally get colder the more we age; would love some info on how to prevent that.... 

Eat more GMO 😂 

dbCooper

AprèsSki said:

Thank you.

fishlessman

dont think they make these anymore but cabellas extreme cold gortex mittens with the nose wipe back sized large enough for filson wool gloves as a liner. have the military issue type as well but the dont fit my stapless ski pole grips. like the military issue as they strap around my neck and can be tossed off when ice fishing.  minus 10f and wind dont mix well with gloves. before these it was outdoor research over mitts

poster

As someone who lives where it gets to -40 on occasion, I can tell you that a mitt over a glove is 100% better. I do hate mitts though as you lose a lot of dexterity, especially snowmobiling. I have had Marmot's, North Face, and also Klim gloves. These are all fairly expensive, but do seem to hold up the best over anything else I have tried. The Klim's are designed around snowmobiling which can see your hands get exposed to some serious wind chills, but even with these in -20's at 60-80mph for a while, your still gonna get cold. Also i think whatever you choose make sure they are waterproof, once your hands get wet no glove is going to work. 

alaskanassasin

poster said:

As someone who lives where it gets to -40 on occasion, I can tell you that a mitt over a glove is 100% better. I do hate mitts though as you lose a lot of dexterity, especially snowmobiling. I have had Marmot's, North Face, and also Klim gloves. These are all fairly expensive, but do seem to hold up the best over anything else I have tried. The Klim's are designed around snowmobiling which can see your hands get exposed to some serious wind chills, but even with these in -20's at 60-80mph for a while, your still gonna get cold. Also i think whatever you choose make sure they are waterproof, once your hands get wet no glove is going to work. 

 (full disclosure, Snow machines have heated grips and throttle)

fishlessman

poster said:

As someone who lives where it gets to -40 on occasion, I can tell you that a mitt over a glove is 100% better. I do hate mitts though as you lose a lot of dexterity, especially snowmobiling. I have had Marmot's, North Face, and also Klim gloves. These are all fairly expensive, but do seem to hold up the best over anything else I have tried. The Klim's are designed around snowmobiling which can see your hands get exposed to some serious wind chills, but even with these in -20's at 60-80mph for a while, your still gonna get cold. Also i think whatever you choose make sure they are waterproof, once your hands get wet no glove is going to work. 

its also difficult to hold a guinness glass with mitts on while icefishing

poster

alaskanassasin said:

poster said:

As someone who lives where it gets to -40 on occasion, I can tell you that a mitt over a glove is 100% better. I do hate mitts though as you lose a lot of dexterity, especially snowmobiling. I have had Marmot's, North Face, and also Klim gloves. These are all fairly expensive, but do seem to hold up the best over anything else I have tried. The Klim's are designed around snowmobiling which can see your hands get exposed to some serious wind chills, but even with these in -20's at 60-80mph for a while, your still gonna get cold. Also i think whatever you choose make sure they are waterproof, once your hands get wet no glove is going to work. 

 (full disclosure, Snow machines have heated grips and throttle)

I've been riding every year for 30 years. I have yet to see handwarmers even melt frost off in -20 or lower.

poster

fishlessman said:

poster said:

As someone who lives where it gets to -40 on occasion, I can tell you that a mitt over a glove is 100% better. I do hate mitts though as you lose a lot of dexterity, especially snowmobiling. I have had Marmot's, North Face, and also Klim gloves. These are all fairly expensive, but do seem to hold up the best over anything else I have tried. The Klim's are designed around snowmobiling which can see your hands get exposed to some serious wind chills, but even with these in -20's at 60-80mph for a while, your still gonna get cold. Also i think whatever you choose make sure they are waterproof, once your hands get wet no glove is going to work. 

its also difficult to hold a guinness glass with mitts on while icefishing

Yup, not to mention run to the hole with it

dbCooper

Some follow up info that may interest some:

Digging around on the web I found the patent that covers my fav gloves, US5035003A, https://patents.google.com/patent/US5035003A/en

That led me to the inventor, Dixie Rinehart, who it turns out was a remarkable person, at least in my book.  He was one of the eight patent holders on the Apollo spacesuits that were worn on the moon.  Also credited as the inventor of the Apollo gloves.  Seems he left NASA due to low pay, owing to his not having a college degree.

He died in April 2019, obit is here for those that enjoy a great story: https://crippinfuneralhome.com/obituaries/dixie-rinehart/1071/

@Botch Looks like "Held" gloves are available in the US: https://www.revzilla.com/held-motorcycle-gloves

Botch

dbCooper said:

@Botch Looks like "Held" gloves are available in the US: https://www.revzilla.com/held-motorcycle-gloves

Excellent!  They are made in Europe, was hoping another distributor would pick them up.  Thanks db!  

Wolfpack

I have had good success with these Arc Teryx gloves- warning, they are a little on the pricey side. 

dbCooper

Wolfpack said:

I have had good success with these Arc Teryx gloves- warning, they are a little on the pricey side. 

Thank you.