Gloves and Mitts for cold conditions.

[Wayland]

I'm still tinkering with my kit for the forthcoming Arctic trip.

For my hands I am using some excellently made German cold weather over mitts on top of British army wool pile liners and a thin pair of poly fleece gloves as liners. In really extreme conditions I have a pair of waterproof breathable British army mitt shells that will fit over the whole arrangement.

This allows me to remove the mittens but still keep the gloves on, which are fine enough to handle the controls of my camera but does not expose me directly to the elements.

For working around the camp I invested in a pair of Hestra Falt gloves again with removable wool liners.

The removable liners allow the gloves or mitts to be dried more easily by separating them and by carrying spare liners the insulation can be swapped out for a dry liner at any time needed.

To reduce the risk of losing a glove or mitt, these will be attached to a leather yolk strap worn around my neck with elastic and small karabiners.

I have decorated the mitts, with the simple addition of a spare piece of patterned tape left over from an earlier project and added a sheepskin patch to the back of each mitt too.

As always comments and ideas welcomed.

 

[Mesquite]

Nice lot of gloves Gary

Why did you put the sheepskin patch on the back of the gloves, purely decoration?

 

[Pignut]

at a guess, in place of a hankie??? (or for wiping goggles etc)

Nice lot of gloves Gary

Why did you put the sheepskin patch on the back of the gloves, purely decoration?

 

[wasteoid]

Gary you wont go far wrong with that lot.

I went to Sweden with british army leather gloves and the leather overmitts from Ray with Ullafrotte (sp?) wool mittens as liners. The follwoing year in Norway, I went with the same mitten combo, as well as the Hestra guide gloves - which I really envied when in sweden.

Out of interest, did you make the braid for the leashes? I would be interested in how many strands you went with etc.....

Looks like a good setup AGAIN

Chris

 

[Shewie]

Toasty looking setup Wayland

I've just bought some paclite over mitts to go over liners and windstoppers, I've not been cold enough to test them all yet though.

 

[bikething]

at a guess, in place of a hankie??? (or for wiping goggles etc)

What he said

...though the official explanation of the fleecy patch on the Canadian military mittens is that it's for warming exposed areas of your face

 

[Humpback]

The Viking said, "To reduce the risk of losing a glove or mitt, these will be attached to a leather yolk strap worn around my neck with elastic and small karabiners."

Gary could you post a photo of the leash system as that's the part I'm stuck on with my mitts.

Regards Alan

 

[Martti]

As always comments and ideas welcomed.

I can offer you two point of views, a scientific and a traditional one. The first is from Siple's General principles governing selection of clothing for cold climates:

PRINCIPLES FOR KEEPING THE HANDS WARM
[...]
(3) Utilize material with a low rate of hear conductivity, such as wool, next to the flesh as an insulator. Over this, and as a seperate item, use a cover made of some wind-repellent material such as leather, duck, or windproof cloth, the choice being dependant on the character of work the hands are to do.
(4) Keep the wrists, back of hands and palms covered as much as possible even while using the bare fingers, in order to conserve as much vital heat as possible. Knit woolen wristlets of fingerless gloves are often invaluable secondary hand gear. Precaution should be taken to avoid any undue pressure at the wrists that might restrict blood flow even to a slight degree.
(5) Always use loose-fitting mittens, since tightly fitting ones will restrict easy movement and exercise conducive to increased blood circulation in the hands, and will actually restrict blood flow in the outer layers of the skin. Thumb openings must be large to prevent constriction. Tight-fitting gloves and mittens depress the insulating wool next to the skin, thereby decreasing its efficiency as an insulator.
(6) In frigid climates averaging below 0°F., avoid the use of gloves of any type that seperate the fingers, thereby creating a greater radiating and conducting surface for loss of heat. Most gloves are inclined to bind and constrict the flow of blood. When gloves are absolutely essential, secondary mittens should be carried as a safeguard or to receive fingers when they get too cold for comfort or utility.
[...]
(11) Avoind the use of gauntlets with wide cuffs attached, since they are bulky and generally useless. At best a dubious protection from the wind and wind-blown snow, they serve to catch it coming from the rear, and because of their shape prevent easy adjustment of the vital clothing layers around the wrist.

Past and modern Finnish Defence Force reports concur with Siple as they also recommend that men should be equipped with wool mittens and leather mittens on top of them but not with wool wristlets as they actually make the fingers colder due to the lack of air inside the mittens. Finnish leather mittens were generally loose and short enough that they could be removed with one hand. However good wool mittens are good to around -20°C (without wind shear) after which you just add the leather mittens on top of them.

 

[vizsla]

Looks good mate i like the little personal touches you put on things. Cant imagine youl go far wrong with that during winter myself in the uk i find my sheep skin gloves are great far beter than modern ones and pretty much water proof. Also they seems to heat my hands straight away if i put my hands in when cold abit like buffalo type mittens.
Cheers ash

 

[Wayland]

Snip> Why did you put the sheepskin patch on the back of the gloves, purely decoration?

at a guess, in place of a hankie??? (or for wiping goggles etc)

That is indeed the main reason and you can see them on most of the pictures of Scott and Shacklton's teams.

What he said

...though the official explanation of the fleecy patch on the Canadian military mittens is that it's for warming exposed areas of your face

That makes sense and they also increase the air trapped inside the over mitten shells when they are used too.

Snip> Out of interest, did you make the braid for the leashes? I would be interested in how many strands you went with etc.....<Snip

The yolk / leash is a five strand "secret" braid.

The Viking said, "To reduce the risk of losing a glove or mitt, these will be attached to a leather yolk strap worn around my neck with elastic and small karabiners."

Gary could you post a photo of the leash system as that's the part I'm stuck on with my mitts.

Regards Alan

You can see the yolk in the top of the picture, resting on the over mitten shells and again they were inspired by the pictures of Scott and Shacklton's teams but I will try to take a shot of them in more detail tomorrow for you.

 

[forestwalker]

My harness is made from wool yarn, fingerloop braided. I make mine "A" shaped. One long strand that goes from one mitten, around the neck and down the other, and a crosspiece (say 30 cm) that joins them. Normally this crosspiece hangs about nipple-height on my chest.

 

[Wayland]

That describes mine quite well except that the "A" bit on mine is made of braided leather leading to mini karabiners that the elastic leash on the glove or mitt can be clipped onto.

 

[Wayland]

Here you go.

The elastic is attached inside the cuff of the mitten shell.

 

[forestwalker]

Yep, the same stuff. Here are mine:

The mittens are cheap suede made over 10 years ago, I use either the old style Swedish army wool liners (in "warm" weather) or lovika mittens with them. The fringe is actually nice when brushing snow off garments. The last part of the welt is doubled, forming a loop for the idiot-string.

My original intention was that once these wore out (in year or so, being cheap suede) I should make a pair of fur mittens. Soon...

 

[Wayland]

My only worries about fur is not being able to split them for drying.

I have a couple of pairs of these German army mitts, with fixed pile lining, that I use over here but I wanted to be able to swap the linings when damp and dry them easily, so the over mitts I think will be a better solution.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Have you got wristlets Gary? Always make me feel warmer in extreme cold, make a nice bridge between glove/MIT and clothes.

 

[Wayland]

I've got some old Meraklon ones which I may take but I haven't seen anyone making any in wool which is a shame.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Pm inbound.

 

[g4ghb]

Nice set-up Gary but I have to ask..........


surely a piece of elastic up one arm and then down the other is the correct way to wear mittens!?!?

 

[Teepee]

Whats the score with these keepers?

Do all the gloves/mitts hang off them, or is it a good idea to just hang the outers and clip the liner gloves seperatley? I envisage a keeper cord tangle with a few pairs or accidently dunking the tethered bundle into a pan of food?

The last time I used cords, I was 4