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Gloves for cold weather (under 15F, -20C)

Mike Bailey

pro member
This is something that is frustrating time after time. Trying to shoot when it's 15 degrees F. or lower, depending on wind chill and constantly looking for that perfect pair of gloves that's thin enough to feel either shutter or cable release button, yet adequate to keep the fingers from getting that painfully cold numbness. I seem to buy two or three new so-called high tech gloves a year, always to be disappointed by them. The ones that actually protect the fingers are more like ski gloves and suited for that, not for photography.

Browsing the REI (rei.com; a recreational co-op, business in the U.S.) store is mind-boggling. Dozens upon dozens of different types of gloves, different thicknesses, a multitude of claims, and usually $20 or $35 a pair to prove they are 'quality' or 'high tech'.

Does any one have a particular brand of glove they've used with success and can recommend?

Mike

____________________
Mike Bailey
The Elemental Landscape
http://bluerockphotography.com
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Mike I don't have an answer, but I'd love to know too. We depend on tactile feedback in managing our digital cameras. I found that out in the 15th floor at night doing a pano. I had to reach to the Gigapan robot and feel the difference between the center 4 way button and the side "Yes" or "No" buttons. I can't tell you the number of times my hands were too cold to discern the difference and the thing would proceed to take pictures of the wrong area, LOL!

This makes me think more of getting that iphone apps to remotely control the camera.

All the robot Pano machines ought to be controlled the same way. The controls of the Gigapan are built into the body, but should be tethered or controlled by remote.

Still I'd like thin gloves with a built in warming circuit!

Asher
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
...This makes me think more of getting that iphone apps to remotely control the camera.
Hi Asher,

The Apple web site states the following environmental characteristics for iPhone:

  • Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F
    (0° to 35° C)
  • Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F
    (-20° to 45° C)
  • Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
  • Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
So it seems that it won't be much use under harsh conditions after all ;-)

Cheers,
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Hi Asher,

The Apple web site states the following environmental characteristics for iPhone:

  • Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F
    (0° to 35° C)
  • Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F
    (-20° to 45° C)
  • Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
  • Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
So it seems that it won't be much use under harsh conditions after all ;-)

Cheers,

Cem,

How long will it be before there are warmers for ipods then? You have probably launched another multimillion dollar market!

Asher
 

Michael Fontana

pro member
Mike

I had to use two different approaches in the alps:

- big, °unhandy° gloves when not shooting, but moving positions, touching the tripod...to keep warm for longer time

- thin Thinsulate aka, Fleece gloves when touching the cam. If you chose thin ones, you still can control the cam, but of course they will not keep warm for hours. That's what the big one's are for, they really keep warm at - 20 Celsius, but they cost about 120 $.
 

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
When I fly helicopter with door opens and that there's ice on boat decks (yes it happens) I use very thin silk gloves, but I can't remember the brand nor how I got them so long ago…

Better shoot in the Caribeans anyway ;-) !

Michael is is certainly the best advice and more experienced with cold among us…
 
Mike,

I've found the combination of chemical hand warmers and flip-back glove mitts work well. Chemical hand warmers are the type that heat up when exposed to air, and fit in the palm of the hand inside the gloves.

The glove mitts are essentially gloves with fingertips exposed. They have a pocket that pivots toward the back of the hand to expose fingers, then pivot back to cover them up. They work well, but in most cases the thumb remains inside the glove. I saw an ad for a glove mitt that allowed exposure of the thumb, but haven't tried it.

I've used pairs of these from several manufacturers, but none have worked as well or lasted as long as my first pair, bought a few years ago. The brand name abraded away long ago, so can not say who made them, sorry.

Another idea might be to explore the use of hand warmer "pouches" that ice fishermen use. This would allow your hands to be free when needed while providing a convenient warm haven for quick recovery from the cold.
 

janet Smith

pro member
When I fly helicopter with door opens and that there's ice on boat decks (yes it happens) I use very thin silk gloves, but I can't remember the brand nor how I got them so long ago…

Hi Mike

I use the sort of glove that Nic is mentioning, a very very thin knitted silk glove, I think I bought them from an equestrian clothing supplier, I use these as a liner to an outer waterproof glove which I wear on top when out walking in very cold weather, then I just remove the bulky outer layer to handle the camera, and quickly replace the thicker layer when I've finished shooting. I do get very cold hands when I'm outside and have found this to be the best solution for me, hope this helps....

BTW I do the same with socks thin knitted silk liner - then whatever is your chosen sock over that.
 

Mike Bailey

pro member
I guess gloves are more of a problem than people realize! Thank you all for your answers. I usually have about three different pairs of varying levels of insulation with me, all the way down to the very thin, silk-like, nylon, lycra-type. Maybe the way to go would be a hybrid of the suggestions. A thicker good pair with cut-out finger tips (on the fingerprint side only), and a thin underglove that allows you to feel what you're doing. I've never gone that far since I've been reluctant to cut up a pair of decent gloves.

Maybe I would just rather whine about it and have cold fingers! But seriously, it might work.

The problem with taking gloves off to shoot is that I go in bursts. Get into an area of interest, shoot for ten, fifteen minutes, more or less; it's highly variable, as everyone knows. That ten or fifteen minutes might be enough to get into finger-numbing territory. Then pack everything together and off and away. My style is pick a general area of interest according to season, weather, mood, hike into it, then get the camera out of the backpack and free up the tripod, etc. Do shooting, then hook things back together, camera in a harness, tripod stuck into one of the backpack straps, and off again...

I keep looking and hoping for a really simple glove solution, but maybe there's none. My hope is that with all the technical advances every year that some super insulating, super thin material would have been made into gloves, rather than more of the same, just named differently.

Mike

_______________________________
Mike Bailey
The Elemental Landscape
http://bluerockphotography.com
 
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