My freezing hands

[Tom Thomsen]

I joined this forum 2 years ago but haven't posted anything due to no fish last year. This year I did pretty good. I hope you don't mind if I post pics of my success this year. I learned a lot these past 2 yrs. My question is, how do keep your hands warm with cold weather here? I try using gloves but taking them off all the time isn't working. I need help,, Not gonna stop fishing until the water freezes.

[redmeansdistortion]

Welcome to BR!  You don't have to stop when the water freezes, tasty perch and walleye to be had through the ice, plus you get steelhead from Lake Erie hitting the rivers.  Dress warm and jig up some dinner!   For keeping my hands warm, I wear those convertible mittens that let you fold the finger portion over to expose the fingers.  You'll still get cold, just not as cold lol

[Michigander]

I usually wear wool fingerless gloves that have flip tops to turn into mittens when I don't need dexterity.

[@reelChris]

I think it's impossible to avoid getting cold hands eventually, with or without gloves.  However, if you keep hand warmers in your pockets, you can at least warm them back up when they get too cold.  Some people like the chemical packs, but I think the fuel burning warmers are much better.  You can get a pair for $30.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013HLGTL2/ref=dp_iou_view_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

While they're lit they smell a bit like burning butane, but the fish won't notice.  

[FryDog62]

Everyone differs, but I wear any cheap half finger Wooleys in the upper 40’s/50’s, Fish Monkey Stealth Dry-Tech gloves 30’s/40’s and FM Tundra glove/mittens with hand warmers packets below freezing.  

[Bluebasser86]

Welcome!

 

I fish all winter long and there just isn't any way to completely avoid cold hands. Just the way our body is designed it isn't a high priority when it's cold out to keep our fingertips warm. I've had pretty good luck with the cheap White River fingerless gloves from BPS. I bought a pair of the half finger wooley Fish Monkey gloves and wore them about half a dozen times before I lost one of the gloves but I really like them. I can't do full finger gloves or warmers, I just deal with frozen fingers.

[Darth-Baiter]

Jam them into a warm crotch. Preferably your own

 

welcome aboard friend. 

[NHBull]

This

QB Hand warmer

 

or unheated one with zippo hand warmer

[GTN-NY]

Check out this thread

 

[Tom Thomsen]

On 12/16/2020 at 12:12 AM, They call me “Gaiter Salad” said:

Jam them into a warm crotch. Preferably your own

 

welcome aboard friend. 

      Holding two rods while fishing can be a daunting task. Hahahaha 

[islandbass]

On 12/15/2020 at 5:26 PM, redmeansdistortion said:

Welcome to BR!  You don't have to stop when the water freezes, tasty perch and walleye to be had through the ice, plus you get steelhead from Lake Erie hitting the rivers.  Dress warm and jig up some dinner!   For keeping my hands warm, I wear those convertible mittens that let you fold the finger portion over to expose the fingers.  You'll still get cold, just not as cold lol

That’s what I use too... When I can find them. ?

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard! ??

 

Like @Bluebasser86, I use the BPS fingerless gloves. They work

well enough in temperate Virginia.  

[NoShoes]

Timely thread. Debating on going out tonororrow about 30 degrees , might as well be an artic blast for south ga. 

[Vilas15]

I still haven't found the best gloves for fishing. Seems like some that might start well end up getting wet and then are even worse than no gloves. I end up bringing a few different options and trying themall as they get wet. I recently found Orvis (not cheap) has 4 different glove options for different fingerless/mitt convertible options so I may try them out. I like the ones with only the thumb and first two fingers cutoff.

[Jig Man]

When it gets really cold out I use beaded jersey gloves.  They are thin enough to give me feel and thick enough to keep my hands warm.  The beads give me good grip.  I carry more than one pair so I can change if one gets wet.  If so then the wet ones go to an inside pocket in my parka so my body heat can dry them.  They usually coat less than $2 per pair.

[Sam]

Go to your favorite drug store and purchase the heaviest weight blue surgical gloves.

 

Put the surgical gloves on first and then the gloves of your choice.

 

The surgical gloves protect your hands from the wind and getting wet.

 

You will need the gloves to help to keep your hands warmer.

[whitwolf]

Welcome!

[Glenn]

Welcome home! We're glad you're here.

[AnotherInstanceOfMe]

I propose very cheap source of heat we used in my childhood.

It is a mix of:

portion iron filings, portion of copper filings, portion of regular kitchen salt, 1 portion of charcoal.

Add some water (it shouldn't be a problem, right?) and voila! 

 

[Bankc]

On 12/18/2020 at 2:42 PM, Sam said:

Go to your favorite drug store and purchase the heaviest weight blue surgical gloves.

 

Put the surgical gloves on first and then the gloves of your choice.

 

The surgical gloves protect your hands from the wind and getting wet.

 

You will need the gloves to help to keep your hands warmer.

This is what I did in the before times.  It was an old boy scout trick I learned, along with wearing two layers of socks and putting a plastic bag on between layers.  However, the last time I tried to buy nitrile gloves, the price was about 7x's the normal price, and they had signs all around it to make you feel guilty for buying them if you weren't a nurse or doctor.  And this was in an automotive store!  Maybe it's better now.  

 

The down side is they don't let the sweat from your hands out either.  So after a few hours, your hands get really wet and stinky.  It's sweat though, so it's not generally a cold wet.  But it is uncomfortable.  

 

If your hands are going to be in the water a lot, (like mine are when I'm paddling my kayak) I prefer neoprene gloves.  Your hands will still get wet with neoprene, but it does a good job of keeping the water in your gloves warmish.  So you'll likely be a bit uncomfortable and have coldish hands, but they stay warm enough that you can go all day with them on.  Once a normal glove gets completely soaked, it's worthless.  

 

If your up, out of the water mostly, like bank fishing, I really like the chemical hand warmers and a nice set of regular gloves.  If you need to dip your hand in the water or tie a knot, just take your gloves off, then immediately dry them off and stick them in your pocket to warm them back up.  I've also put those hand warmers in my boots to keep my toes warm, but you have to double up your socks so you don't burn yourself.  

 

So to me, there's no single answer that covers everything.  

[BrianMDTX]

If you wear the fingerless gloves with the flip mitten top, wear a thin liner glove first then those, and put a hand warmer in the flip top. That’s what I wear during cold weather hunts. My liner gloves are Cabela’s Camoskinz. You need a liner glove to keep the hand warmer off of bare skin.