Glove and / or Mitten Choice

[Rightfoot]

I am leaving Springer March 8th and am still undecided on gloves and / or mittens. I have a pair of Mountain Laurel eVent over mittens which I plan to pair with "something". What are your recommendations? I have used light weight liners under the mittens and been warm but not this early in the year. I appreciate your input.

[Feral Bill]

Military surplus wool trigger finger mitts make a great liner. You can do a lot with that finger besides shooting.

[shelterbuilder]

+ 1 for the military finger mitts. I typically pair them with a glove liner and an overmitt. This gives me a lot of versatility, both on the trail and in camp. (At 0*, I STILL sweat like it's summertime, but my hands and feet tend toward the colder end of the spectrum, and I like to have them covered if it's really windy. On the trail, I frequently will cover the liners with the overmitts in very windy conditions, but in camp, I'll switch over to the mitts and liners. The mitts come off for doing "fine work", then go right back on for sitting around.)

[egilbe]

I hated the military gloves and mittens. My hands were never warm in them.

[Feral Bill]

I hated the military gloves and mittens. My hands were never warm in them.
For main winters, thicker inner mittens would be needed. We used to use Dachstein mitts from Austria. If those don't work, your in real trouble.

These http://www.sweatersintl.com/woolmittens.html.

[Tipi Walter]

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/Quest-For-The-Connie/i-ccfLXgf/0/L/TRIP%20169%20044-L.jpg

Rightfoot---You're choice of the eVent MLD shells mitts is perfect---I went with a pair last year and always carry them on my winter trip. As far as a liner to wear inside the shells, well, I picked up the fleece gloves on left at Walmart for $6 vs the North Face on the right for $30. I think the Walmart ones are better. The MLD's fit right over these just right. Check out your walmart first before getting anything else for liners.

Problem with fleece gloves is they soak up water like a sponge and once wet are useless---hence the need for the MLD shells.

On my next January trip I will be taking these items:

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/Welcome-to-2015/i-PNChWZw/0/L/Winter%202015%20008-L.jpg
Here are the MLD eVents properly seam sealed (along with my Kahtoola microspikes and Voile snow shovel). The walmart fleece gloves go along with the eVent shells.

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2013-1/19-Days-of-Solitude/i-7ZfWwzR/0/L/TRIP%20151%20010-L.jpg
The rule for winter backpacking is to always take two pairs of gloves as one will invariably get wet. My winter kit therefore includes this system:
** Fleece gloves with or without MLD shells.
** These Mt Hardwear Nilas down mittens for deep cold---and the fleece gloves fit inside these mittens in case I need to do intricate finger work. These Nilas are waterproof too but not cheap.

[swjohnsey]

Zpack makes some nice cuben mittens with liners that aren't too expensive. Worked for me.

[BrianLe]

Dachstein's are indeed good, but the key is definitely --- mittens. Gloves are just flat not as good when it's cold out. Thin polypro glove liners inside of decent mittens is a good combo. Your eVent shells will be a good choice to go with that.

[Mags]

Liner glove and shell mitt combo. Has done my well for many years now.

[Snowleopard]

Add a pair or two of thin polypro liner gloves. When it's cold these give you more dexterity for cameras, setting up tents, etc., without the pain of going barehanded.

Layer up: WPB shell mitten, one of more layers of wool or fleece mittens/gloves, plus liner. Carry spares. Warmer winter weather is worse than zero degree days, because everything gets wet. Dachstein mitts make a good backup; they're windproof, somewhat waterproof and stay warm when wet and very warm (too warm for me most of the time).

[Dogwood]

It's my guess most commenting use trekking poles and/or haven't considered the rest of their apparel in a more integrated deeper perspective in regards to their hands being part of a larger system and/or considered other possibly useful amendments. Here's another way at looking at things.

For a March 8 start, and since I wouldn't be using trekking poles, I'd be considering what I intend to wear most often as my most outer lower/upper half pieces. I'd have a light wt eVent Rain Jacket I'd wear in the rain and for a quasi wind jacket featured with hand pockets and hood. When not overly windy or wet my outer torso piece I'd be hiking in would be a light-med wt synthetic or down vest(w/ a quality WR DWR treated outer shell) or light wt insulating jacket again featured with hand pockets layered over a tee or LS shirt( w/ deep chest zip). When it's warmer, less or no need for anything to be on the hands. I'd likely have a pr of convertible pants for a March 8 start that also have hand pockets. If you count the pockets in this system combined with the MLD eVent mitts that makes 4 sets of hand warmth options already! With these considerations alone it factors into what one might use as MLD eVent Mitt liners. For me, I don't mind hiking for some periods with my hands in those hand pockets to warm up my hands so less or no need for heavy gloves, mitts, or liners. For me, a light merino or even synthetic running gloves used with the MLD eVent mitts could be enough for even the coldest wettest conditions for a March 8 start.

For me, I consider my hand warmth thermoregulation to also to be influenced by heat loss through the top of my head and feet as well as my core(torso area). So, those areas are also taken into account in keeping my hands warm. Personally, I find putting a merino beanie on and perhaps putting up a hood on a rain/wind jacket and/or keeping my feet warm/warming them up, and hopefully dry, and/or slipping an insulating jacket/vest on play into adding/maintaining hand warmth. I've warmed up my hands at times to a comfortable level simply by zipping on the legs of my convertible pants. Simple, but sometimes we forget that. People OFTEN ignore what's on their feet or head or core in determining hand warmth! Your hands don't exist by themselves in some type of magical bubble apart from the rest of you so don't treat them that way.

For that March 8 start date I'd also have a few chemical heat packs for my hands possibly also for my feet. ie: Toasty Toes, HotHands, Grabber, etc

[Venchka]

The extra pair of socks that you keep bone dry for sleeping in will also serve as your worst case mittens if your primary mittens get wet. I learned that in one of the many climbing books that I read in my youth.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Slack-jawed Trog]

I like my Outdoor Research Meteor Mitts. I really like the flexibility they give me, and depending on conditions, I've worn the whole 9-yards (rarely and only briefly at -5º F), just the liners (usually) or just the waterproof over-mitt/shell (freezing rain). I carry a pair of mil-surp wool gloves for a back-up dry liner, and camp chores.

[Malto]

Liner glove and shell mitt combo. Has done my well for many years now.

This with disposable plastic food prep gloves over the liners if it get really cold. Switch out to gloves as it get warmer.