winter kit esp about wool gloves over leather.

[hannibal lecter spyderco]

I was wondering what you people in the northern states have as part of your bob kit, or carry in your car for emergency. I've heard that in certain places of the country if your car brakes down it could be days before anyone finds you because of how bad the weather gets and cell phones don't often work in these conditions. I recall that story being of colorado. Where people were stuck out in the snow for days, and the cell wouldn't work because of the mountain ranges. Any thoughts about this? One final note, any thoughts on the benefit of wool gloves or vice versa

 

[Dave B]

IMHO, wool gloves are pretty much useless for any kind of work. They wear out quickly if you use them hard, and the thick ones give you no feel or dextarity. Most of all, they're slippery if you're working in snow, even those with wear patches sewn into the palms. Wool is great if you're just walking, and they do make good liners for leather gloves.

If you need winter work gloves, look into climbing and skiing gauntlets, especially those with removable liners. They are made to fit, work hard, and last.

Try Patagonia. They're expensive, but mine have lasted me for years: ice climbing, skiing, backcountry, working as a lift electrician, and on the motorcycle.

db

 

[k_estela]

I'm a kayaker 12 months of the year but I do Ice climb, Mountaineer, and Ski in the North woods of New England. I also work at Eastern Mountain Sports part-time during the school year. I think I can shed a little light on the subject. Ice climbing and Mountaineering require gloves that can take some good abuse. I have a pair of Outdoor Research Pro Ice Gloves. They have a thin layer of closed foam between the layers over your fist. They are great for when your hands are in close contact to ice constantly. The only downside is that they are a modular system when put together make your hands the size of a gorilla's. Not that much dexterity. As far as wool and other natural fabrics like down, they are great insulaters when dry. Wool actually retains its insulationing properties when wet. Down loses all insulation properties, but, this is not too much of an issue in the real dead of winter in absolutely extreme conditions (most of the moisture will freeze on the outside of the glove before reaching the down inside). Wool will wear out if used alone but if layered over with leather, it isn't that bad. I use leather reinforced wool gloves chopping wood. Your best bet is to be practical. Don't buy something you realistically won't use. I don't expect you to buy a $200 pair of gloves for a bug out bag when a pair of military overmitts will do the job for simply waiting out a storm in a car. Hope this helps.
Kev

 

[Nathan S]

Yes, a pair of wool gloves under a sturdy pair of leather work gloves makes an effective combination that will keep you hands warm even when wet. Plus, if you are working with your hands (as opposed to simply hiking), the outer, leather gloves offer much more protection and resistance than any sport glove I've ever seen.

 

[sgtmike88]

Here in upstate NY, with over 200" of snow per year and -temps that can boggle the mind, one quickly learns the value of wool liners under leather gloves or mittens. I have a pair of goretex lined leather gloves for hunting, etc. and Hatch spectra lined gloves for work. My hands stay pretty warm and dry with those stet-ups. Wool gloves by themselves are utterly useless.

Mike

 

[Big-Target]

I recommend that you watch Ron Hood's Woodsmaster Vol-11. It will talk about what you should wear!!

 

[Dave B]

I guess if I were putting together an emergency winter kit for the pickup, I'd include some heavy wool mitts (dachsteins) and waterproof overmitts. Not too 'spensive, but very effective.

db

 

[RokJok]

Here's a quick $.02 on this issue:
-- Mittens are warmer than gloves. By having the fingers together in a bundle they help keep each other warm and are also warmer because you don't get blood circulation restricted like you do in the fingers of gloves. Plus if your thumb gets cold (or lonely ) you can pull it into the big part of the mitten to stay warm with the fingers. The downside of mittens is that they offer very limited dexterity for working.

-- For gloves to use in wet/cold situations that don't need to be terribly sturdy, the neoprene gloves used by scuba divers or duck hunters & trappers keep your hands warm & dry, even when immersed in freezing cold water. In my experience, these keep your hands quite warm, even though their tight fit should restrict bloodflow. Downside is that, since they don't breathe water vapor through them, your hands get clammy. I think these would have been great for ice-climbing, but I gave up climbing before I discovered them.

When ice-climbing I'd wear light liner gloves under polar fleece mittens that were encased in Goretex gauntlet mittens. When I was putting in protection on the climb I'd usually slip off my fleece/Goretex mitten (attached to me with a lanyard) from one hand and clip the carabiner with the liner glove on to keep my skin from freezing to the cold metal.