wet digits = cold digits

[il_wi_fishing]

Haven't been around long enough to have witnessed any conversations about gloves for winter fly fishing on the forum. The last few winters I've been fishing with wool finger-less gloves. I've found that when stripping streamers in particular they tend to retain alot of water and are sometimes almost counter productive.

Does anyone find that a thinner finger-less glove with more waterproof traits tend to keep their fingers warmer then say a wool pair?

I've fished recently with the cheap-o stretchy pairs and even those just soaked up the H2O

 

[mcnerney]

I don't really have a good answer either, I use fingerless gloves similar to this: Patagonia Windproof Fingerless Gloves Closeout Sale

You might take a look at this thread: http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/general-discussion/301554-gloves-whats-your-preference.html

 

[spiderninja]

I have a set of glacier gloves. After looking at their site I think they are the "Alaska River Series". I got the ones that are fingerless with a mitten that you can velcro to the back of your hand and a thumb that does the same.

At first I didn't like the fact that I couldn't strip line and have my fingers covered at the same time. But after using them for a while I realized they are well designed. I have learned this lesson many times over, but sometimes a tool built for a specific task does a little bit better than a generic tool.

Here is what I like about these gloves. The palm is rubber and the back/mitten is fleece. There is a piece of elastic that you can tighten down on the wrist. This helps prevent water from getting in your gloves. Like you said, wet hands = cold hands and I have noticed that these gloves do a good job of keeping your hands dry.

Like I said, I didn't like that I couldn't have my fingers covered at first. But after doing more fishing with them I am not convinced that I would be happy if I did have my fingers covered. Plus I have learned that it is better to just fish, then when I am moving or my fingers are really cold. I just put the mitten over and warm my fingers back up.

 

[itchmesir]

my gf is a knitter and knitted me very nice pair of felted fingerless gloves to go with an even more awesome felted hat she made me last year.. they are amazing.. kept my hands mighty warm last winter.. nice thing about wool.. it gets wet.. it still keeps the hands warm.. being felted most of the water would just roll off and rarely penetrate the gloves.. also being fingerless I could slide them up past my wrist when I needed to reach in the water...

 

[Guest1]

There is no perfect solution to this problem. I fish right up till freeze up almost every year. If you use wool fingerless gloves they are wet in short order and if there is even a slight breeze can be worse than no gloves at all. If you use neoprene gloves that DON'T LEAK, you can stay dry but loose dexterity and they insulate about as well as a layer of sunscreen. I have tried a number of things and some work pretty well, but as in most things in life aren't perfect and have tradeoffs.

The one that has worked for me the best is a pair of neoprene gloves that are fairly thin and do not leak. Any leak they start to have, I fix right away with aquaseal and if needed a quick resew. As I had mentioned they do not stop the cold. So I put a pair of fingerless wool gloves over the top of that. Even when they are wet, they do keep you warmer. It is just because the water is not against you.

I also bring more than one pair of gloves. I have a pair of wool gloves that have dipped rubber palms and fingers. These are OK till it gets into the mid to lower 20's. I generally start off wearing them while it's still light and switch to the neoprene/wool combo after it gets dark and the temps really start to fall. I keep those inside my vest (sheep skin lined) so they are warm when I switch to them.

One more tip. When your hands start to get cold, stop and hold them in your clothes till they get warm because once they get really chilled the game is over. You won't be able to warm them back up till well after you are back inside with the heat going.

I know it is not as easy to cast and strip with a pair of gloves on, but letting your hands freeze is not really a wise option either. I used to work 10 hour days outside on a snowmobile in weather as cold as -40 F. Actually that's -40 C also. That's where they meet. But I digress. The key to staying warm is keep your hands and feet warm, and wear a good hat. Something like 90% of body heat is lost through the top of your head. (Can you ski naked if you wear a good hat? ) I also wear a lot of layers. A good jacket is pretty much not an option because it interferes worse than gloves do in casting. I just wear a lot of layers. If you look at a photo of the last day I got to fish last year you can see, no jacket. I wish the neopren/wool gloves were in the photo but I looked at every photo I have uploaded to anywhere. No picture of them. You can see the wool/rubber ones in the pocket of my waders though. I'm pretty sure I had swapped them out to the other gloves by the time this photo was taken.

If there is one key to staying warm it is not letting your hands and feet get cold. Once they get cold it's over.

 

[itchmesir]

Grabber.. the company that makes hand warmers makes toe warmers that have a sticky side to them so they don't slip around in your boot/sock.. you could easily stick them to the inside of your gloves to keep your hands warm as well

---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------

and to answer your question Dan...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApbYXsp2EVw]James Blunt - Naked Skiing [VIDEO DIARY] - YouTube[/ame]

 

[il_wi_fishing]

You might take a look at this thread: http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/general-discussion/301554-gloves-whats-your-preference.html

Thanks, that was quite helpful...

it seems that the consensus is that wool seems to shed water better then most other options...

 

[Guest1]

Thanks, that was quite helpful...

it seems that the consensus is that wool seems to shed water better then most other options...

Yah as long as it has been dipped in rubber. Wool gloves are weaved with a rather loose weave most of the time that holds water just slightly less well than an aquarium.

 

[stanbiker]

I've been wearing the Simms fingerless gloves with the fold over mitten. They have a pocket on the inside of the wrist for a hand warmer packet. It's important to keep your cuffs out of the way and make sure you can feel the heat so it is warming the blood flowing to your hands. I also keep another pair if hand warmers in my jacket pocket to add extra warmth to my hands when they start to get cold. Make sure you open the hand warmers about 30 minutes before you get to the river.

This has worked for us when it was -15f.

The biggest downside is they are expensive.

I agree with the others that you want to take action when your fingers start to get cold, rather then waiting until they are cold.

 

[fredaevans]

Yah as long as it has been dipped in rubber. Wool gloves are weaved with a rather loose weave most of the time that holds water just slightly less well than an aquarium.

My candidate for "Post of the Day."

 

[il_wi_fishing]

I found a pair of the glacier gloves that spiderninja was talking about and for a reasonable 17$ im gonna give em a shot unk:

 

[Guest1]

I agree with the others that you want to take action when your fingers start to get cold, rather then waiting until they are cold. ...... This has worked for us when it was -15f.

Actually if they start to get cold you may have already lost. Also I hope you mean by -15 you are talking C not F. That's 47 degrees below freezing. I don't fish when it's that cold, outside of an icehouse because it damages the fish. Especially when it is even slightly breezy. It can in the short time it requires to get a hook out, freeze fins, gills and eye surfaces. It is way to hard on the fish. If it's calm in the 20's or so F, be quick about it and don't do it with wind if you want to release a fish.

 

[stanbiker]

It's F, but don't worry... The fish are pretty safe. The few I catch in the winter don't come out of the water when they are released.

It's mostly a little casting practice after a scenic drive, then lunch with my son.

With teens, if they want to do anything with you just go for it and don't consider catch rate as a measure of success.

 

[Guest1]

It's F, but don't worry... The fish are pretty safe. The few I catch in the winter don't come out of the water when they are released.

Good to hear it. I feel better. :thumbup:

 

[chubon1]

I saw an article recently about using surgeons latex gloves as a glove liner under cold/wet conditions. I tried it with fingerless gloves while striper fishing. It worked well

 

[noreaster]

Cold wet digits are the worst. Kills my fly fishing experience. I have used wool fingerless and neoprene. For me, its the fingers and fingertips that get cold no matter what I wear or rather if they are exposed.

Once my tips go numb, its no fun. I would like to find something that works but I am pretty firm in milder temps for my fishing experience.

Haven't really considered a full finger glove. Perhaps one thin enough and waterproof may win me over.

 

[Guest1]

I was just looking back through this thread and noticed chubon is new to the forum. Welcom. Hope to see you posting again. :welcome:

I have used wool fingerless and neoprene.

That is what I have used for years now, but together and I don't cut the tips off of then. The neoprenes are just there to keep you dry and the fingerless gloves keep your hands warm Because you have the wool over them and just a bit of the fingers not, your circulation should take care of the tips. I'm going to hunt around and see if I can't find a photo where I have them on. A couple of years ago I was fishing with Bill and when we quite, ice had built up on the shore of the river for about the first 6 or 8 inches out into the river. It was freakin cold out. Bill fishes in this stuff with no gloves but I think his hands are tougher than mine.

 

[lacanadio]

I fished the San Juan River in NW New Mexico Friday (air temp mid-20's) and Sunday (air tempm high 30's). The tailwater part of the river is around 42 degrees pretty much year-'round. Both days, I wore a pair of Glacier Gloves. Even though I got a hand wet on Friday, my fingers didn't get cold at all either day.

For what it's worth...

Bob

 

[nickj]

my gf is a knitter and knitted me very nice pair of felted fingerless gloves to go with an even more awesome felted hat she made me last year.. they are amazing.. kept my hands mighty warm last winter.. nice thing about wool.. it gets wet.. it still keeps the hands warm.. being felted most of the water would just roll off and rarely penetrate the gloves.. also being fingerless I could slide them up past my wrist when I needed to reach in the water...

Yep, this is the answer/cure. My wife (have I mentioned before what a special person she is?) is a spinner and knitter and is working on a new pair for me.