Neoprene Gloves

[BrookieBuster101]

I did a little wilderness brookie expedition a few weeks ago one one of those really cold February days. Well it was 16 degrees and my hands got wet. My fingers i realized had zero feeling. They were yellow with slight a purple tinge. A minor case of frost bite. Lemme tell you something when they begin to thaw again, the pain is extremely strong.
Anyways it was not as severe like the pictures on the discovery channel, but i decided im not letting that happen again. I bought a pair of neoprene gloves at LLBean for 20 bucks.
They are well worth it, although you have to take them off to tie on flies. My pair comes up the wrist about 6 inches so I can reach into the water to pick up a fish or pull a fly out from under a rock. They are great! I would definitely recommend a pair.

 

[beeber2]

Hand warmers help too. You can stuff them into the backs of the gloves.

 

[whheff]

Thanks for that info. I thought about getting them but never did because I didn't think they would work. I will have to check them out again.

 

[TUNA]

Screaming Barfies -- A term used mostly by ice climbers to describe the feeling of having your hands go numb only to come back to feeling with extreme pain. The terminology coming from when your hands are coming back to feeling you want to scream and barf at the same time.

I've gone through the cold hangs things a lot. I've found neoprene to work well, with only one major downside. They will suck a ton of moisture away from your hands, causing cramps and stiff hands. I now use Lycra gloves with hand warmers (if I use anything at all). I bought a pair of UA camo hunting gloves that were 2 pieces, I use only the inside liner section. I'm pretty sure its Lycra. They haven't let me down yet.

 

[BPS]

Wash those puppies on the regular too. As was stated they really make your hands sweat. They will smell like a pair of old gym socks after just a few uses if you don't wash them.

I use wool gloves with the finger tips open and the mitten hood thing.
Wool keeps you warm even when it's wet. Neoprene is good though, but they really do make my hands sweat too much.

 

[ryguyfi]

I've got a pair of neoprene gloves I used maybe twice if anyone wants them. $10! I think I paid $15 for them. Pretty sure they're hodgman but I'll check when I get home.

 

[pcray1231]

I never liked neoprene, just doesn't seem to work for me.

What I do are the fingerless rag wool gloves, they're less than $10 a pair, and stuff those chemical handwarmers in the palm. That way, you can just make a fist when you need to warm your fingers. I also keep a full pair of gloves in a pocket.

The handwarmers work. Shake the powder real well as soon as you open it, get air to it, and do so every so often. I have the opposite problem sometimes, they can get HOT, to the point I have to take em out of my glove and put em in a pocket or something.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear board,

I've been wearing Glacier gloves for more than 20 years. They work fine for me and I do like them better than the fingerless wool gloves of the Glo-Mitts because they offer a better feel when handling a rod and reel.

If you wear the neoprene gloves do yourself a favor and throw them over your defroster vents for a couple of minutes on the eay to the stream or while you are getting ready.

Warming them up ahead of time means your hands don't have to do it and you'll like the neoprene gloves even more.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[jdaddy]

pcray1231 wrote:
I never liked neoprene, just doesn't seem to work for me.

What I do are the fingerless rag wool gloves, they're less than $10 a pair, and stuff those chemical handwarmers in the palm. That way, you can just make a fist when you need to warm your fingers. I also keep a full pair of gloves in a pocket.

The handwarmers work. Shake the powder real well as soon as you open it, get air to it, and do so every so often. I have the opposite problem sometimes, they can get HOT, to the point I have to take em out of my glove and put em in a pocket or something.

This seems just dumb as dirt but it is so right. Now if were full fingered waterproof gloves and you didn't need use of your fingers I would say neoprene is great. But if you need to regularly use your fingers, as you would say fishing Salmon River for regular equipment adjustment, fingerless is the way to go. Once in a fingerless glove water gets trapped inside neoprene and that's where my problem comes in. Wool continues to warm when wet.

 

[BigBronco]

pcray1231 wrote:
What I do are the fingerless rag wool gloves, they're less than $10 a pair, and stuff those chemical handwarmers in the palm. That way, you can just make a fist when you need to warm your fingers. I also keep a full pair of gloves in a pocket.

I put the warmers on the top of my hands. That way I don't have that bulk in between my rod grip and palm. Also take a look at your hand and the location of veins. Keep the blood warm and you fingertips will follow.

 

[TimMurphy]

jdaddy wrote:

pcray1231 wrote:
I never liked neoprene, just doesn't seem to work for me.

What I do are the fingerless rag wool gloves, they're less than $10 a pair, and stuff those chemical handwarmers in the palm. That way, you can just make a fist when you need to warm your fingers. I also keep a full pair of gloves in a pocket.

The handwarmers work. Shake the powder real well as soon as you open it, get air to it, and do so every so often. I have the opposite problem sometimes, they can get HOT, to the point I have to take em out of my glove and put em in a pocket or something.

This seems just dumb as dirt but it is so right. Now if were full fingered waterproof gloves and you didn't need use of your fingers I would say neoprene is great. But if you need to regularly use your fingers, as you would say fishing Salmon River for regular equipment adjustment, fingerless is the way to go. Once in a fingerless glove water gets trapped inside neoprene and that's where my problem comes in. Wool continues to warm when wet.

Dear jdaddy,

So does neoprene. Think about wetsuits, they have worked for decades. You never saw Jacques Cousteau diving wrapped in a sheep I'll bet? ;-)

The key is that both the suit/glove and the body/hand have to be of the proper equalized temperature at the start.

Insulation works exactly the same in regards to both heat and cold. IE, a cold insulating layer will rob heat from a warmer object until the temperatures are equalized.

Even if you use wool gloves you'll be better served by warming them up before you put them on. That way your hands don't have to do the work of warming all the cold air space that provides the insulation.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[jreichel]

I'm a big fan of the fingerless wool gloves for fishing and hunting. My favorite pair came from the army surplus store. I also have a heavyer pair of the glo-mit version I use for hunting. That said keeping your body core (torso) warm is also key to blood flow to the extremities (hands and feet). So... if your torso starts to get chilled your body will start slowing blood flow to your hands and feet and all the wool and neoprene in the world on your hands won't help.

My 2 cents worth.