The key to warm hands in the winter

This is my first post of more to come on winter warmth. The first key to being outside and having fun in the winter (or survival in the winter) is to have the right clothing and layers. 

It took me many years of testing gear, trial and error, and freezing my butt off to get to the point of finally having the right kind of cold-weather clothing and gear to thrive in winter. So I'm here to share with you one of my success findings to keeping your hands warm. Cold hands make it difficult to use your valuable fingers. Don't have cold hands... get-chya some mittens!

The problem with gloves is that they keep all your fingers separate from each other and thus each finger must provide its own heat to warm it. While gloves may be great for dexterity they have got to be pretty thick to hold in enough warmth, which then takes away from all that dexterity.

Here's the mittens that I use.

These were made by my wife. The outer (on the right in brown) are made from shrunk wool sweaters so that they are thick and tough.

The inner liner (on the left in camo) are made from fleece.


The great benefit of mittens is that it keeps your fingers together so they can generate more heat and warm each other up.

When put together this combination has always kept my hands warm. Not only that but I've had hot and sweaty hands when it's 20 degrees outside! 
This means that when it comes time to use my fingers I have no problem having them out in the cold for several minutes before I even begin to feel the winter chill.

I know, kids don't like mittens and a lot of grown-ups don't either. They don't look cool... in fact, these look like big oven mitts. You just gotta embrace the humor of their "look" and trust me, your friends will be asking to borrow them. You can even loan them out to the skeptics and watch how quickly they "ooh" and "ahh" at their comfy warm hands.

Gloves:

Now sometimes I will use gloves, especially when it's above freezing outside. In this case here's one combination that I like:

Rag wool fingerless gloves. The black dots you see are to help with grip in the palm. These gloves retain heat in your wrist and palm quite well while still allowing your fingers to be fully utilized.

Do kids like fingerless gloves? Well as one teen recently put it, "they look really cool!" I agree. So yes, they pass the cool test.


Sometimes I'll wear a light glove liner underneath to keep my fingers warm. 



So there you have it.  Keep those dogs warm out there (your fingers) and enjoy the winter. When you have the right layers the winter can be really awesome because you don't have to worry about insects, spiders, mosquitos, snakes, or heat stroke.

Read about the "Best Winter Footwear I Have Ever Used" here

Steger Mukluk Review: the best winter footwear ever!!!

Like many outdoorsy people I used to go all through the winter with cold feet. I tried many kinds of boots that were well insulated and water-proof. These would work for a while but somehow my feet would still get cold if I were outside for hours at a time, especially in wet conditions. After many years of this I just grew to accept that being outdoors in the winter means putting up with cold feet.

Then one day I discovered Steger Mukluks and my winter life was never the same! For the first time in my life I went through an entire winter without cold feet. How is this possible and what's the magic behind the footwear?

Oh Steger Mukluks how do I love thee... let me count the ways. Bragging about this footwear is one of my favorite winter activities!

1) The outer is made of thick moose hide leather and once treated with water-proofing solution it is well... water-proof and keeps your feet dry even in wet snow conditions.

2) They come with a wool liner for extra insulation. Order them a size too big and double wide so you can layer up the socks and keep your feet warmer.

3) The soles are soft and flexible allowing your feet to feel the ground and for a quieter walk so they are great for hunting or sneaking.

4) The real magic behind how they keep your feet warm is the soft sole. It allows your foot to move and flex with each step. This combined with the looser fit (because you ordered them a size big) allows for greater blood circulation and thus your feet stay warm. It also strengthens your feet and ankles and prevents them from cramping up from lack of movement. Boots will not offer this kind of movement, circulation, and warmth because they are designed with stiff soles and strong ankle support which then holds your foot tightly in place instead of moving as it should.
If you are sitting for hours (as in hunting) then you may feel a bit of a chill but they are still the warmest footwear I've seen.

I've had mine for about 6 years and all the stitching is holding up with no holes. I'm going to buy some insoles before this coming winter to add a new layer of insulation from the ground as they started to get a bit cold from the ground up last winter.

I highly recommend these mukluks if you have a desire to wander, play, or explore the outdoors in the cold of winter.

Ready to order? Go to www.mukluks.com and choose your style and color. (note: I get no compensation what-so-ever from your order)