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Warmest ski mittens?

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have the Black Diamond Mercury Mittens. And Raynaud's. they are very warm and in combo with hand warmers, I've really had no complaints. But thanks to these Divas and another thread, I quit the caffeine and haven't had an Raynaud's episode since AND I am warmer overall. So cold hands are a thing of the past for me now.


.....seriously? Just cut the caffeine, and no more Raynauds? Holy moly, how have I not heard of this? My doctor just suggested I stop going outside in the cold....to which I responded with a hard nope. I'm trying this next weekend.
 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
.....seriously? Just cut the caffeine, and no more Raynauds? Holy moly, how have I not heard of this? My doctor just suggested I stop going outside in the cold....to which I responded with a hard nope. I'm trying this next weekend.
Caffeine as a drug is a vasoconstrictor. You have to quit long enough for it to be totally out of your system. You also have to avoid hidden sources...like chocolate. So chocolate is a summer treat now.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I own Gerbing heated gloves. I still wear liners and to keep hands feeling toasty vs just not cold, it takes two batteries a day. Mine have rechargeable seven volt batteries. I always carry two and change around three hours. I only wear these when the day isn't due to get above the teens. Other days I have a pair of Swany mittens and another pair of Scott mittens. Each has built in liner gloves and a zip slot on the back of the hand for a chemical heat pack like Hot Hands.

That's disappointing you need to change the batteries after three hours. I've been waiting for them to come down in price because I can't justify spending $500 on something I can so easily lose, but it sounds like I need to wait for the technology to improve as well.
 

Obrules15

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
.....seriously? Just cut the caffeine, and no more Raynauds? Holy moly, how have I not heard of this? My doctor just suggested I stop going outside in the cold....to which I responded with a hard nope. I'm trying this next weekend.

It's true but not for everyone. I don't drink coffee/caffeine and still get Reynaud's Sx. But coffee makes it worse.
 

Obrules15

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
They also make a heated glove. The gold standard, at least cost-wise!

After a few tries of heated gloves I found the Chaval, which I love. Comparable to the Hestra in cost. Warm when the battery was dead.

The tech is different and I feel like I get more time. Their marketing says this as well but I generally don't trust marketing, but it does say up to 6 hours.

I intend to get mitten shells to go over the heated gloves on super cold days as well.

I would also caution care with off brands. I got a pretty bad burn from a hotspot on a cheap pair of heated liners. So I'm sticking companies that design in house and have a decent track record I can review.
 
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Obrules15

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's disappointing you need to change the batteries after three hours. I've been waiting for them to come down in price because I can't justify spending $500 on something I can so easily lose, but it sounds like I need to wait for the technology to improve as well.
Look at the Chaval, they advertise 6 hours, and I've never run out of charge if they've been appropriately charged and shut off throughout the day.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Outdoor Research and Seirus both have expensive heated mittens - expensive, but trusted brands.

I think there are two categories of people looking for warm gear: One is looking for the warmth of a mitten with the dexterity of a glove. For them, a heated glove makes sense. The other gets cold even in a mitten. That can be me. And it turns out my latest box of Grabbers is full of duds! But I have to say that my Hestra Heli Mitts actually kept me warm a somewhat cold day, even with the duds.

I have just given up on dexterity entirely. I don't need it to ski.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Look at the Chaval, they advertise 6 hours, and I've never run out of charge if they've been appropriately charged and shut off throughout the day.

I reviewed the Chaval on my blog back in 2013, and yes, a great glove. However, when it's very, very cold -- like in the single digits and below -- I don't think they keep up. I don't mean they run out of a charge, because they don't. They just can't keep pace with the cold. So when the temps dip that low, I revert to my Black Diamond Mercury Mitts, glove liners, and heat packs.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I personally find glove liners take away heat - once I separate my fingers I am all done. I have Raynaud's and am on medication in the winter...I have yet to give up caffeine. Perhaps I will muster up the ability to do that some day...but chocolate??!!!!

I use my hand warmers next to my hands in both my Hestra and my Black Diamond Mercury Mitts. I prefer the dexterity in the Hestra. I may ask for the Astris mid cuff sometime as a gift...I won't wear the long cuff as I don't do fur. They seem super warm.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I personally find glove liners take away heat - once I separate my fingers I am all done.

Yeah, I'm really not sure why my Burton liners seem to help so well, but they do. Rampant speculation: Maybe because they are so thin. They don't impede air flow much (probably why they wick so well), but they keep just a whiff of the warmth with them while I'm fiddling with buckles or whatever?
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
Yeah, I'm really not sure why my Burton liners seem to help so well, but they do. Rampant speculation: Maybe because they are so thin. They don't impede air flow much (probably why they wick so well), but they keep just a whiff of the warmth with them while I'm fiddling with buckles or whatever?
I have everything from the ones you can nearly see through to much thicker ones; one pair I have somewhere is Burton. I could never find the right liner for this Goldilocks. I did appreciate them when I had to fiddle with buckles though!

Everything is worth a try though :thumb:
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
.....seriously? Just cut the caffeine, and no more Raynauds? Holy moly, how have I not heard of this? My doctor just suggested I stop going outside in the cold....to which I responded with a hard nope. I'm trying this next weekend.

I wish. I've gone for months and months with no caffeine (and have never had a daily caffeine habit) and still have hands that freeze irrationally without crazy warm mittens plus wool mitten liners plus disposable heaters when it's really cold.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
.....seriously? Just cut the caffeine, and no more Raynauds? Holy moly, how have I not heard of this? My doctor just suggested I stop going outside in the cold....to which I responded with a hard nope. I'm trying this next weekend.

My doctor has never suggested it either, neither has a doctor friend of mine who knows I suffer from Raynaud's. My daughter drinks no caffeine and rarely has chocolate and has horrible Raynaud's. Not sure no caffeine is everyone's silver bullet. Worth a try if you are up for it! Please report back.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I personally find glove liners take away heat - once I separate my fingers I am all done. I have Raynaud's and am on medication in the winter...I have yet to give up caffeine. Perhaps I will muster up the ability to do that some day...but chocolate??!!!!

I use my hand warmers next to my hands in both my Hestra and my Black Diamond Mercury Mitts. I prefer the dexterity in the Hestra. I may ask for the Astris mid cuff sometime as a gift...I won't wear the long cuff as I don't do fur. They seem super warm.

I agree, but I've found wool mitten liners (no finger separation) , which aren't great for loads of dexterity, but keep my hands warmer when I need another layer.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I agree, but I've found wool mitten liners (no finger separation) , which aren't great for loads of dexterity, but keep my hands warmer when I need another layer.

Do you have any very thin wool liner mitts you recommend?
 

Magnatude

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was forced to buy Hestra heli mitts ($200 Canadian, ouch) from the resort shop 2 weeks ago at Revelstoke when the top of the Stoke chairlift was -32degC (with windchill). It was agony. The Hestras do have removable fleecy liner mitts, but I found wearing a pair of ultra thin silk liner gloves under those works even better. I used chemical warmers inside the mitts on that really cold day and they kept my fingers toasty, though my thumbs still went numb. I've no idea how waterproof they are, though it's snowed quite a bit since I've been in Canada and they haven't leaked so, so far so good. I hate making desperation purchases without some decent research and buying options, but it was either that or no skiing. I haven't found the lack of dexterity too annoying, as ski gloves generally aren't that great either. Not as great a difference as I'd feared, anyway.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I was forced to buy Hestra heli mitts ($200 Canadian, ouch) from the resort shop 2 weeks ago at Revelstoke when the top of the Stoke chairlift was -32degC (with windchill). It was agony. The Hestras do have removable fleecy liner mitts, but I found wearing a pair of ultra thin silk liner gloves under those works even better. I used chemical warmers inside the mitts on that really cold day and they kept my fingers toasty, though my thumbs still went numb. I've no idea how waterproof they are, though it's snowed quite a bit since I've been in Canada and they haven't leaked so, so far so good. I hate making desperation purchases without some decent research and buying options, but it was either that or no skiing. I haven't found the lack of dexterity too annoying, as ski gloves generally aren't that great either. Not as great a difference as I'd feared, anyway.

I always use hand warmers with my Hestra mitts...and my thumb most often goes numb. All in all, I love these mitts and the dexterity is about as good as you will get in a mitten. I did notice when I was in a shop recently that the new mitts have a much thicker and cozier liner than mine....or maybe mine have just worn down. Seriously considering ordering a new liner from Hestra.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I always use hand warmers with my Hestra mitts...and my thumb most often goes numb. All in all, I love these mitts and the dexterity is about as good as you will get in a mitten. I did notice when I was in a shop recently that the new mitts have a much thicker and cozier liner than mine....or maybe mine have just worn down. Seriously considering ordering a new liner from Hestra.

They do pack out over time.
 

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