Cold weather gloves ?

I used to use the fingerless kind, but I found they didnt really do the trick in REALLY cold weather. Now I use these gloves I found at a hardware store. They're the usual thicker spandexy kind but have a layer of rubber and sand mix over the palms and undersides of the fingers. The grip is fantastic, and they're thin enough I can still handle the controls. Plus, the rubber layer means the underside is waterproof! This is the one case where having very large hands has paid off. I dont think theses gloves would work very well if they where even slightly too big for me. Usually one size fits all means my hands are left spandexed into a claw shape, but in this case they fit perfect. Some of my freinds use the lowepro gloves, I had a pair, but didnt find the grip to be grippy enough and they wheren't a proper fit, so when it gripped, the grip would stand still but my fingers would slide around inside the glove. This is where my new gloves really shine, because the grip is one contiguous peice instead of little patches of grip, your fingers gripping something cant slip away from your palm.

Ok yeah.. I know kind of a long post over gloves, but when you live through Candian winters you learn to take things like boots, gloves and proper socks very seriously 🙂
 
Disaster_Area said:
I used to use the fingerless kind, but I found they didnt really do the trick in REALLY cold weather. Now I use these gloves I found at a hardware store. They're the usual thicker spandexy kind but have a layer of rubber and sand mix over the palms and undersides of the fingers. The grip is fantastic, and they're thin enough I can still handle the controls. Plus, the rubber layer means the underside is waterproof! This is the one case where having very large hands has paid off. I dont think theses gloves would work very well if they where even slightly too big for me. Usually one size fits all means my hands are left spandexed into a claw shape, but in this case they fit perfect. Some of my freinds use the lowepro gloves, I had a pair, but didnt find the grip to be grippy enough and they wheren't a proper fit, so when it gripped, the grip would stand still but my fingers would slide around inside the glove. This is where my new gloves really shine, because the grip is one contiguous peice instead of little patches of grip, your fingers gripping something cant slip away from your palm.

Ok yeah.. I know kind of a long post over gloves, but when you live through Candian winters you learn to take things like boots, gloves and proper socks very seriously 🙂
Click to expand...

What size Lowepro gloves did you have?
 
I can't remember now, I seem to remember the largest size being a bit a good fit, finger length wize, but not as snug as I wanted... what feels like having muppet hands 🙂 I lost them a few winters ago and never replaced them.
 
Open finger hand knits for early mornings.

Cold here is still above freezing but the gloves help in transit to locale and setting camera controls.

Then into a cafe for something warming.
 
I have fingerless gloves that have a flap that turns them into mittens when you want to keep the fingers warm. I also try to avoid metal cameras when it's really cold, opting for ones with more plastic.
When the battery freezes and stops working, it's time to go inside.
 
I've got some "Mechanix" brand gloves that I bought for working on my car in my cold garage, but which also work pretty well for photography. Since they're designed for handling tools, they allow pretty good dexterity. You should be able to find them in any big auto parts store.

One tip about gloves of any sort is to buy the right size. Most people overestimate the glove size they need, so they buy gloves that are too large and then find it's hard to handle small objects. You can Google various websites that will tell you how to measure your glove size.
 
I use a pair of Smartwool liner gloves. Thin enough to be dexterous enough for controls, yet plenty warm even here in VT. If it's warm enough to want to be out shooting (read above 0°F) these do the trick for me.

I spent January two years ago shooting in an abandonded grain elevator here in Northern VT, it was often well below 0°F, minus 20 several days, and these gloves, with a pair of those fingerless ragg wool ones over them worked like a charm. Some dashes to the only warm room in the place (the toilet) to hold onto the pipes coming out of the boiler every now and again. Only a few nips of frostbite, from carrying my 810 camera tripod from shot to shot I suppose. That thing sucked all the heat from my hands.
 
I had a pair of fancy construction workers gloves but lost them.. they cost $40 they were really good. Otherwise I use mitts and take them off for focus and shutter release.

Shooting in -20C last nite... and forgot my gloves, just pockets... worked well, no sweat build up and yes the hands got cold over the 40 minutes of shooting but it was bearable.

btw Sepia.. where's the url for the 8x10 shots
 
I like to use the cheap ambidextrous knit gloves. Full-finger, because metal gets chilly. I can pick up several pairs at once and replace the right one as needed. The M3 film advance tends to chew up the thumb, as does the knurling on the IIIf.
 
Another vote for fingerless wool gloves. When it's a little colder I use Smartwool liners underneath. My first pair of fingerless gloves were a modified pair (ie. fingers cut off) of $2.95 wool gloves from Target. My fiance got me a proper pair last year after those started falling apart.
 
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