I spent some time at Wiruna last new moon, by 3 am there was around 3 mm of frost on everything. I can keep my body warm with my cold weather gear but my hands were a real problem and the gloves I had really did not deal with the cold.
I am thinking of getting some battery heated gloves. Does anyone have any suggestions? I see there are many brands of heated thick motorcycle type gloves but would really like a thinner pair so I can operate my equipment without taking the gloves off.
Thanks DarkArts and Wilso but I am not looking for handwarmers, I am looking for battery heated gloves which can stay on all night and are reasonably thin. Within reason, price is not a constraint.
Ha, I was looking for some this morning as well after being outside last night.
Like you, my hands suffer a lot in the cold weather and gloves never work (although I find pockets of a good jacket can warm up my hands).
Ha, I was looking for some this morning as well after being outside last night.
Like you, my hands suffer a lot in the cold weather and gloves never work (although I find pockets of a good jacket can warm up my hands).
I looked into various personal warming devices as it can get pretty cold in Canberra.
Best bit of advice I got was from a CAS member was freezer gear. There are a couple of cold service workwear providers, I went with Badger and have been happy with my gear. Cold room gear is sold in a variety of operating temperatures and I would recommend looking at the gloves. I got the overalls and balaclava and they have both been excellent. (the balaclava for $20 was a steal imo)
USB Warm Carbon Fiber Heated Pads might be another option, its just the unit that normally goes into the heated vests/jackets. Easy to use, small, light and easily recharged. Try ebay they are about $20 per heating pad you want to run.
Steve
ps. Get gear rated about 10 degrees lower than you actually get for your winter nights. Being stationary most of the time doesn't help staying warm, my viewing times and enjoyment went up a lot last winter with proper gear!
Definitely being warm would help with the enjoyment on a frosty winter night in Wiruna, not sure how people cope in the US or Canada..
Thanks Dunk
It seems if you go for battery then spending more is better as you can hope the quality is better, still at nearly $200 for Blaze gloves and battery i need to think about it.
I am going to try an experiment. I have a thin woollen pair of gloves and a thicker over pair. The thin pair has the finger tips cut off so I can control the ASIAir using my phone or tablet. I will try wearing both pairs with a cheap chemical handwarmer on the outside of the cheap pair and see how that goes; and continue to look for reviews on battery gloves.
I should have added, I also have a pair of knitted woolen fingerless gloves with mitten like pullovers attached. They cost me about $10, they would be fine for Sydney, though I cut the right thumb off mine.
Ha, I was looking for some this morning as well after being outside last night.
Like you, my hands suffer a lot in the cold weather and gloves never work (although I find pockets of a good jacket can warm up my hands).
Weirdly the review on the above gloves also did what I did (merino inner layer, piste glove outer layer) and said it didn't work. That reviewer was cycling, so I can't vouch for that. But at a campsite in 0 degree weather camping in the Blue Mountains and also with some strong gusts? This combo worked AWESOME. My hands not only were warm, but they actually warmed quickly when I had to take the gloves off to use the computer and put them back on afterwards.
Not only that, but I was totally impressed by the merino gloves on their own as well. They're not thick gloves at all, yet really did a lot to take the chill out of my hands.
Weirdly the review on the above gloves also did what I did (merino inner layer, piste glove outer layer) and said it didn't work. That reviewer was cycling, so I can't vouch for that. But at a campsite in 0 degree weather camping in the Blue Mountains and also with some strong gusts? This combo worked AWESOME. My hands not only were warm, but they actually warmed quickly when I had to take the gloves off to use the computer and put them back on afterwards.
Not only that, but I was totally impressed by the merino gloves on their own as well. They're not thick gloves at all, yet really did a lot to take the chill out of my hands.
Very good purchase IMO
Thanks Adam,
I will check these out. I have some thick merino socks and they were great at Wiruna.