Gloves capable of coping with freezing conditions???

[rogerzilla]

I have some lobster gloves which pair up fingers.  They work for a little longer than normal gloves.  Rubber gloves under normal gloves is another thing to try.  I've never tried silk undergloves, which may be better.

[Tommyp27]

I combine merino gloves (currently defeet dura wool, but since the fingers are going on the touch screen tips, soon to be replaced) with some Fox River Rag wool gloves with deerskin palms. I find these work very well in the cold although do get a bit heavy when wet.

I have some sealskin gloves I rate a lot, but can only find one of them right now...

[exilefromkent]

I've found the best thing to use on very cold days is crab claw mittens, toasty and with enough movement to make it still useable. Mine are from Aldi, they might be too got above 2 degrees or so but that's fine for the short distance to work in winter for me

[Cudzoziemiec]

I found myself thinking about those Buffalo mitts when out today. "Feels like minus six."

[Flite]

We were wearing them!  And that was just to go for a walk/stagger into the wind.
According to Met Off, wind chill of minus8, and I can believe it.  Add in frequent white out snow storms.
We have had snow on the ground in the garden all year so far.....

[quixoticgeek]

I regretted not wearing mine today. I was wearing my merino liners and altura gloves. They were fine to start, but too cold by the end of an hour at -5°C. Will go with the buffalo mitts tomorrow.

J

[Lightning Phil]

How your body reacts to cold

https://www.outsideonline.com/2420838/cold-exercise-adaptation-research?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=onsiteshare

[Cudzoziemiec]

It talks about skin temperature in the first part – and then in the second experiment, about perception. It doesn't tell us whether the cold-toe people in the first experiment also felt that their toes were colder (and if so, whether this was after the cold water or also before). But it doesn't seem amazingly surprising that people who are regularly exposed to cold might have colder toes; it could be their bodies adapting in Jens Voigt style: "Shut up toes! We're keeping brain alive!"

[cycleman]

I'm still wearing shorts on my very local potters to the local shops and short circuits.I am finding my legs and toes are fine down to around freezing as long as there is very little wind and its dry. I will be wearing warm trousers and shoes otherwise. 

[Cudzoziemiec]

"Snow diving"
The tweet in this is painful to watch let alone do!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-56022387

[mike]

I bought a pair of https://www.openair.co.uk/mens-c4/gloves-mittens-c76/hestra-njord-gloves-p7009 in a sale last year and they've been amazing for sitting still on a boat in the freezing mornings.  Not ideal for fast cycling, but incredible for when you're not generating much heat.

[Joe.B]

I'm a bit late to this thread so these might have already been suggested but my go-to glove once temperatures get sub-zero is the Sealskinz lobster claw glove.

These have kept my fingers functional in conditions cold enough to freeze my water bottles.

https://www.sealskinz.com/products/waterproof-extreme-cold-weather-cycle-split-finger-glove

[De Sisti]

I bought a pair of https://www.openair.co.uk/mens-c4/gloves-mittens-c76/hestra-njord-gloves-p7009 in a sale last year and they've been amazing for sitting still on a boat in the freezing mornings.  Not ideal for fast cycling, but incredible for when you're not generating much heat.

I bought a pair of those gloves a few years ago, but found they didn't keep my hands warm
enough on cold days. YMMV.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Your ability to withstand cold temperatures might be linked to the presence or absence of a particular protein found in fast-twitch muscle fibres. Without this protein, your fast-twitch fibres produce less power but recover faster, more like slow fibres, but also generate more heat, meaning you shiver less and conserve core heat more.

While alpha-actinin-3 deficiency does not cause muscle disease, it does influence how our muscle functions. Our study shows that ACTN3 is more than just the “gene for speed”, but that its loss improves our muscle’s ability to generate heat and reduces the need to shiver when exposed to cold. This improvement in muscle function would conserve energy and ultimately increase survival in cold temperatures, which we think is a key reason why we see an increase in alpha-actinin-3 deficient people today, as this would have helped modern humans better tolerate cooler climates as they migrated out of Africa.

With a few provisos:

However, future research will need to investigate whether similar results would be seen in women.

https://theconversation.com/your-genetics-influence-how-resilient-you-are-to-cold-temperatures-new-research-155975

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've heard that as you get older, the subcutaneous 'brown fat' percentage goes down, and it becomes harder to stay warm.

A bit of research suggests that 'activating your brown fat' has loads of health benefits, from protection from atherosclerosis to reduction in diabetes.

Maybe those cold swimming fanatics are on to something.

[Cudzoziemiec]

However, what we're dealing with in glove choice is perception of cold in the fingers, which is not necessarily anything to do with core body temperature. It might be neurological or something, I don't know what.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've heard that as you get older, the subcutaneous 'brown fat' percentage goes down, and it becomes harder to stay warm.

A bit of research suggests that 'activating your brown fat' has loads of health benefits, from protection from atherosclerosis to reduction in diabetes.

Maybe those cold swimming fanatics are on to something.

Maybe they are, but I'll leave them to it!

[GusGF]

In the end I took the plunge  and bought these Montane Extreme Mitts back in January for about £37. At they are mitt I believe they are better at keeping hands warm that fingered gloves. Since my circulation is not what it used to be my fingers esp the tips still get cold so am on the look out for silk liners but these mitts are doing a much better job than what I was using and this is cycling in temps down to -5. Overall am happy with my purchase and would recommend them.

[Lightning Phil]

Good choice. I have them in my collection.

[Davef]

I have a pair too. Pack away small for unexpected use too.

[Ribena75]

Think will buy some of those Buffalo mitts going on recommendations in this thread. Hands were freezing today, 4c and wet with merino liners and DhB softshell style gloves.

[ElyDave]

I have some lobster gloves which pair up fingers.  They work for a little longer than normal gloves.  Rubber gloves under normal gloves is another thing to try.  I've never tried silk undergloves, which may be better.

I find silk undergloves work very well, both with my winter gloves and lobster mits. I also have a pair of silk socks which work well with a pair of thinner thermal socks in my winter boots rather than a single pair of very thick socks

[hubner]

Someone might have already mentioned it, if your head, torso and limbs are not warm then your hands (and feet) will feel cold whatever gloves you have on.

So the answer might be to wear clothes (including a hat) that are capable of coping with freezing conditions.

[MattH]

My serious cold weather gloves are a pair of Columbia skiing gloves that I bought many years ago when I used to travel regularly to the Nordic areas in winter. No problem at all in sub-zero, and my hands will warm up in them if they've been outside and got really cold for eating or fixing something on the bike. A bit bulky, but fine on STIs after a bit of getting used to them, and waterproof too.

I hadn't realised that muffs were a thing on bicycles; I've used them on the motorbike to great effect. Summer gloves are fine well below zero in that case, and the added benefit that mine cover the troublesome glove/jacket interface and stop water working its way in during torrential rain. I'll have to investigate the bicycle version, though at the moment I'm doing OK in a pair of winter sealskinz gloves.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Wore the Buffalo mitts this morning as the forecast said 5 degrees. It might be 5 degrees but it feels much warmer (sunny, dry-ish and only mild wind). Nevertheless, I'd say the Buffalos are warm. No problem braking or changing gear but they did affect low-speed control. My starting off and cruising on the hoods position tends to be with three fingers wrapped round the brake levers and one underneath, on the actual bars. With mitts this, obviously, isn't possible. Had whole mitt wrapped round 'horn' at top of hoods but the other bike has older shifters with less pronounced horns.