Can we talk winter hand solutions for people with poor circulation? My hands get cold!

Here's my history. Been winter cycling for 4 years. Have tried the following with the following results:

 

Pearl Izumi Lobsters WITH liners - good down to about 28-30. Just a matter of time until ice hooks after that

Heavy ski gloves - maybe better than most things. Good to a few degrees cooler than the lobsters

Heavy ski gloves with latex gloves inside - Sweaty gross hands, but this works pretty well. Just a GIANT pain if you have to do anything en route and don't want to go through multiple gloves. I can usually use them 2 or 3 times, but it's just a big messy pain.

Some misc. others that just suck. Why don't gloves seem to exist that are the cycling equivalent of the Lake cop boots? I have REALLY cold prone hands.

 

Does anyone have any good experiences?

 

Thanks gang.

 

J. Ward

 

 

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on November 30, 2012 at 6:57am

The single use handwarmers are great. I bought a box from Costco a couple years ago and still have about 10 left. I use them for biking and disc golf in the winter. TThe only problem with using them for commuting is they will last about 10 hours but depending on the length of your work day its borderline whether one will last the entire day.  Also, I have an old pair of down mittens that are great for the coldest days. Your fingers stay warmer when they can touch each other. 

Permalink Reply by Noah Shlaes on November 30, 2012 at 7:10am

Another related topic - the ride home!  If your gloves get wet from a sweaty ride in, they're cold going home.  This year I've added a minute / glove with a blow drier when I get to work, so that I'm not putting on wet gloves going home.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on November 30, 2012 at 7:22am

The number of gloves you have on your person when riding in cold weather should be 2-3 times the number of underpants or socks you have.  You'll be changing them even more often if you know what is good for you.

Noah Shlaes said:

Another related topic - the ride home!  If your gloves get wet from a sweaty ride in, they're cold going home.  This year I've added a minute / glove with a blow drier when I get to work, so that I'm not putting on wet gloves going home.

Permalink Reply by Tim Gittings on November 30, 2012 at 8:17am

I've been using glomitts like these for the past six years and they are still treating me right. Because they're neoprene no wind gets through, though my hands can get a little sweaty on longer rides. I will wear a thin glove underneath on really cold days and that usually does me just fine down into the single-digits. I like the glomitt style too because you just have to pull back the mitt part and your fingers are ready to go for locking up. 

Permalink Reply by Dan Palmer on November 30, 2012 at 9:27am
+1 for bar mitts. I have ridden for over an hour in 20 weather with mitts and regular gloves and do my hands stayed reasonably warm. They are definitely worth the money.
Permalink Reply by norman kaeseberg on November 30, 2012 at 10:01am

i saved my old wintwer issue motorcycle gloves from years ago and they work just fine. Check any online motorcycle store and look for details you like. mine are super long and have a strap going across the top of the hand that's just perfect for holding a scott towel or 2 to wipe the snot off!!

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on November 30, 2012 at 10:10am

I picked up some Specialized sub zero gloves on sale this year, and they are REALLY warm.  on my 10.5 mile commute I have used only the liners so far, which have those cellphone fingertips AND are windproof.  I tried to wear the WATERPROOF shells without the liners on those <20f days and my hands were sweating after 1 mile.  I switched back to the liners.  I think for you, you need the waterproof/windproof to keep in all the heat you can, waterproof being better for cold hands.  I am hoping when it gets down to 10's I can use the shells, otherwise I just wasted $50.

Permalink Reply by Jason Ward on November 30, 2012 at 11:01am
Glad to see this thread back! I have been mulling over a new year of cold hands and responding thus far by not riding as much. I can always tell who doesn't really have cold hand issues by who is saying "I've only used the liners all winter" or "Pearl Izumi Lobsters work great all winter!" don't get me wrong, I envy all of you, but you DO NOT have cold hand problems to solve in the first place if any of these solutions work. You have good circulation and it's just really cold in Chicago and you found an easy and sensible solution.

I think I may go ahead and plunk down the money for the nice rechargeable heated gloves. Just can't get behind the throwaway heaters (there is enough garbage making in my life already). That should do the trick once and for all. The idea of not only having not-utterly-freezing hands but actual warm hands seems worth a lot of money.
Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on November 30, 2012 at 11:04am

I have serious cold hand and toe problems, ever since I was on the ski team in high school.  Waterproof gloves are the warmest because they dont breathe.

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on November 30, 2012 at 11:12am

Ok, with the bar mitts, it looks like it'd be hard/impossible to change gears on my bar-end shifters while riding. Anyone notice a problem with that? Plus, you'd have to ride in the drops the whole time - not great for city ridin'... Thoughts? I have a backup plan but these seem pretty interesting...

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on November 30, 2012 at 11:19am

Someone somewhere mentioned home-made microwaveable hand warmers.  As I was trying to find out exactly how much garbage results from the disposable hand warmers, I found simple instructions for making reusable handwarmers with cotton fabric pouches filled with rice.  It is said that the heat will last for 30 minutes, which certainly would be enough for me, but maybe not enough if you have a longer commute.  And if you don't have access to a microwave at work, it won't help for the ride home.

Instructions are simple:  cut two squares or rectangles of cotton (not synthetic--could melt or catch fire). Sew together on three sides, fill three-quarters full with rice, sew up the fourth side.  Microwave for one minute to heat.  If this is viable, could be added to the bike winter sewing projects!

I will make one over the weekend and report back!

 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 30, 2012 at 11:26am

Love to hear of the backup plan, but yes, most pogies are not designed for drop bars-pretty much straight bars only. The only people I know that manufacture for drop bars are here, though more versions could have surfaced over the years.

Sarah D. said:

Ok, with the bar mitts, it looks like it'd be hard/impossible to change gears on my bar-end shifters while riding. Anyone notice a problem with that? Plus, you'd have to ride in the drops the whole time - not great for city ridin'... Thoughts? I have a backup plan but these seem pretty interesting...

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