Gloves
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| John Murphy74 | Feb 25 2024, 12:14pm | I'm looking for some advice from the wealth of collective knowledge here. I suffer from Raynards in my hands, they can get extremely cold and then numb and sore. I had an incident on Mt Leinster yesterday where my gloves got wet and my hands became unusable for a spell. Just wondering what gloves people use for very cold weather on the mountains. |
| John J Barry | Feb 25 2024, 12:28pm | John, I'm no expert but might be worth while researching neoprene gloves. Companies such as Sealskinz Better brands maybe more breathable |
| Shane O'Malley | Feb 25 2024, 12:40pm | I have a pair of trekmates Rigg gloves that I find very good. They are waterproof but not designed for really cold weather so my hands don't get too hot. Disclaimer is that I work for 53 Degrees North but there is a range there for different temps. Shane |
| Dara O'Brien | Feb 25 2024, 12:50pm | Riggs was Mel Gibsons character, they should have called them ‘Murtagh’s’ - he was played by Danny Glover. Ba-dum-tish… |
| Robbie Williams | Feb 25 2024, 2:07pm | I suffer from the same with Raynauds Gloves never worked out in really cold weather, with fingers separated it gets worse, got a thick style waterproof mittens (berghaus) but any good ones. You will literally be almost sweating in them |
| Alistair Hodgett | Feb 25 2024, 2:31pm | Also have Raynaud's (we could start a support group...). In addition to the suggestions already made I have found these helpful: 1) Raidlight waterproof mitts that go over gloves or mitts. They look daft but keep hands dry during long runs in bad weather and 2) those sachet style hand warmers to keep fingers warm inside a mitten. |
| Ronan Doyle | Feb 25 2024, 3:09pm | You could carry surgical gloves as a back up or if you get caught out with the weather, |
| Eoin McDonnell | Feb 25 2024, 3:31pm | I'm far from an expert... I find the Decathlon gloves to be as good as far more expensive brands. So you could maybe buy two and carry a dry pair. Also, have you tried merino wool liners? |
| Siobhán Dunphy | Feb 25 2024, 6:51pm | Over mitts might be a good option. They are thin and go over your regular gloves as an extra windproof/waterproof layer. I use them for cross-country skiing and running on very cold days. Super warm and makes a huge difference. |
| Dave Docherty | Feb 25 2024, 8:37pm | I had Asoss Ultra gloves for a while. Fantastic gloves. Till I lost one for a few days,, found it later with the fingers chewed off by a wild animal. Also, you can get battery powered heated gloves. Both available in cycle superstore. |
| Dave Docherty | Feb 25 2024, 8:39pm | Also the mits are handy but yes they make your fingers sweat. A thin pair of merino glove liners help. |
| Miriam Maher | Feb 25 2024, 8:48pm | Try out Barts convertible mitts. I’d swear by them. The beauty of them is that they are fingerless gloves with mitts. So they can go with the varying temps as you experience them. |
| Paul Smyth | Feb 25 2024, 11:31pm | I'm sure all the gloves mentioned are fine, but the problem is that Reynaud's is a circulatory problem in the hands, and fingers. I've had Reynaud's all my life and in general have not found gloves to be an effective solution. In any case the difference between different brands and types of gloves is mostly marginal, by which I mean they are mostly equally effective. One thing I absolutely cannot recommend, is the suggestion someone made, of surgical gloves. As a circulatory problem, I would expect surgical gloves to make the problem worse not better. More important is fitness and exertion level. I find when my body if working above a certain level I do not suffer from the problem and it tends to occur on long races, when I'm getting tired, the temperature is very cold, and I've slowed down so that my body is not working at as high a level. I also find it important on very cold days to stay covered up until I've warmed up sufficiently to avoid the problem. Occasionally it's unavoidable and you'll start the race with numb uncomfortable, possibly painful hands. Most people's instinct is to ball up their hands - I do the opposite, I extend the fingers and work them back and forth while my body is warming up during the race. It can take a while but once your heart is pumping hard enough the blood will start to flow into the fingers, which is unfortunately when the numbness gives way to tingling and some pain. That usually passes quickly, but YMMV. I'm generally Ok after that, unless the race is long enough/hard enough that I eventually have to slow down and the Reynauld's can kick in again. Balling up your hands tends to restrict the blood flow further. |
| John Murphy74 | Feb 26 2024, 11:11am | Thanks for the replies, lots of good info. |
| Conor McElroy | Feb 27 2024, 10:55am | Hi John I'd recommend you try these SUP boarding paddle mitts by Yak: https://www.thehatt.co.uk/shop/product/yak-paddle-mitts/ I can testify they have excellent insulation from the weather. As you'll see from the picture, the palm is cut out - this allows for better grip on a SUP paddle, but for you this will prevent over heating / excess sweating and allows you to peel back the mitt if you want further ventilation. Teamed with a thin pair of insulation gloves +/- a disposable heat unit as have been suggested here that should cover all but the most severe raynauds sufferers in the mountains from minus 10 windchill and above for 1.5-3 hours I'd expect this set up ought to keep your digits functioning (assuming you have full dexterity day to day around the home) if not altogether more comfortable Cheers, Conor |
| Will Martin-Smith | Feb 28 2024, 7:41pm | Hi John, fellow Reynaud's sufferer here. I have about 25 different pairs of gloves and mitts, including heated ones. None are perfect, and certainly not for running in wet weather. But I have to echo what Paul says above. Cold hands are an effect but not the cause. The key more me is to keep my core warm (extra under armour type layer or a gilet). As far as gloves go, an extra pair of dry wool gloves are great. One other thing I find works well are wrist/sweatbands to keep my wrists warm as well. |
| Robbie Williams | Feb 28 2024, 8:36pm | This post has gotten completely out of HAND. I don’t want to be the one to point the FINGER, but I was quite s(MITTEN) when I posted my answer, but I feel some of the other responses haven’t really NAILED it, so let’s KNUCKLE down and get this sorted so we can put the whole thing to WRIST once and for all Feel free to comment as appropriate, I deserve it ;) |
| Niamh Brophy | Feb 28 2024, 9:08pm | Raynauds sufferer here too..merino liners and mitts best combination for me. Although after consulation with my GP I now take a low dose of fast acting Nifedipine if i know i will be exposed to the cold and it works so effectively. |
| John Murphy74 | Feb 28 2024, 9:22pm | Niamh, thats interesting. My GP never suggested anything! Robbie, you've really thrown down the gaunlet! |
| John Murphy74 | Feb 28 2024, 9:23pm | Niamh, thats interesting. My GP never suggested anything! Robbie, you've really thrown down the gauntlet! |
| Niamh Brophy | Feb 28 2024, 9:38pm | Honestly, I enquired about it with my GP, I had heard about its effectiveness for managing Raynauds. Its designed for treating high blood pressure so does come with some considerations. But its been a game changer for me this winter. Hope you find something that works for you , its not pleasant when the digits dysfunction, especially on the hills. |
| Alan Ayling | Feb 29 2024, 5:05pm | Nifedipine, the internet tells me, is a vasodilator. In other words, dilates peripheral blood vessels. Makes sense that it could have benefits for Reynauds sufferers. Just wondering about the side effects. Would it be beneficial or make things even worse for someone who suffers on cold days from the unfortunate phenomenon known as "runner's willy"? Asking for a friend, obviously. |
| David Power | Mar 1 2024, 8:13am | Interesting discussion - before we get into recommending medications, supplements, "tablets" - I would recommend you take medical advice from qualified professionals and since I'm interested in anti-doping, always take a look at the prohibited substances list for clean sport. https://medcheck.sportireland.ie/ Interestingly, I thought it would be easy to check if Nifedipine was approved, but no results shown, which is weird. I haven't seen a drug tester on the side of a mountain in Wicklow yet, but you never know :-) Sorry for going off on a tangent, that's what forums are for. More general info: https://www.sportireland.ie/anti-doping |
| Gary Guilfoyle | Mar 1 2024, 9:21am | HI John, I suffer from Raynauds too. At one point I couldn't take milk out of the fridge without losing the use of my hands, I went to the doctor and got a prescription for Amlid that helped. It seems to be different for different people. I rememeber being in Egypt in 42 degree heat and it would happen when I jumped into the pool, more of a reaction to temp change than just being cold. I've been lucky where the severity has eased significantly so I don't use the Amlid anymore. I still get it in my hands and toes on very cold days.The toes make it difficult to run, even on flat roads. I have found that it's as important to keep my entire body warm and my hands are less likely to turn. I wear thermal gear under my running tops about 6 months of the year. I still carry hand warmers with me (you can get rechargeable ones online). And the first thing I do after every single run is to either get out of my gear ASAP or layer up very quickly. Raynauds society has on online shop that sells a few bit. |
| Gregory OBeirne | Mar 4 2024, 10:37am | Hi to all. Reading with interest about gloves and cold feet and the likes, especiallyloss of feeling. This is something I suffered from too over the years after long runs and never gave it a moments thought , putting it down to imbalances/fatigue etc. I'm mentioning this just in case, because it turned out I had a heart issue, (AF)mild enough and seemingly can be corrected, but don't discount an irregular heartbeat, everyone, especially endurance athletes (yes you! ) , should get checked out at some stage just for piece of mind. We should really have the capacity to keep our extremities warm. Don't start getting all worried, just in case |
