Some gear is game changing – Heated gloves
Some gear is game changing–As guides we spend many days of the year in cold weather. This takes a toll on our hands and fingers the most, and we’re always searching for better ways to keep our digits warm.
Many guides develop a phenomenon called “Reynauds” over time from the extreme cold temperatures. Reynauds as Wikipedia describes is “a medical condition in which the spasm of small arteries causes episodes of reduced blood flow to end arterioles. Typically, the fingers, and less commonly, the toes, are involved”.
In my case, I developed Reynauds long before I ever began guiding when I was just 13 years old as a result of frostbite in my fingers.
Cold weather guiding has always been harder for me as a result and my best solution until last year was mittens with disposable hand warmers stuffed in them. Although this made cold weather guiding possible, my fingers would still be loaded with ulcers by Christmas. Basically because my fingers would get cold from the inside, the tissue would die and be really painful as it worked its way out through my skin. Sounds terrible I know.
Now for the great news!
Last year my friend Charlie was telling my about his new heated glove liners. He was so impressed with them that every time I saw him he was telling me how great they were. He offered to loan them to me so I could try them for myself so I borrowed them for a couple days and became convinced they were the solution to my cold fingers.
Heated gloves aren’t cheap at around $120 pair, but I bought a few pair anyway. This last fall was my first fall in 20 years of guiding that I reached the end of the busy season without a single ulcer flare up on my fingers. The heated gloves have been life changing for me for sure!
The gloves I’ve found that work best are the liner gloves which allow my fingers the most dexterity and in fact are very easy to fish with. They are thin enough that I can even tie a new fly on without taking the gloves off if it’s super cold.
Most heated gloves, mine included have 3 heat settings… low, medium and high. On high, I typically get about 2 1/2 hours on a battery charge. When the battery dies, it only takes a few seconds to remove the rechargeable lithium battery and swap it with another one. I keep a charger plugged in to my boat so I always have one charging and one in my glove.
If you suffer from cold hands like me, I’d encourage you to give heated gloves a try. I think you’ll find that they allow you to spend more time in the great outdoors even in the coldest weather.
I’ve purchase two different brands so far and while I’m quite satisfied with both brands, the brand at the top link tend to be my go to gloves.
To learn more about the author of this post, Matt Zudweg, click here.
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