UKC

Can anyone recommend a decent pair of warm mitts please? I've bought several semi-decent gloves over the years, but I think it's time to get something I know will keep me warm. My fingers tend to shut down in anything below 8° or so and I need something to deal with this.

They won't be used for winter climbing or anything like that, just for hanging about in the cold when I'm out bouldering or cragging / wandering.

Also, is down or synthetic the best way to go? Ideally, I'm not after huge gauntlets, but might be persuaded. And how much warmer are mitts than gloves, assuming a like-for-like basis, is there any way of telling? Oh, finally re liners: are they (the mitts) better ie warmer with or without them?

In reply to Fraser:

Dachsteins?

In reply to Fraser:

Buffalo mitts. They are very warm, light and not too expensive.

In reply to Fraser:

Montane Extreme Mitts are good value. But if your fingers are getting cold at these sort of temps, you have to wonder if your core temp is high enough. Mitts don't make your hands warm, they keep them at their existing temperature. Try eating something fatty for breakfastand wear a belay jacket before spending big on mitts.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Dachstiens!

They're the way forwards...

In reply to Fraser:

Montane Extreme mitts are the dogs danglies. Not the most robust in the world, but very warm.

In reply to Fraser:

http://www.montane.co.uk/range/accessories/extreme-mitt

In reply to Fraser:

Montane extreme mitts are amazing! Walm when wet!

In reply to Fraser:

If you're after something extremely warm, but not too worried about palm durability (belaying etc) then I bought some Hestra Primaloft liner mitts. They weigh virtually nothing as they don't have any extra bells and whistles on the outside, but are ridiculously warm (600g Primaloft on the back of hand!!! 400g on the palm). Once I was scrambling up a steep gully in pretty cold conditions, bare handed as it was kinda loose and sketchy. I topped out with completely numb hands. I popped these on and a few swings of the arms later the blood was flowing.

The only downside is they aren't the most dexterous, but with mitts it is pretty much always a warmth for dexterity trade-off. They're my backup mitts I carry for friends/emergencies etc because you just forget you have them on you! Also if you want to get shells for them later Hestra do those too, and I think Outdoor Research still do the Mt Baker shells.

I got mine from the Ray Mears shop: http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/696-Hestra-Primaloft-Extreme-Mitt...

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Thanks all - some useful suggestions there. I've tried the Montane ones and like d them a lot, just wasn't sure how warm they'd be. The Dachsteins I've seen all over the place, but for some reason, they don't strike me as being the warmest options out there, maybe I'm just basing that on their appearance. They look quite 'old school'! I'll look into the Hestra ones too as I really rate their stuff.

Cheers again for the input.