I have a trip to Antartica planned for next January. I am trying to get things that are needed for ththe trip early. I am looking for suggestions for gloves to use while photgraphing in the cold.
All suggestions are welcome.
Get yourself a set of wool gloves. Cut the finger tips off at least the right side and hem them with needle and thread. Also get some Thinsulate mittens that these gloves will fit under. Ware both and take off the mittens when shooting.
I dont know about the Antarctic and the differance in temperature, but I used these in Wyoming in february with a pair of glove liners under them and they worked well. Just an option. http://www.aquatech.net/sensory-gloves.php
I would recommend layers, have a pair of good, thin gloves and then a set of warm mittens that you can wear over them. I like natural materials like wool and leather more than synthetic formulations, but that's just me.
They're called glomitts (as in glove-mittens). They have an outer finger flap covering and wear with the warmth of a glove . Then flip the glove part back and you get exposed finger tips for tactile shutter button control. Wonderful invention!
You get chemical hand warmers at outdoor shops that keep warm for hours (sawdust and iron filings with some sort of catalyst) they start getting hot when you open the packet keep one in each pocket to keep your hands warm when you "park" them. Any outer inner combination will work - remember you get what you pay for, would not suggest bare skin touching bare metal at any time. Sudden temp changes will cause lens fogging so warm/cool lenses slowly in stages.
January will tend to be warmer there then later in the season (their seasons are roughly reverse of ours). I was down at McMurdo and Palmer Station long ago and it was actually fairly warm on some days in January.
That said, things can change pretty quick, especially when the sun gets lower on the horizon. Where will you be visiting and are you going by plane or boat?
SWANY makes a large selection of gloves. I found that their "Arctic Toaster" met my needs
A fingered glove made of new materials fits into leather and nylon mitten which has a zipper. You can unzip the glove to have an index finger trigger the shutter release. There is enough room to use a chemical heating pack between the fingered glove and the mitten.
You will find these gloves at a high end ski shop. I found medium fit very well where I am use to getting large or extra large gloves. I suggest that you try them on if you can find a place that sells them.
If you get cold hands easily (Raynaud's Disease) then gloves never work. So I use mitts if it's at all cold and I cut a small slit for my trigger (index) finger to pop out and shoot. If it's just cool then wool gloves may work. If it's really cold I use thermic mitts with lithium ion battery heaters. They last for 4-6 hours on medium. Really pricey, but so are new fingers. I even cut a little trigger hole but that can be difficult in $300 mitts. They also make gloves and boot warmers. Don
