hand warmers

[snuggle]

anyone out there know of or have used hand warmers for wetsuits?..am going to gilboa in jan and would like to have something to keep my hands warm in the water..went into the detroit river this morning to see how my 2 piece wetsuit would fare..and it was ok except for my hands....

 

[wb416]

snuggle once bubbled...
anyone out there know of or have used hand warmers for wetsuits?..am going to gilboa in jan and would like to have something to keep my hands warm in the water..went into the detroit river this morning to see how my 2 piece wetsuit would fare..and it was ok except for my hands....

Most of the small flexible single use hand warmers require oxygen for activation and continued heat generation. The re-usable warmers are more rigid and hence not easy to use inside the glove. Remember that the glove is snugger to prevent a great deal of circulation through it.

An alternative you may consider is three finger mitts. Less dexterity, but greater accumulative warmth, and less surface area (fingers) for radiation cooling.

Pre-loading your suit and gloves with warm/hot water is another good option.

I'm using drygloves these days, but if you want to borrow my 3-finger mitts, I'm available most weekends for Gilboa and would be happy to let you borrow them even if it doesnt' work out for us to dive together.

regards,
wb

Bob's cold water wetsuit tips:
Aside from warm/hot water to soak you're gear in during the SIT and pouring into your suit prior to first and second dive....

A couple of pairs of wool socks... my feet seem to stay more comfortable when I wear one pair on your first dive, then while you're drying off during the SIT, put you're second pair on. Maybe even an extra pair for the drive home.

Make sure that you strip down your wetsuit at least to your waist during the SIT. I've gotten away with leaving my John folded down to my legs. The jacket definitely has to come off though. Place the jacket into the cooler with warm/hot water, only with your gloves and hood.

Wool shirts or sweaters on the SIT can work great. Even if they get damp from your gear, they won't lose the heat like cotton can. Combine this with a rain coat and you can get toasty.

Go to the hunting section of Walmart and buy some inexpensive neoprene gloves ($10) for the SIT and also get some chemical pack warmers ($2/6pk). I'm talking the disposable kind here, not the re-usable ones. The disposable ones stay nice and flexible. There are two kinds... hands & feet. Use the hand warmer inside the neoprene gloves, and the feet warmer inside of the hiking boots or other that you're wearing on your SIT, but OUTSIDE of your wool socks. The foot warmers get too hot for direct skin contact. You can stay nice an toasty this way.

At the end of the SIT, prime with hot/warm water the portion of wetsuit that you may still have on your legs, then start putting on the gear.

The Chem pk warmers can also be nice for the ride home after the second dive.

You may also find that a wool shirt under your wet suit will prevent a lot of heat loss when your stripping down after the first (and second) dives. Why bother? 'cause we don't alway get undressed and dryed off as quickly as we'd like, so while you're putzing around, you're not losing as much heat from your core.

 

[DameDykker]

Also in 3-finger gloves you should be able to use wollen finger gloves under neath. Cut off the wrist part of a pair of thin woolen gloves (and sew the new line to prevent unwraling). Put on a pair of servise station plastic gloves to get an eacy slide surface. Then put on the neoprene 3-finger gloves. This set up had helped me having toasty fingers also in 4 deg. C (39 F) water.

Enjoy your dives.

 

[Lawman]

that look like a baggie full of water. There is a
small disc like a penny inside. If you "click" the
penny the entire bag heats up instantly and
hardens like wax. It is waterproof and after it
cools you put it in boiling water and it returns
to it's liquid state ready to use again. I can't
remember the trade name but it's made in
San Antonio Tx and costs about $4.

 

[MgicTwnger]

Lawman once bubbled...
that look like a baggie full of water. There is a
small disc like a penny inside. If you "click" the
penny the entire bag heats up instantly and
hardens like wax. It is waterproof and after it
cools you put it in boiling water and it returns
to it's liquid state ready to use again. I can't
remember the trade name but it's made in
San Antonio Tx and costs about $4.

WalMart has them for $3.75.

 

[Stone]

They are sold as "Reheater Packs"

 

[Lawman]

a pail of water and heat it up then dump
it down your wet suit. It also works to
neutralize some stings. Really handy
gadgets. I put them in a couple of ziplock
bags to protect them. A small cloth bag
works well also.

 

[IndyScott]

You might try dry gloves that install with rings.

Scott