Help for cold hands

[dmcutter]

Actually, just one hand. I have some severe muscle loss in my right hand from ulnar nerve compression. I had nerve transposition surgery at the beginning of April and hopefully in a year tops the nerve function will return to my hand and I can start building the tissue back up. In the meantime, when my hand gets cold, my pinkie and ring finger become essentially immobilized and I lose most all the pinch strength in the remaining fingers. It is not so terribly bad in say, 72 degree water, but I don't live in FL and here in NC the water in the local quarry is a balmy 51 at the surface and still low to mid 40s below the thermocline. I dive a SolaFX 7/8 semidry and have recently added a Thermalution heated vest, and wear 5 mm gloves. Even keeping my core warm, my hand was about useless after the first 30 minute dive weekend before last. I suppose I could get a dry suit and gloves, but I would be willing to bet that would still not completely solve the problem.

Thermalution is not rolling out heated gloves any time soon, although I thought it might be possible to take the heating elements from a vest and have them incorporated into a glove or pair of gloves...shouldn't be rocket science but it would be very expensive. I have seen lobster (3 finger) mitts by Oceaner and thought a more cost effective option would be to incorporate a pocket into the back side to hold a chemical heat pack, but in reading other posts about heat packs here on the board it raises the specter of increasing risk of DCS with localized surface heating.

Does anyone know of a readily available and practical method for getting warmer hands, or do I just need to suck it up and go dry?

Thanks

 

[decompression]

If I may, I find the "whites" heat gloves very warm. I wear the 3mm in 46 degree water. Another recommendation could be a MIT style.

 

[TSandM]

Well, the very best way to keep your hands warm is to keep your core warmer. I don't know what kind of wetsuit you are wearing, or how warm you manage to be in 51 degree water, but keeping your core and head warm WILL help your hands. Beyond that, dry gloves. I got out of the water the first winter I dive here in Puget Sound, where the temperature falls into the upper to mid 40's in the wintertime, and ran to the ladies room in tears because my hands hurt so much. I went dry and have never looked back.

 

[dmcutter]

I think one mistake I made this last time out was not wearing my Lavacore hood under the integrated hood in my Aqualung, which I generally do. While I never got brainfreeze, I could notice that my noggin was colder than usual. I can't really imagine anything that would send me crying to the ladies room, but then I don't typically frequent them anyway. I am a lifelong cyclist and ride all winter so while I claim to hate the cold, I subject myself to it an awful lot and guess I am just conditioned to it. When I get cold I say to myself, "this is not as bad as the Chosen Reservoir and it will not kill me".

I will have to google the Whites heat glove...sounds promising.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2012 at 09:47 PM ----------

Woot! Whites Heat 3 finger mitts look like just the ticket. I shall order some right now.

 

[elan]

As mentioned before, the hands will feel warmer when the core is warm. I had the same issue with the hands at the beginning but it was solved by adding a 200g vest. Keep your core warm and the hands will be warm.

 

[dmcutter]

200 g vest probably won't work wet. I just ordered some Waterproof G1 7 mm semidry 3 finger mitts. With luck they will be here by Saturday and I will be able to try them out Sunday.

 

[rhwestfall]

Fourth Element makes a glove we refer to as "Spider Man Gloves" - very good, and likely one of the best wet gloves out there. Check them out if you get a chance.

edit: link added:
http://www.fourthelement.com/wet_diving_gloves.php

liners and mitts look interesting too....

 

[fisheater]

Fourth Element makes a glove we refer to as "Spider Man Gloves" - very good, and likely one of the best wet gloves out there. Check them out if you get a chance.

What he said!

My long search for warm, wet gloves ended with my Fourth Element 5 mm gloves.