Best Mittens for bad circulation in hands

I have two weights of cotton knit gloves and a pair of very old gore tex mittens with a some Thinsulate insulation that I got in the 80's. The gore tex mittens keep my hands very toasty while running so long as I don't touch anything. I only wear them in very extreme cold and windy conditions because otherwise my hands get too warm and sweaty. I have to avoid touching anything cold because the cold will pass right through the thin layer of material. I tend to have more problems keeping my hands warm after I finish running especially if I drive somewhere to run and then have to drive back.

I did find one pair of gore tex running mittens, but they're not currently available. I am not sure if the wind stopper layer is the same as the gore tex layer from my old mittens, but perhaps it will work as well.

http://www.goreapparel.com/gore-running-wear/men/gloves/urban-run-windstopper-gloves/GWSURB.html?navid=xsellPDP

They did have some gore tex gloves on that site though. You might be able to pull your fingers into the palm and use them like mittens while you run.

Wool mittens are the best, as explained above. Breathable, and warm even when wet. Ragg Wool are pretty good.

Even warmer are Dachstein Boiled Wool Alpine Mittens (

https://www.amazon.com/Dachstein-Woolwear-Extreme-Austrian-Mittens/dp/B0152EHMJ0

). There's no way your hands will be cold in these.

agree wrote:

gubyenletsrun wrote:

Saucony Run Mits

+1

I just got a pair of these for the winter in Minneapolis and was planning on using them as a shell over the top of my normal running gloves that I wear, but quickly discovered in the recent sub-zero temps we have been having that my hands were too warm and I needed to ditch the gloves underneath.

The saucony mits seemed a little thin for me when I picked them up but they have a warm inner liner and windproof outer shell that work great (also has some nice reflective patterns if you run in the dark). Maybe they will get a little less effective after few runs through the wash but I have been really impressed thus far.

http://www.runningwarehouse.com/Saucony_Run_Mitt/descpage-SAURM1.html

I have a pair of Brooks mittens similar to these Saucony mittens. I ran today in 17 degrees and after 3 miles had to take the outer shell off because my hands were starting to sweat. It is easy to just tuck the outer layer into your waste band while on the run.

Hard to beat layers.

I feel your pain. I have Reynaud's Disease, a fairly common condition the symptoms of which are exactly what you describe. No gloves EVER worked for me. Mittens do, but the most effective thing I've found, believe it or not is to pull the sleeves of all my layers of clothing over my hands and run like that. The warms from having them covered, and moreso from having your digits together and them sharing their warmth with one another works great. And I'm not talking 40 degree weather either. That method has served me perfectly in the coldest weather I've ever run. So well, in fact, that I've found myself able to pull my sleeves up and run with my hands uncovered during the second half of many runs.

The trick is to never let them get cold. Maybe it's a Reynaud's thing, maybe it's me, but whereas many people can start cold and warm up as they go, once I'm cold I'm stuck being cold and it only gets worse.

Now, as far as mittens go, I highly recommend The North Face Thermoball Mitt. They're around $40-45 and work great.

Simplicity is the mother of invention. I have Raynaud's (circulatory issue producing cold fingers and hands) and a plastic sandwich bag on each hand and followed by a good mitten produces extremely warm hands. Same thing works on the feet with a good sock over the bag.

The other advantage is that you never go thirsty. You can always drink the sweat out of the sandwich bag.

well..... wrote:

Wool mittens are the best, as explained above. Breathable, and warm even when wet. Ragg Wool are pretty good.

Even warmer are Dachstein Boiled Wool Alpine Mittens (

https://www.amazon.com/Dachstein-Woolwear-Extreme-Austrian-Mittens/dp/B0152EHMJ0

). There's no way your hands will be cold in these.

The Dachsteins are great, but in real Minnesota-Arctic conditions, those go under the real mitts. -20 F this morning, and I wore some bad a$$ Marmots.

Anything that splits up your fingers or doesn’t go to mid fore arm is worthless under -15.

Some good options here.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Extremities should never freeze when core temperature is stable. If they do, it's likely your body is pointlessly restricting circulation to them in a knee-jerk reaction to sensing the cold. If so, there is no glove or mitten that can retain heat in something that has none. But it's possible to train your circulation to return to normal, eventually over time you may adapt.

There is virtually nothing in this post that is correct.

It is true that no glove or mitten can retain heat in something that has none.

Not sure how anyone can run in snowmobile or mountaineering gloves, or even cycling gloves; too much hand sweat once you warm up to be comfortable. Instead, go with thinner gloves/mittens combined with Bag Balm (or vaseline will work too). Coat your hands generously with the balm and wear cheap cotton mittens. Do that several times and the mittens get pretty full of the balm. You can even work a bunch of it directly into the mittens. The balm blocks the wind and does a remarkably good job of keeping hands warm. Works better than you might imagine.

Say why not, or gtfo. You are as snide and sophomoric as ever.

that's one reason I say periodization with a winter "base" is a seasonal necessity, not a training strategy. You can't do real workouts in cold weather.

wtfunny wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

Extremities should never freeze when core temperature is stable. If they do, it's likely your body is pointlessly restricting circulation to them in a knee-jerk reaction to sensing the cold. If so, there is no glove or mitten that can retain heat in something that has none. But it's possible to train your circulation to return to normal, eventually over time you may adapt.

There is virtually nothing in this post that is correct.

It is true that no glove or mitten can retain heat in something that has none.

I thought it went without saying that nothing BW ever posts is remotely correct or true. That’s his stupid schtick.

therefore1 wrote:

Simplicity is the mother of invention. I have Raynaud's (circulatory issue producing cold fingers and hands) and a plastic sandwich bag on each hand and followed by a good mitten produces extremely warm hands. Same thing works on the feet with a good sock over the bag.

I have used latex/nitrile/vinyl exam gloves rather than plastic sandwich bags. The only problem is my hands sweat so much with these gloves on under winter gloves that by the end of the run it feels like like my fingers are in a pools of sweat as which point the cooling sweat can be a problem. So I stopped using exam gloves.

Had similar issues. How cold are you facing?

Got the following Craft XC ski mittens last year:

http://www.craftsportswear.com/craft/all-products-59971f05/clothes/gloves/1903489-2999-c9b4490b/

Good today on a 15 F run except my thumbs got a bit cold when heading into the wind. YMMV.

I took a look at some of the other suggestions on this thread. The Klim Caribou snowmobile mittens are listed at $110. The Northface Thermoball Mittens at $55. These 'look' warmer, like parka material for your hands. The Outdoor Research Men's Pl 400 Sensor Mitts look similar to the Craft mittens.

It was about 0F today, very little wind. I used a pair of $20 thinsulate gloves I found at Home Depot. My hands were never cold. My feet got a little cold...I guess my shoes are a little breezy.

CAFnMN wrote:

It was about 0F today, very little wind. I used a pair of $20 thinsulate gloves I found at Home Depot. My hands were never cold. My feet got a little cold...I guess my shoes are a little breezy.

I've never found a pair of gloves that will keep my fingers warm in that cold of weather. Maybe it is a circulation issue, I don't know. I have my Brooks running mittens that I like but need to find a decent pair for walking the dog in these temps.

Wear socks if you have to. Key is to keep the fingers together, which is why gloves are almost useless in real cold.

Try putting oil like argan oil or olive oil or goose fat or lard on your hands. It helps.

Grew up in upstate NY. I have had a pair of mittens with Thinsulate in them for probably 15 years- every time I've moved I have made sure I have those mittens with me. I used to use them for snowboarding too- they were better than snowboarding gloves or mittens. They are the best. My hands actually get hot wearing them even when it's below freezing. They are the best running "clothing" I own (if you want to call mittens clothing). https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/thinsulate-us/