Gloves for Winter Photography
This time of year, I get many questions about what type of gloves to wear for winter photography. The following gloves are what I use. I've found that this glove system keeps my hands comfy for photography down to -40°F.
Just like with other clothing, I layer my gloves. With layering, you wear multiple gloves based on different temps and activities. When your hands start to get uncomfortably cold, you add a layer. When they get hot, you remove a layer.
The ideal is to have your hands comfortably cool. You don't want your hands to sweat, because when you stop the sweat will make them colder, and you don't want them to get too cold because you don't want to suffer cold incapacitation or frostbite.
There's a middle ground to aim for, and I call it comfortably cool. That's the point when your hands don't feel hot, but if you want them to warm up, it is easy to make that happen.
The layering system combines three types of gloves.
The first is a liner or base layer. For gloves, I use a lightweight base layer made from wool. In the picture is Smartwool's Liner Gloves. These are warm on their own down to around freezing and have touchscreen compatibility. As it gets colder, like with most gloves, the touchscreen ability doesn't work as well as in warmer temps.
The nice thing about wearing a liner is that you can manipulate all the functions on a camera with the liner still on. This prevents you from having to touch the cold camera with bare skin.
The second layer is insulation. Inside the red mittens and not shown, I have a layer of insulation that keeps my hands warm down to about 0°F when combined with the red Gore-Tex outer layer and a liner glove. I can remove the insulation if needed.
The last layer is a shell. A shell for gloves should be waterproof or highly water resistant. It should also block the wind. The red mitten is a Gore-Tex shell that's waterproof and nearly windproof.
Most of the time in winter, I use a glove that combines the mid-layer of insulation with an outer layer of leather. The leather helps control the camera. I seldom take off my leather gloves when working with the camera. It takes a little practice to get used to insulated leather gloves, but practicing with your camera while watching TV at night works well.
I use insulated leather work gloves, but leather work gloves aren't created equally. Most use Thinsulate insulation, which is an older and cheaper insulation that is durable. Newer insulations can be warmer, but they tend to be more expensive.
At minimum, you want 100-gram Thinsulate with a treated leather. I use Wells Lamont HydraHyde gloves with 100-gram Thinsulate when using a glove of that weight. I find I can get down into the single digits with a liner and this glove. There are plenty of brands on the market with similar specs.
The next level of warmth comes from the bulkier 150-gram Thinsulate. Leather gloves in this category when combined with a liner glove get me down into the below 0°F temps. This year I'm trying out a 150-gram pair of Wells Lamont HydraHyde gloves, and so far I like them.
I like to treat my gloves with Sno-seal to add waterproofness. I usually do this after one full season and the built-in waterproofness of leather has faded away.
When it is colder than that, I'll throw on a shell mitten with or without an insulation liner. I make sure that the mittens are attached to my arms with a safety strap, so I can drop the mittens and let them hang while I use the glove to set up a picture. Then I can put the mittens back on quickly while waiting. I'd suggest buying the mittens a size larger so they easily fit over your leather work gloves. I'm a big fan of Outdoor Research's Modular Mitts. Mine are an older version that I got back with I was a dirtbag climber. I traded a six pack to a pro snowboarder, who was sponsored by OR, to get the gloves. I'm due for an upgrade. The Baker Mitts include an insulation mid-layer and with a liner may be all you need for winter photography.
There are a lot of different options out there, but in summary it is this:
Light and thin liner glove made from wool or synthetic material
Insulation layer. 100+ grams of insulation.
Shell. Gore-Tex or leather or both.
Leather work gloves with 100+ grams of insulation can work well. Practice controlling your camera with them on when at home watching TV.
One other note is that your hands won't automatically stay warm even in the best gloves. You will need to move them. I often wiggle my fingers while waiting for the shot.
When your hands start to get too cold, you can spin your arms in circles to drive warm blood into your hands. Or you can slap them across your chest to get the blood into your hands. Both actions need to be taken aggressively to get that blood flowing.
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Until next time...
With the right glove system, you can keep your hands warm during winter photography, but remember that you also need to take action when your hands start to get cold to keep that warm blood flowing into your hands.
Enjoy the winter! It's my favorite time of the year to photograph.