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Since it’s getting pretty cold here in Northern Europe I thought I’d ask people’s preferences/experiences with different glove types. I’m considering dropping my 5 finger gloves for 3 finger since i find that it does postpone the numbness quite a bit. Curious to hear what you think and if certain options suit your style better. Thanks!

Mits are a lot warmer.

Nothing more to add.

I like 3 fingers/lobster gloves when it is really cold. That´s slightly above freezing for me. Soft neopren, pre-bend/curved, smooth skin on the outside.

I have tried all, when it's not too cold I go 5 finger.
I used to have 3 finger which are ok to close to freezing but full mitten are still warmer, the 3 finger claw the index is the weakest link in the whole setup. I found out that it's not the booties, wetsuit/drysuit, it's the gloves that really hold you back in cold temp.

If you want to go really cold full mittens are still better.

I totally agree (I plan on riding tomorrow when it's air temp about 35 degrees F) that full mitts are the best. Whatever you buy, though, make sure they're not too small. Too tight at the wrist is just as much of a problem as too tight on the hand. As long as the wrist is at least snug around the outside of the wetsuit, very little water sloshes in and out of the mitt.

With gloves (or three-fingered mitts) you also have more neoprene to bend when you grip your bar. That saps your forearm strength faster. Mitts minimize the grip effort. I also haven't had any real problems by not having my index finger separate. Most of what I need to do can be done through the mitt. I have oversize non-neoprene mitts to don when I get off the water so it's easier to take them off and put them on again while derigging (or rigging).

Thanks for the “index finger” feedback, Don. It’s probably the only thing keeping me sceptical about the mitten option so great to get some info!

What would you say is the best option out there for 5 degrees, 5 degrees air?
My hands get very tired very quickly in for instance Rip Curls 7/5 mm mittens. That is what I need though as my fingers get very cold. Any gloves that keep warm but still are a compromise in regard to not getting too tired?

The dakine cold water mitt are very nice because the palm is not thick material it's thin, which means you don't wear out your forearms by gripping the bar. when you wear 5mm gloves, it oftens means a shorter session because the extra thick material causes your grip to fail long before you want to finish kiting. Three finger gloves have pretty much the same problem as five finger gloves, where your grip will fail too quickly if you get the 5 or 6 mm gloves. Dakines are only 2mm (maybe 2.5mm or 3mm? not sure) anyway they area about 2mm mitts but give you about the same thermal protection as a 5mm glove. As for me I'm used to cold weather, barehanded down to 4C then a thin 2mm 5 finger glove down to 0C and colder than that I go snow kiting. A friend of mine has cold hands, and she needs extremely thick gloves even in warm (I think 4C is pretty warm) weather, so she will go out with a 5mm glove. Just remember when people are giving advice it's not about how warm they are with their equipment it's about how much thermal protection you need. Everyone's different. When I first started kiting 8 years ago I needed very thick gloves because my fingers got so cold and dakine mitts were the best because they were mitts and mitts keep you the warmest. Now I tolerate the cold better, and never use my dakine mitts, just some thin 2mm gloves down to 0c, but at the time they were my favorites.

Nothing like mitts for cold conditions. Most guys here use mitts and will easily outlast anyone with gloves or lobster mitts (unless they are full dry gloves).

BernieTomic1 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:57 pm

What would you say is the best option out there for 5 degrees, 5 degrees air?
My hands get very tired very quickly in for instance Rip Curls 7/5 mm mittens. That is what I need though as my fingers get very cold. Any gloves that keep warm but still are a compromise in regard to not getting too tired?

Something a bit thinner and curved. Curved for me is really important (like ION clawfinger, Prolimit Curved Utiliy, NP Lobster Glove).
What also helps a lot is to have a break about 10 min into your session, Put the kite down, walk around for ten minutes with the hands hanging down. They will be warm for at least an hour (there was thread here about this a while ago, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_reaction)