Help with the cold and my hands

[bullbuck]

when its really cold here,i break out my snowmobile gauntlet style gloves made by arctiva,you can find em on ebay,but you have to buy the high dollar pairs,they are setup for ripping through cold air at speed so when you are not moving they are more than adequate,but you are gonna have a little trouble threading a nut on a bolt,but for hanging on to handlebars they are great

 

[tramp bushler]

Cold hands Huh???

Digger Yote had alot of good info . Obviously Peterupnorth KNOWS COLD .. I have a pretty good knowledge base in it also ...... I have a thing now where I have to breath thru fleece face masks to warm up the air in my lungs ... I,m working as hard and fast as I do in the summer , which means I,m breathing real hard . You ain,t sposed to do that @ - 30 .... I get like a cold weather asthma . It is like I frostbit the top of my throat . seriously ..... The way to keep your hands warm is keep your body VERY WARM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It,s -20 right now . I have been working all week in -5 thru -20 ... I go thru 3 face masks ain 6 hrs . I totally saturate all my layers and they are that way till I get in the truck. .. Keeping spare dry fleece cloths in the crummy/ firewood delivery truck is potentially a matter of life and death for me .... When the face screen on my hard hat system gets so iced up I can,t see thru it I have to thaw it out on the muffler of the saw . Today my face screen froze to my face mask , while I was limbing and bucking ..... It happens real regular ..... I sweat ALOT , but if you are dehydrated , you are flirting with all kinds of disaster ... I don,t go to work if it,s colder than -35 . As I work alone , the potential for loosing body parts is very real .... Polyester fleece , with wicking snug fitting long johns ... SERIOUSLY warm boots . I wear 100 below Sorels or Bunny Boots .. 4 layers work good ..... Sometimes , if it gets real cold , you will just have to change what and or how you do things .... It,s not necessarily bad , but it is different ..... The only access to my timber sale is a frozen winter seismic line trail . If it warms up I,m out business ........ CANADA GOOSE tm ( makers of the worlds warmest arctic parkas ) has a saying , " theres no such thing as cold ,just improper gear "

 

[tramp bushler]

If you can stand them , insulated coveralls over your other layers helps .. If it,s windy where you are , the first thing you need to do is keep the wind out !!!!

 

[Justsaws]

Spotted Owl, I suggest that you try a pair of disposable nitrile gloves under what you would normally consider to be your typical cold weather work glove. If you can find some that cover your wrist and half way up your forearm that would be best. Definitely protect the wrist from open air exposure.

Plastic shopping bags between the socks and boots also.

If the skin on your hands is severely cracked and dry you should address that ASAP to prevent further nerve and tissue damage.

 

[logbutcher]

ALL of the above on gear, especially liners under mittens, keeping the core and head warm.

One other thing from cold weather training ( e.g. Camp Drum, Mt Washington )and too many winter mistakes : eat carbohydrates. You use close to 300 calories/hours cutting hard; they need replacing. Munch all the time in the cold. The "energy bars such as Cliff have plenty of carbos and calories to keep the core going. GORP, any chocolate, and a thermos of hot chocolate help ( NO coffee ).

You'll find that your body will also adapt to cold after awhile: what seems cold at 10F after a few days working then 20F feels warm. Don't depend on those chemical warmers or running inside all the time.

Don't let your extremities get to pint of non-feeling; it's harder to get the blood flowing. Take "shake breaks" from grabbing the saw or other gear by shaking your arms and legs up and down BEFORE they get too cold.

And good buddies will give you their stomach to warm frozen hands ----deadly serious.

 

[M.R.]

ALL of the above on gear, especially liners under mittens, keeping the core and head warm.

One other thing from cold weather training ( e.g. Camp Drum, Mt Washington )and too many winter mistakes : eat carbohydrates. You use close to 300 calories/hours cutting hard; they need replacing. Munch all the time in the cold. The "energy bars such as Cliff have plenty of carbos and calories to keep the core going. GORP, any chocolate, and a thermos of hot chocolate help ( NO coffee ).

You'll find that your body will also adapt to cold after awhile: what seems cold at 10F after a few days working then 20F feels warm. Don't depend on those chemical warmers or running inside all the time.

Don't let your extremities get to pint of non-feeling; it's harder to get the blood flowing. Take "shake breaks" from grabbing the saw or other gear by shaking your arms and legs up and down BEFORE they get too cold.

And good buddies will give you their stomach to warm frozen hands ----deadly serious.

Isn't that where those Warm in the Winter & Shady in the Summer.... ones come in to hummm......play?

 

[treemandan]

Do 50 jumping jacks either before you head out or when you first get out. Get that blood pumping and keep it pumping.

 

[Spotted Owl]

And good buddies will give you their stomach to warm frozen hands ----deadly serious.

Ya. Errr. Ummm. Perhaps not.

Maybe in the great NE, but definately not in the PNW.

I have no buddies that good to me, however for the Mrs and only the Mrs I will be her buddy.


I can say one thing. I have been using the wrist covers and even though it has warmed up tremendously it still helps a great deal in the rainy wind we now have. I do use the nitril gloves when it's wet out that helps a lot also. I found some old silk liners from when I was in S&R years ago. I will give them a shot when the cold comes back. Got a tip about heavy weight welders gloves also, gonna give that one a try too.

Keep the thoughts and ideas coming I know O am getting a lot of good ideas here. Everyone can benefit from this some time in their lives. Everyone gets cold sooner or later.

Thanks guys



Owl

 

[M.R.]

"slight breeze to feed the stock and my hands hurt something fierce"


When I'm breaking bales to feed, rather than unglove.

I'll use another haystring/twine instead of digging a knife out & saw/cut the strings at 90° a couple back & forth pulls & the friction cuts thru right quick.

 

[Spotted Owl]

I did do the string saw and still do when I can. We got hay this year that is so tight I can't get my fingers under the strings. Every bale was bucked and stacked with hooks. That was a long trip way tougher than just grabbing and throwing. The neighbor showed me that same trick a few years back. He would be by checking the mail when it was feeding time and would watch. He must have gotten tired of watching me blow into my hands and one day he said hey try this. Zip zip and that bale was open and ready. Step on the strings and toss it out. I would have gone the rest of my life doing it the other way.

My boy came up with an idea and it works well in the barn or out the back of the pickup. He bent one of the inside tines of the fork back just a hair and then took the angle grinder and file to it and put a good edge on it. Slide that tine under the string and it pops right off. Step on the string while you are feeding and pick it up when you are done.

We got more calves this year so there is more feeding to do and in the other field there is no barn or wind break, just out in the open. That's when the cold was/is really getting to me. The cows go up into the trees and brush to get out of the wind weather (be darned if they will go near a built shelter of any kind) but the feeding still happens right in the middle of everything.

Got the welding gloves this afternoon. When the cold sets in good they will be used for sure. Right now mid thirties/low forties is bad enough for heavy gloves for the time it takes. Low twenties down into the singles and those babies will be getting a work out. hopefully it won't get colder than the single here on the wet side of the mountains. Thanks for that idea.


Owl

 

[tramp bushler]

Welders Gloves ????? .... You guys down south sure are funny sometimes .......

 

[Uncle John]

To be safe get a checkup. Make sure your arteries aren't partially clogged.

 

[tramp bushler]

Why don,t you guys have a chetty , big knife or small ax on a belt to break open bales .. Thats what I used to use ... The same belt has a pistol and anything else necessary on it ...... Welders gloves ???? I,ve lived in the cold my entire life and I,ve Never seen anyone wear Welders gloves to keep warm with .... A good hat , You don,t wear a cowboy hat do you ??? Please tell me you don,t wear one of those things . Put a down vest under your coat and your hands will stay alot warmer , Welders gloves

 

[M.R.]

Maybe with the shorter days, these or along this type might shed a little light. The orginal op also Bar-B-Q's & has lots of thorny plants in that web foot country.
With the silk liners they will handle quite a bit of cold {short-durations], & a bit oversized they come on/off fairly easy/quickly.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TILLMAN-945-LAR...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518cc39964


You guys up in the North country deal with the extreme/severe cold & know how to deal with it on a daily bases, more so than us from the banana belt.
Nothing more miserable than being horseback with cold feet, then hands.

Any thoughts on these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280434341591&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Knew a pipe line welder that's still up there, one of his favorite sayings was...
'Prudhoe Pumps & Valdez Sucks' -recon' this still holds true?

On edit: Cowboys Hats....rarely/seldom wear one & if you do just might ask.....
'What Sqaw Humper did you get that hat off of!'

 

[tramp bushler]

It has to or the state will go broke , now that everyone wants to worship the earth and not have any mineing here ......We got the resources tho . The us govt wants to use our nat. resources as collateral on loans to the world bank , and they will bring in slave labor to extract them ..... Sorry , just an out burst from a timber beast clinging to his God , guns , and power saws ...........I wish Washington DC would keep their own change .!!!!
. buy the trigger finger mitts , they are kind of funny , but will work down to 10 below or so , if the rest of your body is kept very warm ............. You keep your trigger finger in the mitt till you need to squeeze something , then put it back in the mitt `again . But it saves you having to take the whole thing off to turn a key , or shoot a coyote ..

 

[logbutcher]

You thought I was kidding about the "buddy stomach warming" . No way. If any of you outside of serious winter like Alberta or Alaska or Maine or Minnesota or Quebec want to know cold, you got to adapt, learn the tools for keeping safe; not necessarily comfortable. But for most of us Up North, we'd rather deal with cold than bugs, moldy armpits, those swamp vipers you have.
When you're out there without any place to get artificially warm-- truck, house, chemical warmers, big bonfire--it's you that have to keep the extremities safe. And yes, when with your squad, buddy, platoon, any group, in serious winter you keep an eye on each other. Foregt the macho homo stuff. For most of us cutting solo, as the norm, use the skills to keep safe. Most of you may never get outside in winter for more than a few hours, or far from a heated building or vehicle.

Know:

1. Food, hot drinks.

2. Wilderness skills to know the signs of frostbite, hypothermia AND how to treat--especially yourself.

3. Gear.

4. Use buddies for help---no macho in below zero.

and,

5. When you get cold, or can't feel your hands or feet, know HOW to get warm without running to the truck or house. Recognise fear in your crew. It can be frightening the first time---I know from seeing reactions from banana belt troops in the cold for the first time with no place to go to get warmed up.

Out. JMNSHO

 

[Spotted Owl]

You thought I was kidding about the "buddy stomach warming" . No way.


4. Use buddies for help---no macho in below zero.

and,

5. When you get cold, or can't feel your hands or feet, know HOW to get warm without running to the truck or house. Recognise fear in your crew. It can be frightening the first time---I know from seeing reactions from banana belt troops in the cold for the first time with no place to go to get warmed up.

Out. JMNSHO

I know your not kidding. Just thought I'd rib ya a bit. When things get that bad you do what has to be done. Your right there is no macho when things need to be happening for life or limb because of anything especially the cold. We used to get a new batch of kids every year for S&R. One of the first raining sessions was to go to the local frozen food warehouse and have the training meeting on the freezer. -10 is what that freezer was kept at. They were all given a list of what to have and what to expect. We would do that for several weeks then do our outdoor training up on the mountain in the winter. Out over night/nights. Drop off with a map compass and the packs. Bushwack your way back to base. Knowing your team was a huge key to everyones well being.


Cowboy hats. Never. Wool watch caps sometimes heavier wool sock hats and ball caps. Around here you can't wear a cowboy hat unless you also have a satalite dish on your brand new Garth Brooks belt and unscuffed boots. Yup welders gloves for sure. Anything that can help the shock of going from the 40's and rain to the singles and decent wind overnight is gladly welcome here.

Talked to the doc and he did what ever he did and I got a clean bill from him. Said the our normal easing into cold is no problem but the big jump we had probably was cause I have normal blood pressure of 102/65. I guess that hinders people in cold and the extremities can get in bad shape fast.

Like I said before I've been in some damn nasty cold and this was a first thats why I was asking. I will take all of this and make things happen.


Well almost all of it. Things will have to get pretty dire for me to use the stomach warming techniqueoke:.


Have a great Christmas everyone


Owl

 

[Gologit]

Talked to the doc and he did what ever he did and I got a clean bill from him. Said the our normal easing into cold is no problem but the big jump we had probably was cause I have normal blood pressure of 102/65. I guess that hinders people in cold and the extremities can get in bad shape fast.

Like I said before I've been in some damn nasty cold and this was a first thats why I was asking. I will take all of this and make things happen.






Owl

That's great news. I'm glad everything is okay.

 

[treemandan]

If no one has mentioned neoprene fishing gloves? I had a pair ( 20 bucks) and the finger tips could fold over on the thumb and forfinger to aid with dexterity

 

[tramp bushler]

:biggrinbounce2::hmm3grin2orange::fart::kilt:.
.
. Thats good .. .. If you have any coyotes where you have your livestock , use a 223 or something else small and aesy on pelts , (if they arn,t mangy ) and shoot a few , skin and tan the hides and find someone to make you a mushers hat .... Nothing in this world as warm as fur . Nothing ... 1/2" of beaver fur is warmer than 2" of prime goose down ...... And thats pretty warm ....... often I will pull my beaver hat off and stick my hands in it and warm them up ....... Most mornings I have to warm my hands up on the muffler on my saw a few times ..
.
Once I get whindinoner good the warm blood gets to my hands and often I need to pull my gloves off while limbing and buckin ...