About 20% of the population suffers from Raynaud’s Syndrome, which causes poor blood flow to the fingers at the slightest sensation of cold. I’m one of the unlucky ones and there is nothing more frustrating than having your hands go numb and stop working when the rest of you is fine and warm. It’s really frustrating not being able to open gels and other foods, use a valve on a drinking hose, or just struggle to adjust your jacket zip. If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t suffer from Raynaud’s then great, but maybe you just like to keep your fingers nice and warm!
I have several pairs of gloves of different thicknesses that I wear at different times of the year, but this winter I tried adding something new – waterproof overmittens – and it was an absolute gamechanger. By wearing them over even a relatively thin pair of gloves I found that my hands got warm and stayed warm, even when running in sub-zero conditions! The pair I got were the Black Diamond UL (UltraLight) Overmitts. The RRP is £50 but you can find them cheaper elsewhere – I paid £34 for mine.
These mitts are made from a thin, layered fabric which seems to offer a great compromise between wind/waterproofing while still allowing enough flexibility to still use your fingers without taking the mitts off! For example I could still feel enough to use the individual buttons on my watch. There is elastic at the cuff and also at the base of the palm so they are nice and snug without being tight over the fingers. That’s really handy as I have worn them over a pair of lightweight gloves for typical UK winter temperatures, or over the top of much bulkier winter insulated gloves when running at -8C in Sweden. They’re also super-lightweight at only 28g (size L) and pack up really small, so popping them in your backpack or pockets on a cold day is an absolute no-brainer!
The only downside I’ve found so far is that Black Diamond appear to have discontinued them, so get them while you still can!