Cold hands - but warmer now...

[thewisestfish]

Hiya everyone,

Just thought I'd share the amazing discovery I made on Sunday at Cap....

I get Raynaurds - which means that the capillaries in my fingers shrink and my fingers (and toes) go white in the cold - It's not dangerous (mine isn't anyway, but it's a pain in the chuff). I lose almost all sensation in my fingers and they absolutely kill when the blood comes back into them as they warm up. So, diving in cold water is a bit of a nightmare, not to mention, a tad dangerous if I'm called on to be dexterous - (like the other week when my weight belt came loose at 16 meters, but that's another story - managed to catch it and get it back on with the help of my buddy)......It's also very hard to look cool when you get your fins off with hands that feel like your fingers are banana size - looking cool is OBVIOUSLY very important......

Anyway, but being a stubborn git, and also, even more grumpy than usual if I can't get under the water, I have persisted in experimenting with different ways to keep my hands warm, and have now acheived complete success - so just want to post this in case someone else has a similar problem and is thinking that maybe they should restrict diving to warmer waters, then don't, read on.

I've tried mits, dry suit gloves, thin wet suit gloves with those plastic gloves from the garage underneath, everything, and no success, until Sunday.

I used 1 pair of this wool gloves (£5.99 from Milletts) 1 pair of thin plastic gloves from the garage, 1 pair of 5mm scubapro wet suit gloves, and then inside each wet suit glove shoved in an activated Hand warmer (those plastic pouches filled with gel that have a little metal disk inside that activates them - £5.99 for 2 from Milletts). For the first time ever, 40 minutes a 5dgrs with full use of my fingers!!) Absolutely amazing - I was so happy when I got out that I nearly did a cartwheel, although decided that this was probably a bad idea and I would look like a tit.

Hurray - so, I hope this helps someone else....Don't do what I did on the second dive though, and forget to pull your wool glove out from under your drysuit wrist seal!! Rather defeats the object of having toastie hands when you've got freezing water pissing into your arm....

Three steps forward and two steps back and all that!!

[tom]

Just wondering - how much dexterity do you have with multiple pairs of gloves on - can you actually move your fingers at all?

Secondly - do you think you need all the gloves? If the thing making the difference is the heat pouch, would a pair of semi-dry gloves with good seals that don't flush (to keep the warm water in) do the job just as well?

[greekbird]

it sounds interesting... my buddy on saturday could 've done with something like that...a few questions...
How must dexterity did all these layers allow you?
what happens if the heat pouches burst under pressure and what depth did you take them to?
instead of woolen gloves(i presume they're quite thick) couln't you use a pair of fleecy type gloves, possibly out of some hydrophobic material, like the fourth element type thermals, as they'd be thinner?

[Janos]

Originally Posted by greekbird

it sounds interesting... my buddy on saturday could 've done with something like that...a few questions...
How must dexterity did all these layers allow you?
what happens if the heat pouches burst under pressure and what depth did you take them to?

I think the pouches will be ok. I doubt they will burst as they're both flexible and filled with something that's pretty much incompressible.

Originally Posted by greekbird

instead of woolen gloves(i presume they're quite thick) couln't you use a pair of fleecy type gloves, possibly out of some hydrophobic material, like the fourth element type thermals, as they'd be thinner?

I got some thinsulate gloves from Decatlon for £2.99. Not for wearing in the water but more for post dive warmth. They sound like just the thing.

Laters,

Janos

[D.D.J]

i suffer from the cold but this is what i do to keep the warmest i can. before the dive i try to keep warm by means of sipping srinks of hot chocolate, wearing a wooli hat and gloves. i then find that wearing plastic garage gloves under semi dry gloves works wonders. i did begin with using neoprene 5 mm gloves but my hands were just inoperatable at the end, they were just completely freezing. but i wear these gloves. when it comes to summer i just don t wear them if the water temperature is warm enough. hope this helps, but i can definatley relate to you. i ve come out before wondering when my hands will be warm again...and most importantly when i ll get feeling back into them

[thewisestfish]

Quite a lot of dexterity as it goes. Could do everything necessary, and fiddle about with twiddly stuff like valves, fin straps etc etc. The wool gloves are really thin, about half a mil thich. i don't know about semi dry gloves - but the 5mm wet suit gloves hold the same bit of warmed water inside because they're gauntlets, and have a velcro seal at the wrist. They're also a lot easier to get on and off than anything else I've tried. Dry suit gloves are ok, but i find them a real pain to seal properly.

Bear in mind that everything is relative. The last 10 or so dives I have done I have had absolutely no feeling in my fingers by the end.

I don't think they will burst - I checked though that if they do burst, the gloop inside is s'posed to be non-toxic. I took them to 20.6 meters - sump at Cap. When I go deeper, I'll take a loose one first just in case.

[tom]

Sounds like a big improvement then!

[thewisestfish]

hence the cartwheel temptation.....

[Simon A]

Originally Posted by thewisestfish

and then inside each wet suit glove shoved in an activated Hand warmer (those plastic pouches filled with gel that have a little metal disk inside that activates them - £5.99 for 2 from Milletts).

Glad to hear that this works for you. It may be worth doing your experimentation in small steps though. AFAIK whilst the gel is non-toxic, the speed of the reaction increases as the presure does. Be careful not to burn yourself if you are going deeper than you've taken them before.

Simon A

[thewisestfish]

will be careful - it was strange though, because the first dive i did was the deepest (sump) and they lasted longer, and sustained a pleasant temp. The second dive, they seemed hotter in my hands, and only went to 15 meters for about 15 mins. When I got out they'd gone cold. Will experiment slowly - but would definately recommend to anyone with cold hands. If you hunt about in t'internet they seem to sell a lot in Canada, and actually recommend them specifically for scuba diving - kind of bigger ones though, for your back and stuff to shove in your undersuit. That would make me fall asleep though - happy with just warm fingers.....