I bought a pair of North Face fleece gloves several years ago. They don't fit tightly but they are very warm. Granted, I live in the south where it's not as cold, but I do spend time at soccer games in some very cold, damp weather. Sometimes I think tight-fitting gloves are problematic in keeping your hands warm.

I suffer from Raynaulds syndrome, which is when the blood literally leaves your fingers, toes, nose tip, etc leaving them cold as ice and unable to re-warm. So I have learned how to keep warn, and what doesn't work.

Any gloves that are tight keep the blood from getting to your fingertips and then your whole hand is cold.

I have found that leather gloves are the worst.

That any glove that is at all tight is bad. So no spandex if you can avoid it.

The warmest gloves are wool or cashmere knit gloves. I have found at Lands End at good prices, and also Ralph Lauren at Macys.

Don't keep them in the car, keep them in your purse or coat pocket so that they are warm when you put them on.

Wear a HAT. It helps to keep your body warmer.

Spend the best $100 and buy one of these cashmere scarves from Nordstrom. It is like my wubby. I wear it almost every day. If it gets dirty I wash in the sink with shampoo, blot on a towel, and hang on a hanger and it dries overnight. Keeping my throat and breast bone warm is so important to being comfortable. I wear it all day at work.

Wear smart wool socks. The thin ones. Go to REI or to the smart wool website. These are essential for not getting cold. They have very tiny no-show socks can be worn with topsiders or tennis and are invisible. These are good for summer in the air conditioning. The extra warmth from warm toes keeps you warm. For dress boots at work, on the smart wool website they have what they call liner socks that are thin. These are technically designed to wear under big thick socks for skiing. But the are actually trouser socks in wool and come in black or ivory, so perfect. They are very thin and work with dress boots, dress shoes, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: scarf from nordstrom--my wubby!

I have a good friend with Raynauld's, too. She swears by cashmere, especially cashmere socks.

Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves. Nordstroms has several cashmere "flip mitts," fingerless gloves with a mitten top that flips over them. DH had some winter golf gloves like that and they work better than it sounds.

I have the cashmere scarf linked above from Nordstrom's and I love it!!! Also, I've learned from my friend that cashmere can easily be washed. I wash my sweaters in a bag on the delicate cycle, then lay them flat to dry.

My friend also swears by UGG sheepskin-lined moccasins. My DSIL suffers from cold feet. I bought him a pair of fleece lined Topsiders . His office is casual and he wears them to work in the winter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nordstrom cashmere flip mitts

I agree that the warmest gloves are mittens. I have shearling mittens that I wear when shoveling snow...they work great.

DH has reynaud's and wears mittens or gloves that have a knit wool exterior and a shearling interior with suede palms. They are very warm too. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got them....LLBean?? It was a long time ago.

Oh, and if you will actually be outside for an extended period of time, get those little hand warmer things (they cost about 1 dollar-at sporting goods stores) and use those inside your gloves.

Great for outdoor concerts, sporting events, or Friday nights by the bonfire.

And FWIW, I find that smart wool socks, and Frey harness boots are about the warmest thing I can wear on my feet in the fall. The boots are loose, and go up 12 inches on the leg. Nice thick leather, and rubber goodyear soles.

For winter I buy La Canadienne waterproof dress boots in suede from Zappos. They ARE expensive. But your feet will never be wet or cold in them. I wear them literally every day in the winter.

I have found the best way to keep my hands warm is to wear thin silk or cotton gloves inside a pair of fleece lined mittens. I think the gloves I wear are actually called liners.

The gloves help keep my fingers extra warm and mittens keep the warmth from my hands in a nice little cocoon.

Also the gloves are nice if you need to do something that requires dexterity because you don't have to pull the mitten off to a bare hand.

For the warmest boots, we both love our muck boots. They are the best.

Cashmere gloves and scarves are my secret weapons in winter. I have several of the Nordstrom's wraps posted above, the colors are lovely!

I love my silk glove liners, they really help, and are especially great under mittens.

Mittens for sure. I have cashmere ones, but the best ones I have are from NZ and are made of wool and possum fur. I have those socks, too.

One other solution I am lucky enough to have inherited are two muffs. Now, I refuse to buy fur, but since these are from the turn of the century (~1900), I finally broke down and began to use them when practical. So so warm. Lined with silk, one is leopard fur and the other might be beaver, not sure-definitely not mink and I don't think sable.

Still, I mostly wear mittens. Warm hands are a must!

Real sheepskin gloves with the fleece on the inside. Trust me, your hands will never be cold. They are not cheap, but I've even found them at Marshalls.

Mittens are much warmer than gloves. Just last night, I ordered a pair of these (along with a pair of their boots).

Here is a link that might be useful: Sheepskin Mittens

I have the sheepskin mittens, too, and they are warmer than gloves. However, they aren't practical for driving, so I don't wear them too much. I also have a sheepskin hat and a sheepskin fleece long scarf (boa) that I can wrap around my neck a couple of times. And the sheepskin boots from England. When I wore the whole outfit, I looked like Nanook of the North, but I was never cold.

I don't worry about driving because once the car warms up, you don't need anything. But outside walking and shoveling and playing in the snow, you have to wear something, and mittens are much warmer than gloves. Also easier to get on and off. I found it very hard to find good mittens when I began looking for a new pair a few years ago. I had a GREAT pair of fleece mittens from Lands End (still have them, in fact, but they're not as warm anymore), but they didn't have them any longer, and nothings as right. Then I found all these mittens with the nylon/Polartec stuff made my hands sweat like crazy, so uncomfortable. So I'm going with the Sheepskin.

Uggs?

ellendi, check the link in my post, "sheepskin mittens". Uggs are great, but they have gotten SO expensive. This company's products are much less expensive.

They do also have sheepskin gloves, btw

Here is a link that might be useful: sheepskin gloves

I never wore gloves even once last winter and hope to not this year and I live in WNY! I find my hands always sweat in gloves. My issue is my face gets cold. Not just outside but in people homes where they keep the temp low like 65. What can you do with your face cheeks are freezing? Then my nose starts running. Can't wear a ski mask indoors though sometimes I'm tempted to put one on or just tell people I have to leave because I'm freezing! We keep it at 71 in our house.

I grew up in FL but spent several years in CT and western NY as a student. I never found any gloves that kept my hands warm, even fur-lined ones. Like debrak I eventually wound up just going without (and keeping my hands in my pockets as much as I could). I tried every kind of glove/mitten there was and none of them helped. :(

Tibbrix,thanks for the link.
I suggested Uggs because although expensive, they last forever.

Me too - I can't ever remember having gloves that kept my fingers warm. I'm toying with the idea of buying heated gloves, and am looking at the Gerbing Coreheat gloves. But at $200, I can't quite pull the trigger.

ellendi, true, and I'm hoping these will be the same. Only problem I ran into with my Uggs (I bought a pair when they were brand new to the US) was that the tread finally word down and I couldn't walk in them in snow, never mind on ice, too slippery. But I think the price of Uggs now is more reflective of their popularity.

My hands, feet, and nose are close a lot, but now always. Those of you with Raynauld's is it all the time? Summer too?

Usually my feet are fine once I put socks and shoes or slippers on. I have to watch bulk with socks because my feet are wide and then most of my shoes won't fit right. Cashmere socks sound lovely.

Mittens huh? I always need my fingers when I put them on. I actually cut the tags off a pair I received as a gift from last Christmas and wore them today. My hands were actually pretty toasty. Much better than any of the other gloves I own. However, it wasn't too terribly cold today.

I'm debating if I want to try cashmere or sheepskin. I also never heard of silk glove liners so I'm going to look into those too. Gloves and sunglasses are two things I should start wearing more often!

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions! I think I'm leaning towards cashmere to try first.

Whatever you decide, do go with a natural fiber, i.e.: wool (cashmere) or sheepskin. And yes, mittens will keep your hands much warmer as the best source of heat is your own body. But if your fingers are separated, i.e.: in gloves, there is no body heat to work off each other. IF you were lost in a snowstorm in a mountain with a group of people, to survive you'd huddle together for warmth, right? You would NOT separate. You'd freeze to death. Same thing with mittens v. gloves.

If you need your fingers for a second, i.e.: to get keys out or something, you take the mitten off with your mouth, ket your keys, open your door, then put the mitten right back on. Your hands will be warm again right away, unlike if you have to take gloves off for a second and then try to get them back on.

Mittens are the way to go. for driving, just let your car warm up and drive bare-handed.

FYI: For WARMTH, I'd go with the sheepskin over cashmere. Cashmere is lovely, but it's thin, and wind goes right through it. sheepskin has the actual skin part that blocks wind.

Tibb - Good point about the body heat. And good point about the wind going through cashmere. I think mittens might be more appealing to me if I have the correct size. My mittens have always been too big (all gifts). A few inches of material past my fingers hinders function even more.

sheesh, the Web site I linked, on the mittens/gloves page, has a tab you can click on and it tells you how to measure your hands. I had to do so in order to order my middens. They're on their way! Woo hoo!

I just was trying to measure my hand and the width without my thumb is only 3". I don't consider myself to have oddly small hands. I'm not sure what size to order.

I know I couldn't wear a child size. The length from my longest finger tip to my wrist is 6-1/4". It says the length measurement is with the cuff folded. I guess I need an adult small, but the width isn't right.

This post was edited by sheesharee on Tue, Nov 4, 14 at 13:07

I ordered a medium. Sounds like you need a small.

Good luck, Sheesharee! I think you'll enjoy the shearling! I have a mid-thigh shearling coat I've had for years. It's the warmest thing ever. DD borrows it on occasion and I have to steal it back from her. I hadn't thought about buying gloves or mittens but honestly that may be something I put on my Christmas list! BTW, my hands are small/thin but my fingers are very long. I get a medium because of that alone.

Shee, I've always understood the width of one's hand was the measurement with the tape wrapped around the hand. Perhaps you have only measured 1/2 your hand width.

When we lived in an even colder climate than I am now in my DM gave me a pair of fur lined suede gloves which worked sooo well. We had just gotten a new puppy so I was out every hour with him and my hands were nice and warm.

The best inexpensive boots I've ever had are Uggs style from Costco. They are sheepskin with the fur lining. I wear them without socks and my feet are warm. They are not as tight as some of my other boots which I think helps. No support and look like boats but warmth is more important in this climate. I now have 3 pair (one in each color) and would get another but think I may have missed them this fall at Costco. They are only there a short time and sell out.

My hands don't stay warm with gloves. They're fine for running in and out of shops, etc. but for spending time outdoors skiing, walking, etc., I need mittens and my preference is shearling.

Lucky - Hmm...If I measured like that my hand is too big for even the XL size.

Tibb - How did you measure your hand?

I have heard it said that there is usually a correlation between shoe size and glove size. I wear an 8 shoe and glove. On the other hand, Mother wears a 9 shoe and a 7 glove.

Here is the real way to measure:
Your glove size is the measurement in inches around the palm of your hand (excluding your thumb). If you are right-handed, measure your right hand. If you are left-handed, measure your left hand.

Sheesharee,
Yes Raynaulds is something that one has symptoms for all year around.

Air conditioning is hard on me, and grocery shopping in the frozen food cooler makes my hands get cold.

I sleep on a heated mattress pad year round. If I can't get warm I won't fall asleep. Will sometimes wear slippers (LLBean wicked good are the best!) and my robe under the covers in bed.

At a social event I MUST have a couple of bar napkins around my drink or my hand will get really cold. I don't even refrigerate my bottled water, because I don't like to drink it cold. Room temp is better.

Last week at the Royals game 7 world series game (whoooo hoooo) most people had on jeans and a t shirt with a sweatshirt for later.

I had on wool socks, fry 12 inch cowboy boots, jeans, cami, merino wool thin sweater, T shirt over that to start the game.

By the time the game ended, I had on all of that, along with a neck scarf, puffer vest, wind block fleece, knit hat, knit gloves with those hand warmer packets inside.

My husband still just had on his jeans, t shirt, and sweatshirt.

If this sound like you, then you may have Raynauld's.

Interestingly enough, it often runs in families, and also often in people with low heart rate and blood pressure.

I just know I have it, and plan ahead as much as I can. I don't buy any fall/winter clothes that are "cute and bare" because I will never wear them.

DH has reynauds and so did my mom and a friend of mine. When their hands get really cold, they almost look dead as they are so sickly white. Mom's hands used to get so cold she could barely operate the car key or would have to ask the cashier to select the change from her hand as she couldn't do it.

However, if you are intolerant of cold, have slow pulse, low blood pressure and other symptoms like constipation, unmanageable hair and fatigue, you may be hypothyroid and should get your blood tested. It's easily corrected with supplementation.

People who are anemic can also be intolerant of cold.

Annie, that is a great picture.

I get my iron and thyroid checked every year, oh so hopeful that may be an issue. I am fine along those lines, but my hands can look like that picture quite easily.

Bbstx - Thanks for the photo. I didn't order the mittens yet. I'm outting them on the Christmas list.

Tibb - Let me know how you like yours!

Julie - My goodness..... I'm not that cold. That sound really challenging!

Annie - I have to go for a physical soon due to health insurance but I'm not sure what all is checked with the blood work. It's been quite a few years since I had one.

I know this is an old thread. But just in case there are people in the cold zone are still looking for warm gloves for the winter. The warmest gloves are fur lined gloves. You can find them on eBay for under $20 a pair from China. They are lamb fur lined gloves. Hope everyone have a pair or 2 warm gloves for the upcoming winter. The picture of cold hands made me to post something to this old thread. Just try to help.