Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Spawn Sack on November 05, 2016, 10:14:04 PM
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I'm in the market for (another) pair of fishing gloves. Hoping to yack about it for a bit before I go out and buy. So I already have several pairs.
One pair of fully waterproof neoprene. They have a thin fuzzy fleece liner. AWESOME in the cold rain. Awesome for quading etc in the crap weather too. Downsides are they are a tight fit and a pain to take on/off, esp if your hands get a bit wet with them off they are a pain to get back on. I like them for spey fishing in the winter as I am not re-baiting, rarely dicking with my gear, in other words the gloves stay on for most of the day unless I have to wiz or whatever. They suck for using a baitcaster as there is too much friction on the spool and your freespool is jerky and no good.
On pair of Kast steelheader gloves. Also awesome for the cold/wet. But like the neoprenes a pain to take on/off repeatedly and the palm is too tacky to use on a level wind spool. They are also good for spey fishing.
One pair Simms flip over gloves/mitts. These are fine for a cold dry day. I like u can flip the mitt up quickly to fart with gear, then flip the mitt back. I have used these in the dry cold for gear fishing and quite like them for that. You can flip back just the thumb and have the mitt over your fingers. However they suck in the rain. Once wet they seem top loose all insulating value and are just cold wet sponges. Probably better than bare hands, but not by much.
I'm looking for a new set of gloves mainly for gear fishing. I'm thinking of just going with rag wool gloves that have all the fingers/thumbs cut off. I think these would be best as I can leave them on all day, if they get wet they should still be decently warm. I thought about buying rag wool gloves and just cutting off the thumb on my spool hand, but I think this cut would just fray and the gloves would fall apart, plus I would need to take them off for each gear change, rebait, etc. I think I'd be better with just all the fingers/thumbs cut off.
If someone can recommend a solid pair of thick wool gloves like I described that would be awesome. I was thinking of checking out MEC and Cableas. Maybe also WSS. If someone has a "better" idea for gear fishing gloves pragmatic for use with a level wind I'm all ears.
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In cold wet weather, I use Simms like you described but wear a wool fingerless glove underneath. Just bought my Simms larger than normal.
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Wool gloves are king for me. Insulates when wet and they don't stink to bad with guts on them. I found a pair with the finger flaps that turn them to mittens when it's really cold. When it's really really cold, (the finger tips are cut off so I have better contact with the spool) I squeeze the cork a few times every odd cast to get the blood moving again.
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https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5037-635/Ragg-Wool-Fingerless-Gloves
(https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5037-635/Ragg-Wool-Fingerless-Gloves)
These seem to be what you are looking for and are cheap. I have a pair and use them regularly when fishing in the fall.
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I have experimented over the years for the perfect pair of fishing gloves, have tried expensive and cheap and am still on the hunt lol. There are plenty of great gloves for general purpose but I need a pair that allows me to control a centerpin reel with my fingers as well as strip and pinch fly line. I have a set of Simms windstopper gloves are decent when using a pin but when stripping flyline get wet quick. A have a set of Simms Skeena gloves that are completely water proof and fleece lined that are better and still have ok dexterity but being waterproof they don't breath and in very cold temps eventually my hands eventually become wet from sweating and then cold. I have heard that Simms G4 glove are both waterproof and breathable with decent dexterity but at the price of them, I haven't tried them yet.
So far, my goto for gloves have been some $8 fingerless wool gloves with a heat pack on the bottom of my wrist held in place with the adjustable cuff of my jacket. The cheap wool gloves keep my hands decently warm even when wet, they are thin so dexterity is great and the heat pack on the wrist is a trick I picked up from a guy a few years back. On the bottom of your wrist the veins are close to the surface and the heat pack warms the blood as it moves out to your fingers, keeping your whole hand warm. try it, it works.
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Thanks guys. Looks like I'll be buying a set of fingerless wool gloves. I like the idea of the heat pack under the wrist. I've never tried that but I will be this steelhead season for sure. The ones from MEC look decent. I don't have any plans to drive to Langley for a while so I'll probably check out Marks, Cascade etc in Chilliwack. Gotta make sure they are 100% wool. The thinsulate etc blends are fine for dry weather fishing, but once that stuff gets wet it's like a clammy dish sponge.
If anyone knows of a exceptionally thick/warm pair of fingerless gloves aside from MEC and so on please let me/us know.
UPDATE: these look pretty awesome. Expensive though!!
https://thebuffalowoolco.com/products/one-world-fingerless-gloves
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I have had 3 pairs of ragg wool 1/2 finger gloves. Two were brown and I can't remember where I got them from but what I remember is the wool was not in long strands and the weave was not tight. The result the wool strands would come off on your reel. I think one of them may have been from Cabelas. The Simms ones I do recommend as the weave is very tight and the strands do not come off. I am very happy with them and would buy another pair when the time comes.
https://www.simmsfishing.com/shop/socks-gloves/wool-half-finger-glove.html
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Wool and fingerless for me. Had the same pair for 15+ years and wouldn't trade them for any other pair.
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I like the glacier gloves. Really like their fingerless gloves they're neoprene/windproof fleece blend. Patagonia makes some nice gloves too.
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Actually the fingered neoprene gloves I have are Glacier Gloves. They're awesome! However hard to take on/off. They also get sweaty if you warm up too much bushwacking or whatever. For my upcoming fingerless pair I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and order a pair of buffalo wool gloves. I did some reading on them today and most reviews say that they are superior in warmth to sheeps wool, even merino wool. Yeah they are pricey! But I look at them as an investment for fishing + hunting as having cold stiff hands is just the worst.
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The thing about cold weather is not just the hands but that my fingers get cold and numb so that I can barely even tie knots properly. I assume that would still be an issue with fingerless gloves. Any possible sugestions?
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The thing about cold weather is not just the hands but that my fingers get cold and numb so that I can barely even tie knots properly. I assume that would still be an issue with fingerless gloves. Any possible sugestions?
Pre tie leaders onto snap swivels?
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The thing about cold weather is not just the hands but that my fingers get cold and numb so that I can barely even tie knots properly. I assume that would still be an issue with fingerless gloves. Any possible sugestions?
I have not owned a pair of fingerless wool gloves, but they say they will still keep your hands warm if they get wet (the beauty of wool). Yes, your hands will stay warmer with full fingered gloves; however, it is such a pain to take them on/off to re-bait or fart with your gear, and not going to work well with a level wind or centerpin. For flyfishing yes I would wear my full waterproof gloves.
So yeah, cost/benifet wise it seems fingerless gloves come out on top for certain types of fishing. I plan to roll the dice and order a pair of the buffalo ones from the US.
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Gloves annoy me for many of the reasons listed here. Find them more of a pain in the my friend than a benefit when it comes to fishing.
Bought a Zippo hand warmer this fall and absolutely love it. I keep it in the chest pocket of my waders and it stays nice and toasty all day long. When my hands get cold after releasing a fish, I hold on to it for a few moments and I'm back to warm and toasty in no time.
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Gloves annoy me for many of the reasons listed here. Find them more of a pain in the my friend than a benefit when it comes to fishing.
Bought a Zippo hand warmer this fall and absolutely love it. I keep it in the chest pocket of my waders and it stays nice and toasty all day long. When my hands get cold after releasing a fish, I hold on to it for a few moments and I'm back to warm and toasty in no time.
I have 2 zippo handwarmers. I use them from time to time but overall not that impresses with them. Why? They are warm when you first remove from your pocket, and give a nice quick blast of heat. But then they cool off right away and need to go back in your pocket. They constantly permeate the stink of lighter fluid. If the little inner "cap" falls off it will go out!! I have extra heat tape on both of mine to keep that little dodad in place.
Overall i find the zippo handwarmers to be more hassle than good. For fishing in the rain id rather have my hands moderately warm all day wearing quality wool fingerless gloves, than freezing cold without them ans having the occasional blast of short lived heat from the zippo.
But to each their own. Im not big on the zippo and am gling to try something new.
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The thing about cold weather is not just the hands but that my fingers get cold and numb so that I can barely even tie knots properly. I assume that would still be an issue with fingerless gloves. Any possible sugestions?
Like I said in my post, instead of your hand just holding the rod like a meat hook, squeeze the cork every once and a while or while retrieving your line. Blood flow does wonders. There is no weather (aside from blow outs) that will keep me away from steelhead fishing.
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I have 2 zippo handwarmers. I use them from time to time but overall not that impresses with them. Why? They are warm when you first remove from your pocket, and give a nice quick blast of heat. But then they cool off right away and need to go back in your pocket. They constantly permeate the stink of lighter fluid. If the little inner "cap" falls off it will go out!! I have extra heat tape on both of mine to keep that little dodad in place.
Overall i find the zippo handwarmers to be more hassle than good. For fishing in the rain id rather have my hands moderately warm all day wearing quality wool fingerless gloves, than freezing cold without them ans having the occasional blast of short lived heat from the zippo.
But to each their own. Im not big on the zippo and am gling to try something new.
Fair enough - I'm a bit of a warm-blooded guy and usually don't require constant heat - but there are those days...
I've had better luck with my Zippo staying hot. I find Ronsonol stinks but the Zippo brand is much cleaner. Damn straight about that inner cap - I was a bit surprised there was no little notch in there to keep it seated. I bent mine and it stays on ok now, but heat tape seems a good idea.
When I do need gloves - I've got a nice old pair of Burton Pipe gloves that make an appearance once or twice a year. If you can find a pair without too much of that sticky shite on the palms they are really good - and provide decent freedom of movement. Can even tie knots with them (albeit a fair bit more tricky) and fairly smoothly spool out line on my level-wind.
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Like I said in my post, instead of your hand just holding the rod like a meat hook, squeeze the cork every once and a while or while retrieving your line. Blood flow does wonders. There is no weather (aside from blow outs) that will keep me away from steelhead fishing.
I prefer some soft music, wine, and dim lighting before I squeeze my cork. But what the heck I'll try it on the river next time out on a cold day.
Fair enough - I'm a bit of a warm-blooded guy and usually don't require constant heat - but there are those days...
I've had better luck with my Zippo staying hot. I find Ronsonol stinks but the Zippo brand is much cleaner. Damn straight about that inner cap - I was a bit surprised there was no little notch in there to keep it seated. I bent mine and it stays on ok now, but heat tape seems a good idea.
When I do need gloves - I've got a nice old pair of Burton Pipe gloves that make an appearance once or twice a year. If you can find a pair without too much of that sticky shite on the palms they are really good - and provide decent freedom of movement. Can even tie knots with them (albeit a fair bit more tricky) and fairly smoothly spool out line on my level-wind.
I typically don't wear gloves either, but on a cold wet day I'm gloving up!
I'll try zippo brand lighter. I have a little bottle but I typically just burn that in my zippo lighter. I've been using the big bottle of Ronsonol in the hand warmer. Yeah it does stink a bit!
As far as my heat tape idea I just cut 2 thin strips about 1cm each and stuck them to either side of that inner cap thing. 1/2ish of the tape is on the cap and the other 1/2 is on the body of the hand warmer. You have to peel 1 side of the tape off to flip the cap back to get the lighter fluid in, but the tape seems to handle getting peeled and re-stuck over and over with no issues. Also good idea on putting a little bend in the cap for a better friction fit. Bottom line is the stock design is garbage! Several times I had cold hands, went to take out my hand warmer and that inner cap had popped off an the hand warmer was stone cold!
I ordered the buffalo wool fingerless gloves, buffalo/yack socks, and buffalo/merino socks online today. Excited to try them out on a cold crappy day on the river!
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Pre tie leaders onto snap swivels?
To each their own, but for me I do not like this idea. For one there are too many possible points of failure. By this I mean you have your barrel swivel on your mainline before the leader, now you are adding a snap swivel to that, and then there is a barrel swivel connected to that too! Too busy, too much going on, too many moving parts that could fail IMO. A better alternative I think is to have a duo-lock swivel pre-tied onto a leader(s) and just snap that onto your mainline barrel swivel.
I tried this for a bit of a steelhead season and got away from it. I didn't like having the leader length preset. Depending on the water I'm fishing I many want a 12" leader, or I may want an 18" leader. Or somewhere in between. I didn't like, say I decide to fish a jig, but I pre-ied the leader at A length, but now I want it at B length. I found I was dicking around with my gear just as much as with not using the duo-locks.
I've gone back to tying my leaders directly to the mainline swivel and I prefer it this way. Simple, looks good, less moving parts to potentially fail with an epic steelhead on the hook.
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Glove update/review: I've had the fingerless buffalo wool gloves out in the rain + cold 3 times now. Most recently yesterday. WOW! Are they ever nice and warm! Even in the cold wet my exposed fingers were not much of an issue as the gloves were trapping so much heat. Also rain seemed to just bead and sit on top of the wool. A quick flick of the hand and most of the water just flung off. When I took them off after a few hours of rain fishing they were only a bit damp. Pretty awesome stuff. I didn't have a regular wool glove to wear on one hand and the buffalo on the other, so I can't really do a fair head-to-head comparison. But I'm pretty sure they beat out sheep's wool for warmth and water shedding. HUGE diff between the buffalo wool and the Simms windstopper gloves with the fold over mitts. They just become wet diapers after an hour or so in the wet.
The buffalo is expensive, but IMO worth the $.