It's funny because when my wrist was broken this winter, I bought Black
Diamond Mercury Mitts with PolarTec to fit over the cast and my hand got
cold pretty quickly on days in the mid teens, while the other hand with
the Sinisalo lobster were fine. Had to add a liner. Of course, the
Mitts hand couldn't use a pole. I think some or most lobsters are just
colder than others. What makes the lobster style work is the fingers
sharing warmth, so surface area should be a good thing.

Gene

On Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:04:51 -0400
gr wrote:

I have been using the Gordini Goretex mitts, not the down ones (lose
insulation when they get wet), but the Goretex doesn't breathe
anything like enough. The lobsters I tried did not have anything like
the insulation that the full mitts do, so that is probably why they
were not all that warm, but maybe the extra surface area of the
lobster had some to do with that.




On 3/15/2012 1:09 AM, wrote:
It sounds like you're out for quite a long time, so it would seem
natural to go through some sweating and cold and hopefully back to
sweating again. I also sweat a fair amount but am usually not out
for more than three hours. In that context, I've tried all the
brands of lobster (two finger) gloves available in the U.S. and the
only one that my hands don't get cold in, short of extreme cold
temps, is the Sinisalo lobster. Somehow they're different. But
now I find that rollerskishop.com hasn't dealt with Sinisalo for
awhile, just having old stock and not the lobster, and Sinisalo's
website doesn't even show ski gloves anymore. Oh well...

Gene


On Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:47:51 -0400
wrote:

Gloves have been a problem; I also go for the very warm- Smartwool
liner gloves inside rather heavy mittens (except for very warm
times, even the lobster mitts are too cold for me). My hands get
cold too easy, but also perspire way too much, I am looking around
for vented mittens to try this year. Very heavy ragg wool mitts
work pretty well, breathe nicely, but don't block wind and get wet
very easily.

Pant are the only thing that I don't have a problem with. I wear
Sporthill xc pants with no base layer, down to about 15 F.

I tried going light this year with just a thin wicking base layer
and various light jackets, but it really didn't help getting
soaked too much. But I did notice that the LLBean base was better
than the others I had, so I am thinking there are some real
differences in base layers.



Socks work pretty well for wicking, but trapped inside boots they
reach moisture capacity in a few hours (good thing for lunch stops
in a warming hut!). A thin coolmax sock as base and thicker LL bean
Thinsulate works with a mid-day change.

Gary

On 3/13/2012 12:58 PM, wrote:
Gary, What has been your experience going light on base layers and
outer garments? For example, using only one shirt and
silk-thickness longjohns? For example, unless it's really cold I
use different thickness vests to increase or decrease warmth,
whether under an appropriate jacket or above a shirt - and I use
turtlenecks a lot unless it's warm. If it's colder, I'll stick a
silk or silk-thickness turtleneck on (easy to carry). For
longjohns, either silk or Patagonia's silk-like fabric or their
Capilene 1 longjohns work really well in most conditions for me
(watch for sales). Then it's just the outer pants I vary, from
Hind or Sporthill's original Voyage pant (zone
2) to the looser fitting 3SP pant to Craft's thicker cold pants.

For socks, I really like Bridgedale's X-C model, but maybe you
need to experiment with light (stay away from Smartwool, they're
widely recognized as crap - not sure about their other products).
As for gloves, I'm the opposite of you and prefer warmer than
colder, Sinisalo's lobster being the only one of the type that's
worked for me, and their fingered Arctic, with the back straps cut
off, being for next warmer. But again, what's your experience
going light, such as the Yoko Gore-tex glove or Craft's lighter
model?

Gene


On Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:31:31 -0400
wrote:

1) I perspire a whole lot
2) When skiing I need to change socks and gloves after a couple
hours because they get so damp, my hands or feet get cold (they
get cold easily anyway, something I inherited)
3) I have mostly used Sporthill base layers, but they don't
really seem to wick very well. Sporthill 3SP fabric (not really a
baselayer) however is great (warm and very breathable).
4) Some kind of shirt I got from LL Bean, seems to be a dual
layer, and is somewhat better.

Question; What brand and/or material is the best kind of base
layer that can handle lots of perspiration? Smartwool, Capalain,
Craft etc???

Thanks!