Protecting your Hands from Cold

Frozen and painful fingertips can ruin an outdoor photo trip! I’ve learned a lot from many nights out hunting the northern lights.

Hand Protection: 

• Always Cover Your Fingers: Use gloves that are thin but warm enough to operate your camera without removing them. Thermolite liner gloves work well and are inexpensive.
• Layering Gloves: For very cold conditions, wear thin liner gloves inside thicker and bigger mittens. Add chemical heat warmers as needed.
• Glove Types:
  • Mittens: Prefer mittens over gloves as they keep your fingers together, retaining more warmth. You can also wrap your fingers around a heat warmer inside the mitten. With mittens large enough, you can keep your remote shutter release inside and only remove the mittens to change camera settings.
  • Thin Gloves: Look for gloves with a combination of warmth and dexterity, like those with merino wool or silk liners under bulkier outer gloves.
  • Heated Gloves: Consider using battery-operated heated gloves for extra warmth. These can be a game-changer in extreme conditions.

Photo Gear Tips:

• Avoid Bare Metal Contact: Always wear gloves to avoid touching cold metal parts of your camera and tripod.
• Tripod Insulation: Wrap foam pipe insulation around metal or aluminium tripod legs to make them easier to handle in the cold.
• Heat Packs: Use chemical heat packs in your gloves for additional warmth during long photo sessions​