I know there are a few sufferers on here so thought I’d consult the hive mind, recent reviews on the web seem a bit sparse. My wife is a sufferer and this year the attacks have got much worse – if she steps outside when it’s less than 5C without gloves on then that’s it – numb, painful hands for hours. It’s become a real problem going out as a family so I want to get her some decent gloves and insoles. Just got a bonus from work so don’t mind spending a few quid if required. On the wishlist for the gloves;

Waterproof & windproof
Heated fingers as well as main part
Not too restrictive – need to be able to wipe kid’s snotty noses, do zips up etc. Really can’t take them off
Not too bulky – need to be able to drive in them so some grip on the palms would be useful too
4 hours minimum battery life
Few heat settings would be nice
Durable
Don’t look too rubbish (not so important to be honest)

Insoles from the same manufacturer would be handy if they use the same chargers and batteries. Guessing lithium ion would be favourite due to size/weight.

Thanks!

I can’t recommend any in particular but I think most of the market for this would be skiing. The snowheads forum might be worth a search to see if anything comes up.

USB Charging and 7-8hrs continuous use:
http://www.digitsole.com/

Never used them, but saw them advertised the other day.

Some options here: Keis heated clothing

Liner gloves that can be worn under ‘normal’ gloves and insoles. Wires run to the separate battery pack that can be carried in a pocket or backpack (it’s small). Realistic battery life is probably 2-3hrs rather than 4.

Can be bought cheaper at places like Sportsbikeshop.co.uk than they can direct from Keis.

Have a look at Gerbing as well (also available at sportsbikeshop).

Yep fellow Raynauds sufferer here, working outside today and also last week, wearing fingerless gloves, cut fingers both times didnt realise till saw blood on the job i was doing.Painfull when circulation returns.

Gp said there are tablets ou can get prescribed to increase blood circulation also eat ginger .

http://www.outside.co.uk/shop/Stormtracker+Heated+Gloves

I’ve been using the non heated ones on my road bike over the winter down to minus 5, so the heated ones will be great.

My wife suffers very badly from this. As above the best heated gloves she has found are made for the ski market. Snowlife are the ones she currently uses, they fill most of your criteria…but, they are expensive and haven’t been very reliable, needing replacing several times. She recommends always using liner gloves and keeping those on if you need to do some fiddly jobs.
She also takes Nifedepine on prescription from the GP which do help but she still gets caught out from time to time.
It can make everyday things difficult and makes travelling light a problem due to the big bag of gloves and other warm things that go with us everywhere 🙂
Pogies are good for biking in the cold.

I can sympathise with your wife, my hands/fingers are playing up hellish at the moment and it doesn’t even need cold temps to bring on an attack – it can happen in the house , the blood vessels contract and fingers turn white, then they turn blue (cyanosis) then finally the blood returns and blood vessels start to burst – i feel like chopping my fingers off.

I’ve got deep/wide cuts on the back of 4 of my fingers due to the skin bursting and they are **** painful as every time you move or bend a finger they burst open again…Arghhhhh!.

It totally **** up my work up the garage in the winter and restricts what i can do, for bike riding this winter i have bought some very expensive down filled mitts from PHD designs and they do make a difference but i guess they are totally unsuitable for your wife’s needs.

There are lots of underlying causes to Raynauds and you need to find out whether it is a primary Raynauds condition (a stand alone condition) or a secondary Raynauds condition that is a manifestation of an undiagnosed underlying health issue.

Trying to get your GP to take the issue seriously is a **** joke, (it is for me), he told me to keep warm and don’t go outside when it is cold or allow my hands to get cold, so that rules out my work, hobbies, and life for perhaps 6 months of the year.

Arshole!

Not angry, just feel like grabbing his smug little bobble head and smacking it off his desk till he understands just how **** painful it can be (can you tell my fingers are pretty sore at the moment 😉 )

Thanks for all the suggestions, will check them all out. I had a Keis heated gilet when I had a motorbike and it was good, good firm to deal with too.

somafunk – **** ouch, that sounds insanely painful! You have my sympathy, hope my wife doesn’t get that bad. Think she may have an underlying problem with blood clotting but as you say getting to the bottom of these things with the NHS is far from easy.

https://www.blazewear.com/heated-gloves/gt6-performance-gloves.html

These are good. They don’t nuke your hands, but if you suffer from Raynauds you only need a nudge of heat to wake up the capillaries and the warmth is noticeable.

Fellow sufferer here.
Mine leads on to Chillblains which is fun. Got one on the ball of my foot last week :O(
Probably doesn’t help that work outside 7-8 hours a day but it make me happy.
A customer (who’s a doctor) suggested looking at Niacin the other day. Apparently it opens up the small red cells and improves circulation. I’m doing a bit of research as it sounds like it might help.
I find starting warm and not stopping work helps.
Hope you find a solution for your wife.
Cheers
Tim

Ahh bugger….the sun is out, not a cloud in the sky and it’s surprisingly warm (out of the wind) so i left the house wearing just my Castelli Leggenda winter gloves….my mistake 🙁

Still, on the positive side i’ve made it home in time to listen to the new R4 adaptation of “The Africa Queen” on the Saturday play. (I imagine some may see that as a negative 😀 )

My wife has reynauds… the whinging is insufferable 😉

The best thing we (I) have found is bar mitts, plus a decent pair of gloves.

She has both the MTB and Road flavours and loves them both:
http://www.ajbikeequipment.com/page2.htm

Dave