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I was going to hold off posting this until we had tested it out but there have been a few complaints about coping with the cold lately so here goes.

I've just ordered two pair of these to try. They are massive, neoprene over mitt (for kayakers really), one size fits all and they open both ends, wrist and fist, so could be put on the handles after the lines are attached the fist end closes with Velcro.

I'm not sure how well they'll work over rev handles and I may end up wearing my fingerless gloves underneath, but when we've given them a go I will report back with an update and hopefully some better pictures.

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I was going to hold off posting this until we had tested it out but there have been a few complaints about coping with the cold lately so here goes.

I've just ordered two pair of these to try. They are massive, neoprene over mitt (for kayakers really), one size fits all and they open both ends, wrist and fist, so could be put on the handles after the lines are attached the fist end closes with Velcro.

I'm not sure how well they'll work over rev handles and I may end up wearing my fingerless gloves underneath, but when we've given them a go I will report back with an update and hopefully some better pictures.

Try a pair of neoprene full fingered gloves.

They can be purchased at a dive shop.

They will keep you hands warm.

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i took a pair of big mitts cut a hole in the bottom edge (like at the base of your pinky) big enough for the grip of your handle to go through and then a smaller hole on the top edge (at the base of thumb) push top of handle out of it tie your lines, when you put your mitt on you should find a rev handle inside. :P

I would post a pic but my computer incompetance prevents it. :ani_wallbash:

freezing in the dark,Cowboy.

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Here are the gloves I've been using for the past year, with great success, for everything except -0 conditions...

Other good ones (TK uses the ladies pair shown below)...

The first pair is quite light, and leave me with very uninterrupted feeling on the handles, the other pairs are good too, just a tad thicker... Very durable, light, and they keep wind/water out! ;)

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Had a cracking day flying in Minus SEVEN yesterday.Never used a pair of gloves myself at all.I hate wearing gloves when flying and ive just about tried them all.

But,if i do i use any.I use a realy thick woolen pair,That are to big,that are awfull for feel and touch,get soaked easy.They warm your hands, OKish

.Boy you fly so much better when you get them OFF

BRIAN..Reverse the thinking

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Me too, that’s why I use fingerless, by way of a compromise. But I think people may have missed the point a bit with these mitts, they are not so much gloves to be worn on the hands, as covers for the handles. The idea is you then place your hands inside the mitts to grip the handles. It’s a bit of an odd concept to describe, but hopefully they should arrive by Wednesday and I will be able to post some pictures and a performance review after my new years fly.

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YIP i see it now mate,Missed it completly Bob ,as usual...lol [Happy Birthday btw mate]

Sound perfect.I just looked[didnt read]Thought gloves,which i truely hate wearing and dissmissed the things.

Thanks ,i will investigate further

.That said though,it has to be well cold for me to wear gloves.I find a short fast hand clap and a rub does the trick.

Have a great day Bob and have super dupa 2009,,,EVERYONE

BRIAN...

BRIAN...

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... they are not so much gloves to be worn on the hands, as covers for the handles. The idea is you then place your hands inside the mitts to grip the handles...

One added advantage is that they should help you learn to keep your hands on the foam. I tend to choke up on the handles and get my pointer finger off the foam and on the stainless tubing. I would suspect that even though it'll be warm inside the "handle mitts" the stainless will be still be cold. The disadvantage is the you might find your thumb getting cold ... unless you add some foam where your thumb rests.

You could also throw one or two of the "Little Hottie" chemical heat packs inside the mitts ...

Neat idea Bob, can't wait to hear your feedback.

Cheers,

Tom

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Out flying yesterday (wind chill of -5) at Stokes bay, I used my Alpinestar Race Driving gloves. Working on the principle of if they're flame retardant, they should keep the worst of the cold off, and still enable me to 'feel' the handles... Not toasty, but did the job :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Right, back on 28 Dec, I promised a proper review once I had tested these mitts. It has taken a while to get this done as delivery, though not exactly slow, was certainly nowhere as prompt as the companies emails promised.

The Mitts (aka pogies).

They actually fit standard Rev handles surprisingly well. When I first saw the Mitts, prior to placing my order, I was really quite optimistic but didn’t have any handles to measure them against, but putting them on my on my favourite handles Sunday morning I was surprised to find that they fit even better than I had expected. The picture at the bottom of this post shows one with spare pair of handles and a can of Coke inside the mitt to simulate my wrist and give a truer representation of how they would fit in use.

The Conditions.

Sunday was cold, around freezing, not as cold as it has been the last few weeks but still firmly in glove wearing territory, the wind was howling defiantly vented but a teabag was the kite of choice for those that had them. I was flying with a ¼” Rev Equipped leading edge, and thinking back should probably either put something else in to support it, or replaced it with an SLE, I didn’t break anything but to be honest I don’t know how I got away with it.

My Observations.

In those conditions I flew for some time with bare hands inside the mitts and though they undoubtedly offered a lot of protection from the cold, it was clear that they weren’t enough on their own, so I parked my kite and put my favourite neoprene backed fingerless cycling gloves and flew for the rest of the afternoon in relative comfort.

One minor niggle I did have, is the Velcro fastening in the palms. We do have to remember that these mitts are designed for kayakers and the Velcro fastenings are a necessary evil as the mitts need to be opened at the fist end to allow them to be put on the paddles. When I first saw the mitts I had thought this would be a useful feature for us as well as it would allow us to setup our kites and then fit the mitts without undoing the lines. In practice this turned out not to be a good idea as once the handles are in the mitts it is difficult to get a good wind proof seal on the Velcro and standing with our backs to the wind (as us kite fliers tend to do) the overlap acts as a very efficient wind trap that is ideally positioned to chill the finger tips.

Having said all that I have re sealed the mitts at home on a hard flat surface to get s tighter seal and I think they will be fine. In future I will either put the handles in the mitts before attaching the lines or if mid session I will remove it break lines so that the handles can be fed through the mitts.

http://www.revkites.com/forum/style_images...e_types/gif.gif

On the plus side, thought they looked a bit silly in use, a couple of people thought it was an ideal opportunity to extract the yellow stuff, they were extremely comfortable in use. The neoprene is thin and flexible enough not to restrict movement or interfere with the lines and I was totally unaware of them when flying.

They were also easy enough to put on, I just put my hand into the mitt picked up the left handle and adjusted the fit around the cuff with my right hand, I was then able to do the same with the other handle, gripping the left handle with three fingers an adjusting the right cuff with thumb and index finger, way easier to do than to describe, but trust me it all seemed very natural.

Conclusion.

They are not the whole solution to the problem of cold hands but they are defiantly part of a “mix and match” solution. I think for me it will be, first, my neoprene backed fingerless cycling gloves, simply because they are the most convenient and they don’t interfere with the feel of the kite. Then fingerless gloves in mitts, for extra protection from the elements, and then if it gets really cold my Thinsulate gloves in the mitts.

When I started this thread I did so in response to a couple of points about cold weather raised in other threads. I placed it in “Open Topic” because I had no direct experience of the mitts they were simply an idea I was investigating and didn’t think at that time they warranted a place in “Great Tools for the Field”. Having tested them I am now pleased to say that they are worthy of that position and a place in either my kite bag or my cold weather clothing bag, the jury is still out on that one.

post-286-1231973277_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for the review Bob, it saved me the effort!

Bob was kind enough to order me a pair of these as well. My experience and opinion is very similar to Bob's. Basically, you look a bit of a wally and the velcro seal on the second one you put on is a little tricky but I definately found them as warm as ordinary gloves yet still giving you the feel you get with bare hands.

As Bob mentioned, it was not as cold as it has been of late so I will see how good they are in really cold weather, but on the whole I think they are worth a try.

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Dont know what it is with us kite flyers.We seem all of us tobe on an endless quest looking for the next thing.Perhaps its the fact that most of the time we look through a flyers eyes at everything we look at.No matter what we are doing.Perhaps its the fact that thers a limited amount of true/available kite equipment out ther.

I found myself looking at Carbon Arrow [archery]shafts as spars.Golf Holdalls as a carry all kite bag,Rubber washers as end caps,the list is pritty endless.We all try and adapt stuff for the use in our Sport/Hobby.How many times have we read from perhaps a newish flyer,,,Can i use fifhing line,what do i wash my kite in,.Again just someone trying to improve,improvise ,better,save money,help with knowledge.

I think your onto something Bob with your Mitts.They look very practical and i for one was quite doubtfull they would work atall.With a bit more work,design,material,and size options perhaps.I think you could have a little winner ther mate.

Thanks Bob for shareing and my size would be large in Black,fleecy lined .... :)

Nice Job Bob

BRIAN...38GERUPS,in half an hour

BRIAN...

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I've just been watching "In the Night Garden" with the boy (English baby TV programe) and I have realised that Bob and I look like Upsy Daisy when we are wearing these gloves! :blushing:

Just for the record, one of the below is a picture of Upsy Daisy, and the other a picture of Stone in Shoe Bob.

When did Bob join The Flick :ani_whistling:

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I've just been watching "In the Night Garden" with the boy (English baby TV programe) and I have realised that Bob and I look like Upsy Daisy when we are wearing these gloves! :blushing:

Just for the record, one of the below is a picture of Upsy Daisy, and the other a picture of Stone in Shoe Bob.

Beautiful !!! :lol:

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  • 2 years later...

My local Costco has gloves in the sporting goods section that are decent for the mild cold Las Vegas experiences. $10, made by Head, nice feature is they have a slight rubber grid covering the palm and fingers to aid in gripping, and they have a special material on the thumb and forefinger that interacts with a touchscreen cell phone very nicely. They stretch a bit and fit tight (different sizes available) so they don't interrupt the feedback from the Rev too much. I don't think they would be suitable for really cold conditions, they break the cold wind off my hands nicely though.

While I've been flying kites for a couple years, before picking up on the Rev this year I never flew that much during the winter - I'm a cold weather wimp. This year, because of the Rev, I have the bug in a major way, and I'm determined to get out there every day and pursue my hobby/sport/relaxation/passion, regardless of conditions. I have some gear questions:

The weather in Las Vegas gets down to about 38 degrees Fahrenheit, usually no more than 30 percent humidity.

Can anyone recommend a nice, soft set of thermals (underwear or "fashion" thermals, tops and bottoms)? I've bought 3 different thermal tops now, and I swear they were all made with cactus needles and sandpaper.

Anyone have a recommendation for the best way to keep my ears, cheeks, and nose warm while flying? When I search online I see scarves, balaclavas, ski masks, etc. just wondering which works best while actively flying a kite.

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