alan_k Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 After reading Dean Eldridges and Dan Burtons tips on cold winter flying I had a rummage to see what I could come up with. 'As well as heat generation, think heat conservation. “When airborne, park your brakes, and make a simple hand pouch to put both of your hands in. Hands always get cold first,” says Dan' I have found that even with a good pair of ski gloves some of my fingers start to get cold after 40-50 minutes. I found an old Polaroid camera bag and an old toiletries bag, both of about 25x18x10cm, both double skinned, windproof and lightweight. I tried both for hand access when holding the throttle and the toiletries bag was better because the zip opening comes part way down each side as well. I fitted lightweight carabiners by forcing them through a small pierced hole next to the reinforced seams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I think just parking your hands in your lap will help as I imagine blood flow is much reduced if you keep your hands on the brakes for a long time. I'm going to try to tape a hand warmer on each wrist on the next very cold flyable day to see if heating the blood as it passes on its way to the hands makes any difference. Can you post a link to Dean and Dan's page? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Blood flow into the hands is via the arteries, which are buried deep between the tendons. A hand warmer on the wrist will mainly heat blood returning to the heart. A hand warmer under the armpit might do better, as the arteries there are closer to the surface. In either case, blood temperature should be pretty close to core temperature. It is the flow of blood that effects heating of the hands. Wind proofing is most important. When I was younger and more stupid, I rode motorcycles all through the winters. A pair of trail bike style finger guards (big plastic thingies in front of the grips) made more difference than any heated grips. May your extremeties be forever toasty. Pete. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Can you post a link to Dean and Dan's page? It was in Paramotor mag, also linked from Fresh Breeze UK http://www.underwaterimages.co.uk/fresh ... ERO-EE.pdf Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Blood flow into the hands is via the arteries, which are buried deep between the tendons. A hand warmer on the wrist will mainly heat blood returning to the heart. I came across a commercial product last year which was a wrist warmer (not specifically for flying) and was marketed as warming the blood entering the hands, obviously just marketing bullshit then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Can you post a link to Dean and Dan's page? It was in Paramotor mag, also linked from Fresh Breeze UK http://www.underwaterimages.co.uk/fresh ... ERO-EE.pdf Thanks Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 First flight of the month today and I tried out the hand pouch. It certainly did the job of keeping the cold air off the hands, could do with being slightly wider but OK. It was a cold day, Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Alan Have you had a look at Blaze wear gloves.... Around £50--- £80 with li po batteries.... Seem to working fine for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Blood flow into the hands is via the arteries, which are buried deep between the tendons. A hand warmer on the wrist will mainly heat blood returning to the heart. I came across a commercial product last year which was a wrist warmer (not specifically for flying) and was marketed as warming the blood entering the hands, obviously just marketing bullshit then. Yep. The body is quite good at keeping whatever heat it has within the important bits (core temperature). This is achieved by restricting blood flow close to the skin, reducing heat loss to the surroundings. You may have noticed (depending on your age etc.) that the blood vessels you can see just under the skin are all blue. These are viens, returning de-oxygenated blood to the heart and lungs. Arteries are located deeper in the tissue, giving support against internal pressure, protection from damage and insulation from cold. The wrist warmers probably have more effect due to filling the gap between glove and sleeve than due to actual thermal transfer. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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