For those on Northern Lights cruises 2019 and 2020

[Buffyr]

Lat’s talk gloves.  I want to find some that will keep me warm and also allow me to work my camera - hopefully while still fully gloved.  There are some I have seen advertised that claim to be able to perform camera functions, but I would love to know if anybody has had real life experience they can share.  

 

Thank you!

[OnTheJourney]

Something like this perhaps?  https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/womens-apex-etip-gloves-nf0a3lvv  I bought a pair to take along on the cruise. They work pretty well, are quite warm, but, to be honest, when I'm doing most things with my cameras (especially video) I generally find myself taking my gloves off anyway for short periods of time. I just find them a bit more awkward to do pics or video than I had expected. But maybe that's just me. They seem to be good gloves though. I don't have real small hands for one thing. I also had these along:  https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Factory-Fleece-Lined-Fold-Back-Pockets/dp/B000SORT48 (These are men's but I would assume they come in women's as well). I seem to recall I made more use of these during the evening excursion than I did the Northface gloves. There are certainly heavier, warmer gloves out there than either of these, but we tried to avoid choosing items that were bulkier, for the sake of packing. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Buffyr]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

Something like this perhaps?  https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/womens-apex-etip-gloves-nf0a3lvv  I bought a pair to take along on the cruise. They work pretty well, are quite warm, but, to be honest, when I'm doing most things with my cameras (especially video) I generally find myself taking my gloves off anyway for short periods of time. I just find them a bit more awkward to do pics or video than I had expected. But maybe that's just me. They seem to be good gloves though. I don't have real small hands for one thing. I also had these along:  https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Factory-Fleece-Lined-Fold-Back-Pockets/dp/B000SORT48 (These are men's but I would assume they come in women's as well). I seem to recall I made more use of these during the evening excursion than I did the Northface gloves. There are certainly heavier, warmer gloves out there than either of these, but we tried to avoid choosing items that were bulkier, for the sake of packing. 

Both of those look like possibilities, but the North Face gloves look like they’d be warmer.  Maybe two pairs?  Thanks for looking!  

[OnTheJourney]

Yes...I'd agree. Check out the north face website....you might find other stuff as well. Personally, I found that, after taking a few pics (wasn't really all that much to take on our evening excursion - it wasn't all that successful as far as NL sighting - the most enjoyable part was being in the lodge drinking hot chocolate and eating cake!), I used those cover-up mitts and just kept my hands in my pockets in between pictures. 

[Mountains.to.Sea]

I am on this trip in late February and just purchased winter photographers gloves and over-mitts.  Both are by Vallerret.  The Ipsoot glove is a well insulated winter glove with  a fold back flap on the index finger and thumb so you can work the camera.  The Alta Over-Mitt is a heavily insulated mitten that slides over the Ipsoot glove.  The finger portion has a weatherproof zipper that allows the finger covering to be folded back so your Ipsoot gloves are exposed.  The mitts are really big and warm.  The mitts also come with a harness that holds the mitts if you do need to slip them off for something.

 

They are expensive, but appear to deliver exactly what they claim.

 

[Buffyr]

20 minutes ago, Mountains.to.Sea said:

I am on this trip in late February and just purchased winter photographers gloves and over-mitts.  Both are by Vallerret.  The Ipsoot glove is a well insulated winter glove with  a fold back flap on the index finger and thumb so you can work the camera.  The Alta Over-Mitt is a heavily insulated mitten that slides over the Ipsoot glove.  The finger portion has a weatherproof zipper that allows the finger covering to be folded back so your Ipsoot gloves are exposed.  The mitts are really big and warm.  The mitts also come with a harness that holds the mitts if you do need to slip them off for something.

 

They are expensive, but appear to deliver exactly what they claim.

 

Thank you so much!  I’ll be sure to check them out!

[Mountains.to.Sea]

An update on Vallerret gloves and over mitts.  We returned from our Northern Lights cruise about 2 weeks ago.  We had one absolutely beautiful and clear night in Tromso, with about 1/2 the moon showing.  As we traveled inland from the port it got colder & colder.  I'm guessing it was about 10 degrees F.  Our guides provided tripods to those who requested them.  

 

Now, on to the gloves.  The Vallerret Ipsoot gloves did a good job keeping my hands reasonably warm while allowing me to only expose my right index finger tip to operate the camera.  Only rarely did I need to expose my thumb.  It takes practice to be able to open or close the finger or thumb while your other hand is gloved and it is really hard if the other hand is wearing the over-mitt.  I eventually found that I could most easily use my teeth to open and close the finger flap (I know - kinda gross - but when its that cold, do you what you can to keep your hands in the over-mitts.)  The Alta Over-Mitts are what really saved the day and allowed me to stay out longer and capture some amazing photos.  I kept my hands inside the over-mitts except when I needed to access a camera function or operate the shutter.  I found the zippered flap on the over-mitt useless - with both hands in the over-mitts, it took more time to unzip and fold back one flap (and then reverse the process) than to just drop it from that one hand, do what I needed to do and quickly get the hand back inside the over-mitt.  The provided harness makes this very easy.  Northern Lights photos almost require tripods, so you don't have to hold the camera and, as they are usually longer exposures, I could hit the shutter with my exposed finger and almost immediately put my gloved hand back inside the over-mitt.

[OnTheJourney]

You returned only 2 weeks ago? Into what port?  Lucky you weren't quarantined with virus cases, etc. Glad you got your cruise in before everything got shut down. 

[Mountains.to.Sea]

We were on the Viking Star cruise which ended in Bergen on March 10th.  We spent 2 additional days in Bergen and flew to the US on March 12th.  That was the first day after Trump announced that "all flights from Europe" would be banned effective the following day.  Long story short - we got home as scheduled and as planned, but with significantly more confusion and crowding than we wanted.

[OnTheJourney]

I would have enjoyed additional time in Bergen. Our cruise started from there. We flew into Oslo a few days early, and then transferred to Bergen on embarkation day. We loved that trip - except, of course, for how it ended. It was our first time with Viking.