Hiking Mitts

I have been adventuring since I was a child, from an active and creative family. Alongside adventures with Guides, Duke of Edinburgh and Scouting, comes a love of craft making. As a parent and multiple dog owner when adventuring I wanted gloves to keep my hands warm but had to keep removing them to get items from the backpack or to hold on to the dog lead so I decided to crochet my own fingerless mitts for people who want practical yet beautiful adventure accessories.

Crochet fingerless gloves are perfect hiking accessories. Even during summer, mountain climbing, beach exploring, or any outdoor adventure can be chilly.

They are available in a variety of colours and sizes, are lightweight and easy to pack. The convenience of fingerless gloves means you are still able to access your phone, navigation device, maps, backpack, dog lead. The list is endless.

Warm Wrists, Warm Hands

Believe it or not but wearing hand-warming fingerless gloves will indeed keep you toasty and warm. Large arteries of the body pass close to the skin at your wrists so they can release a lot of heat. Studies have found that if we were losing heat it was because our wrists are not properly insulated.

Whenever someone is exposed to cold temperatures, the nerves of the skin, blood vessels, and brain sense the colder temperature and then send chemical messages along the nervous system to the arteries of the skin, hands, and feet, telling them to constrict to keep as much warm blood as possible away from the skin, fingers, and toes.

This helps to prevent the body from losing vital warmth through the skin and to keep the blood and inner part of the body (with vital organs like the brain, kidneys, and heart) at the correct warm body temperature. In the vast majority of people, this chain of events just causes the skin to feel cooler than normal.

In some people, however, it can cause severe pain and affect your daily activities or enjoyment of adventures. It is therefore important to layer up and wear warm accessories when and wherever you are out and about.

It’s not easy finding products for us Frosties even during the summer months the weather can be chilly especially if you are more prone than some, to feeling the cold.

Hiking mitts are available in medium and large adult sizes and I recommend you even invest in a large size which gives you room to even add a warmer pouch into the glove. A medium-size will give you a snugger fit depending on preference and they are all long to cover the wrists and forearm area for added comfort and warmth.

How Hiking Mitts Can Help

• Reduce extreme sensitivity to cold. The body may react to cold-causing pain. Wear Hiking Mitts to reduce your sensitivity.

• Lessen skin colour changes. Fingers, toes, and/or sometimes the ears, lips and nose turn white due to lack of blood flow (called pallor). The blood that’s left in the tissues loses its oxygen and the affected area turns blue (called cyanosis). As fresh oxygen-rich blood returns to the area, it often turns bright red. Hiking Mitts, Ear Warmer Headbands and Beanie Hats will keep your extremities warm.

• Avoid coldness, pain and numbness. A lack of oxygenated blood in the fingers triggers these feelings. Numbness is the sensation that the hands and fingers have “fallen asleep.”

• Alleviate, tingling and throbbing. The quick return of blood to the fingers triggers these feelings, but keeping a warm and even body temperature can ease any tingling or throbbing.

Ear Warmer Headbands

To complete the accessories look are matching sets of ear warmer headbands to keep the crazy annoying wind from giving you terrible earache and that constant battle of keeping your windblown hair from your eyes. For extra warmth look no further than my warm Aran yarn beanie hats.

Beanie Hats

Beanie Hats are lightweight so perfect for adventures all year round. Slouchy Beanies are more ‘roomy’ than a classic beanie hat so you can wear your hair up or down, whatever suits your mood or adventure.

Boot Cuffs

Boot cuffs are short ankle warmers designed to give that extra level of warmth on cold hiking adventures. I created the pattern myself and they can be worn either long or short by folding over the ribbed cuff for added versatility.  

Lap blankets

Are smaller than usual blankets designed to be over your knees while sitting around a campfire when camping or caravanning and therefore lighter and easier to pack too. These blankets can also be used in the home as a comforter / small blanket for children or as a chair or sofa throw.

You can shop the full range of handmade gifts and ‘Adventure Accessories’ from Sarah Lou Crafts.