Six Unique Ways to Keep Your Hands Warm Skating Outside, Playing Pond Hockey.

From the quirky to the innovative, we've been hearing tons of ways to keep your fingers warm in freezing temperatures. We're in the business of keeping warm, so here are some of the best ways we have found- Starting with the unusual..

​1) Vaseline

This is a strange one on us. Did you know NFL players often coat their faces and arms in Vaseline to prevent windburn? It's supposed to act as one more layer of insulation and protect skin from drying and taking abuse in the cold air. We also heard that paramedics north of the Arctic circle often put Vaseline on their hands because they need to keep their fingers nimble in certain emergency situations. Messy, but effective. 

2 and 3) Cayenne Pepper/Chili Powder- capsaicin

We're grouping these two together. This is another unique tip we've heard from those in the winter running circles. The idea is to sprinkle a little powder or flakes of either cayenne pepper or chili powder onto bare skin, and the skin will react to draw blood to the surface. This is thanks to chili powder's active ingredient of Capsaicin, but the cayenne pepper flakes act the same way. We've heard this is quite effective, but we've also heard a little goes a long ways, so be careful!

4) Medical Gloves

We heard this trick from lacrosse players of the northeast. They wanted to play more winter ball, but just like hockey gloves, their gloves are meant to breathe and cool, not to insulate. Medical gloves don't breathe at all and if you've ever worn them in room temperature you'll often find your hands sweating. The drawback here is that there is a happy balance between warm hands and wet hands in the winter, which is why you don't see this one as often. Effective, but must play the balance.

5) Liners

This is the first step we all go to- find some cheap liners that'll fit in our gloves. Often this can be effective and provide just the little bit of insulation we need to keep our digits warm, but sometimes too many layers can work against us by isolating our finger's heat from each other. Also if you're playing hockey you lose some feel for your stick, but this is definitely worth the first try!

6) Third Assist Gloves

Of course we'll throw a quick pitch for our gloves. We've tried a number of different insulations over the years in our gloves, but we only share our favorites. You can skate around in our gloves, but the primary focus is for hockey- protection and warmth. Our gloves are lined with insulation throughout to keep a warm, but breathable enclosure. However we make sure not to line the palm or finger fronts so the user can maintain full feel of their stick. Check out our selection and see if it's worth a shot for you.

Have you tried any of these out- or heard of others? Let us know in the comments below!