My wife and I are about a week from heading out to the BWCA and I remember when we went last year that I ended with my hands being super chapped by the end of the week. They were so bad that my thumb print didn't work on my iphone for a month.

Do others have this problem? Any ideas on how to remedy this? Is it as simple as just using lotion every day?

Wasn't sure what thread to put this on because it doesn't really fall in any of the categories, so I went with the most frequently used....;)

a pair of cheap leather gloves. they will be wet, and your fingers will get wrinkly, but honestly its the best solution I've found.

my wife likes her neoprene gloves...I haven't found neoprene to be much better than leather for heat retention, but whatever...happy wife, happy life.

if your wife brings lotion with interesting smells, dont leave it in the tent!

I suggest you use lotion, keep a small microfiber towel in a pocket to dry your hands frequntly, and wear dry leather gloves for camp chores.

Wearing gloves and keeping your hands dry as much as possible should help with it. I too would recommend you bring some kind of lotion or balm since you know you have had problems in the past.

I wear liner gloves (think thin wool or light synthetic) when paddling to keep my hands dry and less callused . Gloves for chopping and handling firewood.

Having soft white collar hands I also have this problem after a few days out. Beyond using gloves when needed, I've found hand hygiene (washing with soap and water several times) really helps and is often overlooked when camping other than obvious times (latrine & food prep).

Hand lotion should help.

O'Keefe's Working Hands

I amazed at the quality of light weight, tactile neoprene, nitrile and rubber 'dipped' work gloves you can get these days, and cheap too at your local home store. Barely feels like you have gloves on at all.

The last pair I bought had a high waterproof layer:

https://www.menards.com/main/home-decor/apparel/gloves/work-gloves/rugged-wear-reg-mens-latex-dipped-gloves/p-1471355380118-c-7086.htm


Daniel

Gloves for camp chores. Not a lotion kind of guy.But up there,a little Dab at night works wonders....

And here's a clue for chapped lips...
Back in the day I had a old captain tell me when I walked into his office and complain I left my chap stick at home.
He replied to just put my index finger in my ear and twist it around and then rub it on my lips. Wow. Still laugh when I tell people that

Lubriderm scent free lotion is great and you can usually find it in the small travel size.
i've found using hand sanitizer also dries out my skin quickly.
if tripping in the fall, lather on the lotion and then put on some lightweight fleeze mittens or socks when sleeping.

Udder Balm and then gloves to sleep in for severe case. I always liked Corn huskers Lotion too.

Fine particles from soot and ash can really aggravate the skin on your hands. Best to use gloves when handling stoves, ashes, sooty pots, rocks from the fire pit. Since I've switched to using gloves around the fire pit and handling my white gas stoves I have not had any problem.

I also have terribly dry hands while I'm in the b-dub and all winter long.

Wear gloves to prevent wear and tear on the hands during your trip. Keep them dry as much as possible. If you can't, don't worry about it too much. Keep a travel size lotion in your pocket. Apply that every couple of hours during the day. At night is when you need to treat your tired hands and keep them healthy. Use a light coating of Vaseline, Aquaphor or Eucerin on your hands and immediately put on a cheap pair of soft cotton knitted gloves when you go to bed. In the morning your hands will be smooth and healthy. You'll be amazed at how well this therapy works.

My finger tips used to crack open after a couple of days out. I now carry a small container of Aquaphor in my pocket. I grease up at every portage. At camp I wear gloves for wood chores and grease up often. Grease has worked wonders.

quote Bigbriwi: "My wife and I are about a week from heading out to the BWCA and I remember when we went last year that I ended with my hands being super chapped by the end of the week. They were so bad that my thumb print didn't work on my iphone for a month.

Do others have this problem? Any ideas on how to remedy this? Is it as simple as just using lotion every day?

Wasn't sure what thread to put this on because it doesn't really fall in any of the categories, so I went with the most frequently used....;)"

I had the same issue after my first two trips this year. I have to use my finger print to log into our medication dispenser at the hospital and I kept getting errors when it couldn't read my prints. Thankfully it usually worked after several attempts.

I'm going to definitely use lotion for my trip next week to see if that helps.

Along with some type of hand lotion, I carry Hydro Cortisone cream, it speeds up the healing process if you do develop, cracks and chapping etc.

What has not been mentioned yet is hydration. With cracked dry skin, the fluid you intake is more important than the fluid you put on the outside.

My dermatologist recommends CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. Some of his patients report that it has changed their life. I use it, and it is very good. Give it a try. You won't be sorry!

We used to come out of the woods with fingers wrapped in duct tape due to this. I always thought it was from wet hands, pike slime, and just general abuse. The past few years we noticed it was a non-issue. It could be coincidence but we attribute that to our now very seldom use of DEET. Years ago we would lather up before just about every portage.

Hex

quote TwoByGreenCanoe: "What has not been mentioned yet is hydration. With cracked dry skin, the fluid you intake is more important than the fluid you put on the outside. "

I was gonna stay the same thing. I noticed that I got chapped hands on every trip - until I paid more attention to my fluid intake. Then things improved greatly.

Hydration is a good point, washing and drying, gloves nearly all the time and I use a lotion designed to help cows have soft udders. There are lots of knockoffs and I have settled on Ideal Udder Balm. Finding a good lotion low on alcohol, low on grease, big on comfort is not easy. Folks seem to have their favorites.
I have shared this before, but it is priceless to me. On a trip a few years ago my nephew commented my hands looked awful and why didn't I have gloves. Out of habit I commented what my father had taught, "Gloves are expensive, skin heals." I got gloves when we got home and wear them nearly all the time now. Leather in camp, mechanics type when paddling.

I started to bring hand lotion

quote DeuceCoop: " O'Keefe's Working Hands "

Yep+1. I work with steel and it always dries my hands out. Love this stuff. Fleet Farm has it as well.

We used Cornhuskers lotion when I worked for the USFS with good results...and no perfumy stench or greasy feel that many other lotions provide.

I had the same problem in the past until I also started using O'Keefe's Working Hands. I use a small container of it and because I use daily contacts I have to have finger tips that can handle putting contacts in and out.

It works great and I don't have issues like I did in the past.

I can relate to my finger prints not working for my I-phone for weeks after a trip.

Nomad.