Whether I am in the mountains hunting big game or pounding the sage with my shorthairs looking for upland birds, one common annoyance I have always had is gloves. I typically do not wear them when hiking or carrying my shotgun unless it’s downright frigid out. Even then, I will get by with wool half-fingers as long as possible, and on rare occasions, thin wool full-fingers. I do not like having my finger dexterity compromised, and I have yet to find gloves that work for me.
Final Rise Upland Hand Muff
New for the 2025/2026 season, Final Rise came out with the Upland Hand Muff/Warmer. This basically solved my problem when it comes to upland bird hunting. When the temperature dropped, I hooked up the hand warmer, and I am able to hunt comfortably with just my half fingers (even bare hands if its not too cold out).
Build Quality
Built out of robust exterior material, the muff is as durable as the vests it hooks to. The internal material is a DWR-treated ripstop nylon that repels burrs and seeds. It’s filled with synthetic insulation that will keep your hands warm even when wet. I was pleasantly surprised with how sleek and “tight to the body” this hand warmer is when attached. Bulkiness is a non-issue.
The openings are large enough that you can get your hand in there with gloves or a watch on, yet no cold air will get in if you don’t. The zippered pouch on the outside is nice for storing handwarmers or other narrow items.
Attaching
Connecting to your Final Rise vest is simple. For my use, I connected it to last year’s Summit XT model. Two vertical running straps connect (they are connected with G hooks) just above the vest shoulder strap adjusters on the vest. Then, you simply run your waist belt through two large hoops sewn on the backside of the muff, cinch your belt tight, and you are ready to hunt.
After the initial setup, you should not have to mess with any straps on the muff in the future, just clip on and off as needed. When you need to take your vest off, undo your waist belt and unclip one G hook. Simple as that.
The first hunt I used the hand warmer; it was 34 degrees, and there was light rain. I beat the sage brush, pushed through the tall grass, and climbed over and under Russian olive trees, all while never noticing it attached to my body. My hands stayed warm, despite the moisture saturating the ends of the insulation—it passed all the tests in the first couple of hours of use.
From there, I used it on several more hunts that ranged from mid-30’s down to the upper teens. All producing the same results.
As with all my reviews, I will point out any negatives that I find, and the only issue I found here is that the zippers jingle when walking…just enough to annoy me. I am guessing I hear them more from the muff than from the other zippers on the vest because they are positioned in front of me, rather than off to my side. A little athletic tape and it fixed the problem, in reality, not that big of a problem.
To wrap this one up, it’s safe to say the Final Rise Upland Muff will always be hooked on my vest when the weather calls for it. Great addition to the Final Rise lineup.
Comment or ask Brock questions here.
Check out Brock’s review of the full vest system here.
