Fingerpick alternatives

Like wlbaye . . . I prefer to just use my fingertips and not the nails . . . . however you might like these picks which fit under your fingernails "aLaska Pik"    http://www.alaskapik.com/

Zurf, those Lee "press on nails" really work. It took me awhile, but when I was trying hard to quit smoking they were a godsend. I got up to 2 packs a day before I quit but they worked.

I been having a whle lotta trouble with my right hand and have had 2 surguries since November. My middle and ring fingers have been affected by these surguries and don't work just like I would like them too. This affects any attempts I make to try and learn a finger pick style. Still cannot close my hand, tightly and still have some pain. Guess I'ma gonna stick with playing rythem guitar and bi-pass the fingerpicking for a little longer.

Nela

I've been going to a nail salon for years...I play with a thumbpick and three fingers...I have them apply acrylic to the first three fingers and have them just long enough to be able to alternately pick with the nail, or the pad of the fingers. My natural nails are too thin and weak to stand up to steel stringed guitar playing...

Although going to a salon may work well for some, I don't think Zurfs' fishin' and campin' buddies would, or could never let him live that one down. (haha) Zurf, I like the Jim Dunlop plastic finger picks. They're made in various sizes to accomodate many finger shapes and sizes. They cost about 85 cents a pick and last a very long time. They're durable( not as much so as the metal finger picks you dislike) and they have a little give to 'em. Get yourself the proper size ( not blood circulation cuttin' off, but a little snug) and you might find these guys work well for you. Also, they are somewhat shapeable to fit your fingers ideally, but they will break if you bend 'em too far. They come in solid white and leopard(calico) colors.

I could go to one of those fancy salons and get fishing flies painted onto them!  But then my co-workers would have something they wouldn't let me live down. 

To Jaygordon's credit, I've been considering a nail treatment from the grocery store.  I wouldn't want anything shiny, but I seem to recall back in college when we played the "Reva" drinking game during Guiding Light (you had to drink every time and for the whole time Reva cried - good for a mid-day buzz for sure) that there was stuff sold that's supposed to keep nails from chipping and breaking.  Now, that was decades ago and as already mentioned I wasn't in a state known for maximizing the accuracy of recollection.  Still, it may be worth a trip over to the pharmacy.  Fishing buddies could razz me.  I'd just stuff cotton in their ears or sound an air horn in their face at the campfire that night so they couldn't hear me play.   Nah.  They'd be lining up to razz me the next night to keep from having to hear it again.   

- Zurf