The Best Winter Gloves for Any Activity

About the Expert: Déjà Leonard is a gear tester and journalist based in Alberta, Canada, who has first-hand experience in what apparel can hold up in Canadian winters. She spent nearly 15 years living outside the Rocky Mountains where temperatures can dip as low as −35°F. Over the years, she’s worn and tested a variety of gloves while snowboarding, splitboarding, cross-country skiing, winter hiking, ice skating, and wearing them in everyday settings.

Winter brings cold weather, yes, but also plenty of seasonal fun, whether it’s hitting the slopes, going hiking among the snow-covered trees, skating at an outdoor rink (maybe one you’ve built yourself), or simply getting some fresh, crisp air in between running errands. Whatever your chosen activity, there’s a glove out there for it that will keep you warm. Here’s what you need to know to pick the best winter glove, along with 10 recommended pairs, so you can spend less time researching and more time outside enjoying yourself.

Choosing the Right Type of Glove

Between gloves, mittens, and three-finger gloves, there are a lot of models available. Deciding on your preferred style is a good way to narrow down your search. Here’s what you need to know about each:

• Mittens: If you don’t need a ton of dexterity, mittens are great for keeping your hands warm because all four of your fingers can share heat in one confined space. The downside is that mittens make it harder to do things like hold ski poles or remove layers.
• Gloves: Although not as warm as mittens, gloves provide the best dexterity. They’re great for shoveling the front walk, backcountry skiing, and using your phone or other devices while outdoors.
• Three-finger gloves: Combined in an attempt to provide the best of both worlds, these mittens (also known as trigger mittens or lobster claw gloves) keep you warmer than a traditional glove and provide more freedom of movement than a classic mitten.

You should also consider what extra features you need. Extra-long cuffs help keep out snow if you’re carving lines or otherwise playing in powder, and touchscreen–compatible fingertips let you stay connected and use fitness trackers and other devices.

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Material Concerns

You should also pay attention to insulation, fabric construction, and waterproofing, because these factors affect how warm, durable, and dry a glove will be.

Down insulation is very compressible, durable, and has a higher warmth-to-weight ratio than synthetic alternatives. On the flip side, it can lose effectiveness when wet, and it’s typically more expensive. Synthetic insulation, such as PrimaLoft or 3M’s Thinsulate, is water-resistant and hypoallergenic, but it’s bulkier than down, which can limit range of motion. There are also uninsulated gloves. Because they usually consist of just one layer, they offer excellent dexterity, for activities like lacing up skates. They are also good for layering or wearing during high-intensity activities, like winter running.

Another important factor is shell material, or the fabric on the outside of a glove. Our recommendations include models with leather, polyester, fleece, and nylon exteriors. Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons:

• Leather is great for its durability and heat-trapping abilities. Because of this, it can be less breathable, making full-leather gloves better for low-intensity activities when you aren’t working up a sweat. Note that gloves that use leather in the palm or fingertips as reinforcement are still quite breathable.
• Polyester is durable, water-resistant, and slightly stretchy. However, it doesn’t offer much warmth, so the gloves need to be stuffed with a lot of insulation. This material is ideal for a variety of outdoor activities.
• Fleece, which is a type of polyester, is soft and warm next to skin, especially in the absence of rain or wind. It’s not very water-resistant, so fleece gloves are best for activities where you’ll stay dry or can add another shell over them.
• Nylon is similar to polyester but typically boasts more durability and water-resistance. Nylon gloves also need a lot of added insulation and are ideal for a variety of winter activities.

Finally, you should examine a glove’s ability to withstand water. Some models have waterproof membranes, such as Gore-Tex, that work by blocking water from entering your gloves while allowing water vapor to pass through small pores in the fabric to boost breathability. Other gloves are treated with a durable water repellent (DWR) coating that creates a water-resistant exterior. Similarly, leather is naturally water-resistant and has a barrier that temporarily prevents water from seeping through.

How We Evaluated

When recommending the best winter gloves, I compared the style, construction, insulation, features, performance, and cost of many models. I’ve been testing gear, including gloves, from different brands for about four years. Along with my own experiences, I considered thousands of reviews from websites like Amazon to help create this guide. No matter how you enjoy (or survive) the cold, there’s a pair or two below that’s right for you.