Want to know how the winter gloves you’ve been thinking of buying are going to cut it in the same kind of circumstances you’ll actually be using them in?
Every single pair of gloves in our guide has been tested in a whole range of different conditions and environments around the world, including milder winters, extreme winds, high altitude mountaineering and skiing. We’re everyday hikers, and so the quality of the products we use is just as important to us as it is to you.
We’ve divided the gloves in our guide below based on their intended use. For example, liner gloves sit separately to full on cold weather gloves. While we like to keep our guides tight, we also think this distinction is important here. Each pair is still in our rotation in some way and has earned it’s place there for a reason.
So whether you’re skiing or mountaineering in cold alpine climates or just need something to keep the edge off, our guide below will help you get a better understanding if the gloves you’ve had your eye on will be right for you.
The Best Cold Weather Gloves
The best cold weather gloves are ones that will keep you going further in temperatures that really take a drop. However, this can really vary and some gloves that are intended for intense cold can be overkill for around freezing.
The selection of gloves we’ve included in this section cover a real range of different scenarios, including gloves suited to general hiking in winter and general snow, mountaineering and skiing. In this section, you will find the most hard wearing of gloves that will keep you protected from the elements and are all waterproof and offer varying wind resistance, depending on the circumstances.
Helly Hansen Swift HT Ski Gloves
Our take:
- Very reasonably priced
- Extremely comfortable, warm and durable for varied use
- Excellent all rounder
- Fingers can be long for some hikers
- No wrist attachment included
We were incredibly impressed by the Helly Hansen Swidt HT Ski Gloves. Whilst they have ski in their name, we found them fantastic for all outdoors use, especially for winter hiking and mountaineering.
What we really loved about these gloves is how they offer such a high end, versatile product that can be used for so many applications, for a pretty reasonable price tag considering their feature set. Their soft inner liner also makes it feel like you’re putting your hands straight into a comforter, which gives them brownie points too.
Whilst there are absolutely more full on alpine gloves in our line up, we loved these winter hiking gloves from Helly Hansen because they are such a good all-rounder. Some of the more full-on alpine gloves are too much for varying conditions, and our tester really felt like Helly Hansen have the balance right with the Swift HT gloves.
These gloves are also light without being bulky, which allows them to have an almost second skin feel, which is comfortable on the trail and allows for a good level of dexterity. We’d expect to see this level of wind protection, fit and warmth at a much higher price point; these gloves really punch above their weight. Read our full review of the Helly Hansen Swfit HT Ski Gloves here.
See them in detail:
Rab Pivot Gore-Tex Gloves
Our take:
- Excellent level of warmth offered
- Very rugged build quality
- Expensive
- May be too warm for general winter hiking (depending on conditions)
The Rab Pivot Gore-Tex Gloves really impressed us in our tests out in the field. These are specialized gloves best suited to extremely cold conditions and demanding alpine terrain.
They’re probably overkill for some hikers, but if you venture out in the extreme cold, or, like our reviewer, tend to really feel the cold in your hands, then they are an excellent choice. We’ve found the Rab Pivot Gore-Tex winter hiking gloves to be really well made, and they will certainly give many years of long service, even if you hike in the most demanding conditions.
The gloves are not compatible with touch screens, and we were slightly disappointed that they didn’t come with a liner glove, especially given the high price point. However, these are minor niggles and the excellent build quality, good level of dexterity and phenomenal warmth more than balance this out.
The heavily reinforced leather palms and pads with an extra layer of leather between the thumb and first finger to offer more protection when handling rope are paired with extra padding around the knuckles. We found that makes these gloves a great choice for technical mountaineering or scrambling in winter. Read our full review of the Rab Pivot Gore-Tex Gloves here.
See them in detail:
Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Insulated Glove
Our take:
- Very warm
- Dexterity is great considering the warmth and insulation
- Sizing can run small
- The cuffs are tight and they do take effort to get on
Best for: Touchscreen use
We love how much the Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Insulated Gloves show you don’t always need to make tradeoffs when it comes to warmth and dexterity. These gloves really get the balance right and offer a great level of warmth and comfort in cold (but not extremely frigid) temperatures whilst still being able to carry out your usual tasks.
We did find that the sizing runs small on these gloves, so we’d recommend you measure your hand with the charts at the buying links we’ve provided. However, once you get the right fit, these gloves feel truly next level in terms of their second skin appeal.
We found it’s possible to do extremely fine tasks on a phone with these gloves on too. This is one of the reasons for our award of best winter gloves for touch screen use. The Sealskin Waterproof All Weather Gloves allow so much more, meaning you don’t need to take them off to operate your phone.
They’re offered at a pretty good price point considering the feature set; we think they’re a real bargain and perform well next to some of the more tech heavy gloves in this line up. If you want a glove that gives you the dexterity you have normally and the ability to use your phone, these may well be the gloves for you. Read our full review of the Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Insulated Gloves here.
See them in detail:
The North Face Women's Apex Insulated Etip Glove
Our take:
- Good touchscreen capability
- Good features for the price
- Aren’t fully waterproof for heavy, prolonged rain
- Touch screen sensitivity is limited to fairly basic tasks
We absolutely loved The North Face Women’s Apex Insulated Etip Gloves in our tests, they’re a well featured product that will keep you really warm. A perfect all-rounder and the touch screen sensitivity they offer means that for the majority of tasks, you can keep them on.
We were really impressed with the feature set that you get for the price with these gloves and felt that they really punch above their weight. They’re made of synthetic, recycled materials and have a PFC free DWR.
We particularly loved the wind resistance, having experienced exceptionally bad windstorms in them, and we found our hands were kept warm throughout. Even when our hands were more exposed using hiking poles.
These Apex gloves do fit a little close to the skin, but once you are used to this, it means that the dexterity they offer is very good. We also think they look good, so this could very easily be the only pair of gloves you need for day to day and hiking. Read our full review of The North Face Women’s Apex Insulated Etip Glove here.
See them in detail:
The North Face Women's Montana Insulated Ski Mitt
Our take:
- Very warm, with waterproofing and wind proofing
- Wrist straps stop you losing them when taking them off
- Dexterity is limited due to bulk
- Ability to use a mobile device is very limited
The North Face Women’s Montana Insulated Ski Mitt is one of the best mid-price range winter hiking gloves and mitts we’ve tested in terms of warmth and waterproofing. You really do get a bargain for your money.
We really loved the fit of these gloves and found that they feel exceptionally soft when putting them on. Their insides are really cushioned and said it felt like wearing a comforter on your hands.
A mitt is always going to be a little less easy to use in terms of dexterity than a glove, but if you want something very warm and are happy with that trade off, this is an exceptional product. They will keep you dry for long missions outdoors, and the drawcord around the wrist keeps them snug into the hand and creates a good seal so nothing from outside is getting in.
The North Face Women’s Montana Insulated Ski Mitt uses a 250g loft layer of insulation alongside the fleece lining and DWR treated polyester which also includes their in house ‘WindWall’ technology. On the palm, you’ll find a faux leather gripper.
These gloves come in a range of colors that we loved, making them stand out from some of the other gloves in our lineup. It’s really obvious from our stress tests outdoors that these mitts are incredibly well made and will stand the test of time. Read our full review of The North Face Women’s Montana Insulated Ski Mitt here.
See them in detail:
The Best Thin Warm Gloves
The thin warm gloves in our line up cover both liner gloves and thin gloves that are intended to be worn on their own for lighter winter conditions. These are also good for taking the edge off when shoulder season hits and temperatures take a drop. We’ve also covered several options that we’ve tested that offer fantastic touch screen compatibility.
Arc'teryx Rho Liner Gloves
Our take:
- Very easy to use with a mobile device
- Feels really warm considering it’s a liner glove
- Expensive considering they’re a liner glove
We loved the Arc’teryx Rho Liner gloves in our tests, and when it came to it, felt that they were some of the best touchscreen gloves out there by a long way. We’ve found themselves reaching for them time and time again and when paired with a thicker glove, make an incredible deep winter layering system that will pretty much take you through any circumstance.
Their textured finger pads, which are incredibly well made and durable, help with smaller tasks on a phone and make it easy to do pretty much everything you normally would with them on. We loved how responsive they are compared to some other gloves with this feature.
The Rho Liner gloves may be expensive, but Arc’teryx are known to produce some of the best products on the market, and these gloves are no exception. We love how effortlessly soft they feel compared to some other liner gloves (which can feel scratchy) and we all agree they’re a no brainer if you want to take your layering game up a serious notch or two. Read our full review of the Arc’teryx Rho Liner Gloves here.
See them in detail:
Helly Hansen LIFA Merino Glove Liner
Our take:
- Fantastic at wicking moisture
- Well fitted and soft
- Can’t use with touchscreens
- Doesn’t offer much wind resistance
Admittedly, we’d actually had little experience with testing Helly Hansen gear until we started being introduced to their products a couple of years back.
We’ve found the Helly Hansen Men’s LIFA to be one of the best glove liners we’ve ever tested. They make a fantastic pairing to a thicker more technical glove and provide an amazing level of moisture wicking.
We’ve found that on more full on mountaineering trips when building up a serious sweat, that we’ve never sweaty, wet, uncomfortable or cold. This really changes the game where liners are concerned.
Fitting true to size, these liner gloves are perfect around the fingers and don’t feel tight in any way. You also don’t get any bunching with them and our tester reported that it’s possible to still get on with pretty much any of your normal tasks.
Considering the price the Helly Hansen Men’s LIFA Merino Glove Liner are offered at, we think they’re a real bargain, and if paired with the Helly Hansen Swift HT Ski Gloves, which we’ve covered earlier on in this guide, you can get an incredibly good set for pretty much all outdoors use for $100. Read our full review of the Helly Hansen Men’s LIFA Merino Glove Liner here.
See them in detail:
Trendoux Winter Gloves
Our take:
- Fantastic option for the price: they’re very budget friendly!
- Warmth and comfort are great considering the price
- Not waterproof
- The sizing is a bit confusing, and they start at a medium
Admittedly, the Trendoux Winter Gloves were a bit of a wildcard in the mix for us, but once we started using and testing them, we were pleasantly surprised with what they had to offer. Considering how unbelievably cheap they are (they’re less than a coffee in most places), we’ve found them very comfortable, and the fit was absolutely impeccable.
For mild to moderate cold, we’ve loved how well they’ve performed. They have a great level of dexterity which meant he could get on with tasks as normal. They’re not really intended as a full-on mountaineering glove, but for general hiking, they worked really well.
We also really love the silicone grippers on the underside of these gloves, which are great when using hiking poles and touching rocks when scrambling out on the trail. We think that if you only need gloves every now and then and don’t want to commit to a hefty price tag, you can’t go wrong with these comfortable, soft and functional winter hiking gloves. Read our full review of the Trendoux Winter Gloves here.
See them in detail:
Other Notable Gloves We’ve Tested
Over the years we’ve tested a lot of winter gloves. The gloves below are ones we’ve loved and reviewed in detail but have been retired from our current gear rotation or donated to other hiking friends. They’re all still solid picks that we recommend highly:
- Hestra Heli Three-Finger Insulated Gloves
- Hestra Fall Line
- icebreaker Merino Oasis 200 Glove Liners
- Mechanix Wear Coldwork Original
- Carhartt Women’s Quilts
- Cotopaxi Teca Fleece Gloves
- Black Diamond Guide Gloves
- Black Diamond Mercury Mitt Women’s
- Carhartt Men’s Waterproof Insulated Glove
- Outdoor Research Stormtracker
- Wells Lamont HydraHyde Leather Hybrid Men’s
- Outdoor Research Flurry Sensor Gloves
If you’d also like to learn more about how we tested the gloves we’ve recommended in this guide, we’ve got some other articles linked below that explain this in more detail:
Why Trust Our Recommendations
We know how important it is to be able to trust reviews before you buy a product. We also know how frustrating it is to just see generic information or the same stuff you could just find on a product listing.
That’s one of the main things that forms our ethos and everything we do with This Expansive Adventure. We’re human beings. This site sits as an extension of us in many ways and is living a breathing too. What this means in reality is that as we develop and grow in our hikes, adventures and general time outdoors, so do our reviews. They don’t stay static.
We’re real hikers and all of the products we recommend to you have gone through real world hikes, for as long as possible in order to make our cut. Some of the gloves we’ve included here have been with us for the last 3+ years or more on countless hikes. We don’t take your trust for granted!
Winter Gloves Buying Guide
Whether you’re looking for a new pair of winter gloves for backcountry ski mountaineering, hiking through snow or just to take the edge off, our guide above has you covered with the best, tried and tested options. However, there is still a lot to consider when it comes to buying winter hiking gloves.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s your first time buying winter hiking gloves or you’re looking for a serious upgrade, the considerations of what’s right for you should always be the same. This will develop and become more nuanced depending on what you do and how this progresses over time. Our guide below has you covered with everything you need to consider to make the right glove choice.
Type and Style
Generally speaking, there are a number of categories that winter gloves fall into that can be used for hiking. Which you go for will depend on what features you need the most.
Specialized or performance gloves and mitts: These types of gloves are specifically for harsh winter conditions, such as ski mountaineering, snow hiking, artic exploration or skiing. You can expect to find a wide range of different features in this category due to the specialisms of each sport we’ve covered here. Though you can expect these to come with a price tag to match that suits their use of top of the line materials, insulation systems and waterproofing. Some of our favorites in this category are the Rab Pivot Gore-Tex Gloves, the Hestra Heli Three-Finger Insulated Gloves and the Black Diamond Guide Gloves.
General hiking gloves: These types of gloves are usually less featured than the performance style gloves above. They’re great in terms of winter hiking gloves because many now are a hybrid offering, so get a good balance with waterproofing and insulation. However, you will likely find with some of these gloves that they have a limit in terms of what temperature ranges you can take them into. They will often have smart screen compatibility and can have extremely good durability. They can be offered at a lower to mid-price point generally. Some of our favorites in this category are the Helly Hansen Swfit HT Ski Gloves, The North Face Women’s Apex Insulated Etip Glove and the Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Insulated Glove.
Work gloves: Whilst it may not be the most obvious thought, gloves intended for work, such as mechanic or general outdoors work can work fantastically well for winter hiking or the tasks you may expect to do over winter. They generally have simple features, but with this basic level you usually get cheaper, more affordable prices. This makes them an attractive proposition if you don’t want to break the bank. They aren’t generally made for extreme conditions though and are better suited to lighter temperatures and environments. Favorites we’ve covered include the Wells Lamont HydraHyde Leather Hybrid Men’s and the Mechanix Wear Coldwork Original.
Price
Price is without a doubt a serious consideration for most people when buying a product, and we know for many people this will be more limited when it comes to winter hiking gloves. Whilst it may seem like a small piece of kit, we’d advise you buy the best you can, as the warmth of your hands is extremely important in cold conditions.
Think about the kind of hiking you do and the kind of temperatures that your environment gets down to, so you have a better idea really how much you need to push things. Whilst the top of the line performance gloves offer exceptional warmth and comfort, for many hikers they can be overkill, and a general hiking glove, at a much lower price point can sometimes be much better. We love The North Face Women’s Apex Insulated Etip Glove in this category.
If it isn’t wet so much where you live, and you just need protection from the cold, then the chances are, you may be able to use a general day-to day glove or general hiking glove which is more of an all-rounder. These are often much cheaper. Gloves we like in this area are the Trendoux Winter Gloves and the Outdoor Research Flurry Sensor.
Warmth
If we’re talking about winter hiking gloves, there’s no way we can’t consider warmth; it’s one of the main reasons we look to a winter glove in the first place. However, where you hike or spend time outdoors in winter will determine exactly how much warmth you need, as not all gloves give an equal level, due to different levels of insulation.
If you need full on warmth – perhaps you’re skiing or moving quickly, look for gloves with hard shell layers, which will offer the most when it comes to keeping you dry and sheltered from wind. Look for thick linings and loft that will keep you warm, with included liners or soft fleecy insides.
For temperatures that aren’t quite this extreme, look for a glove that is closer fitting to the fingers and still offers a good level of protection from the elements. Depending on whether it gets wet where you are, you may not need a waterproof glove.
We’d also advise looking at adding a liner to your glove set if the temperature changes and you build up a sweat when you hike. This can help to wick moisture a lot, especially if wearing an outer, waterproof glove. This will keep you dry and warm and give you the option to increase or decrease the warmth you get depending on the circumstances.
Water Resistance
Not all winter hiking gloves offer water resistance. So whether you need this or not will really depend on the kind of conditions you hike in. For some people this isn’t really needed – especially if you live in a dry, mediterranean style alpine climate.
For some hikers and winter outdoorsy pursuits, water resistance or waterproofing is absolutely necessary. For full on waterproofing, a Gore-Tex or similar hard shell construction is the way forward, or a full waterproof insert.
This works similar to any waterproof gear, like your waterproof hiking pants or waterproof rain jacket for hiking. Others use leather which needs to be treated with a special product, which is usually provided with high end gloves that need it.
These should all provide an impenetrable seal against water, but some do need treatments and maintenance ongoing, such as leather and some DWR treatments on hard shells. When it comes to water resistant gloves, these offer a light protection from moisture but can’t be trusted to the same level as a glove that claims full waterproofing.
It’s worth keeping in mind with waterproofing that you do loose some breathability. Many manufacturers try to counteract this by using a liner that can wick moisture. If not included, you can always add one to help keep moisture away from the skin and to keep your hands dry and warm.
Wind Resistance
Winter can present a whole range of things to contend with, such as wind. This can be prevalent through winter storms whilst hiking, or on particularly windy days. However, wind can also be a problem for skiers when your hands are exposed and moving at speed.
The wind resistance offered by your gloves does a lot to keep your hands feeling comfortable and warm and can be the difference between turning back or keeping going and just enjoying what you’re doing all the more. Many gloves offer some form of wind resistance, but you generally find that with much cheaper gloves, this reaches its limit very quickly.
Like most hardshell outdoor gear, the hardshell performance and general hiking gloves at the higher end offer the most when it comes to wind resistance. This is also the same for gloves that have a strong level of insulation and are thicker. Thinner gloves that don’t have much insulation or any kind of shell are less likely to offer much by way of wind protection.
Fit and Comfort
The fit and comfort offered by your winter hiking gloves is really important and will really vary depending on the kind of gloves you need based on your activities outdoors. Generally, gloves with a soft fleecy lining are going to offer the most in terms of comfort and will feel great against the skin.
However, this can have an impact on how easy they are to use, but this is often a good trade off in terms of the warmth they offer. General hiking gloves usually have a closer to the skin feel which reduces some of the padding to help with dexterity.
Other areas that help with comfort are waterproofing, wind resistance, moisture wicking and warmth, which will help you decide which glove is right for you based on the circumstances and activities you’ll use them for. You’ll find that some tradeoffs will be worth it here that might be completely different for another hiker.
We’d recommend you look at the sizing guide in the product description of the buying links we’ve provided above to find the right size you need before buying. This can vary by brand, so it’s always good to do a fresh check on this, even if you’re fairly sure of your size.
Ease of Use
How easy or not a glove is to use is most often down to dexterity. As you start to increase the thickness and padding of a glove or mitt to help with warmth and wind protection, you start to lose the use of your hands and fingers more and more.
For this area, we advise thinking about what is most important to you with the gloves you need. For example, if absolute warmth is the most important consideration, we’d recommend making a trade off with dexterity. You can also sometimes work around this by introducing a glove liner, which may allow for extra dexterity, in particularly cold situations.
Some hiking gloves offer textured touch pads on the fingers that can be used with mobile devices for basic tasks like checking a map and taking a picture. Some allow even more detailed activity like basic texting. Though whether this feature is important to you will depend on how much you plan to use your phone whilst outdoors.
Materials
Winter gloves are usually either synthetic or animal based. This can be in the form of things like polyester, merino or leather. Don’t let the idea of synthetic gloves fool you, they are usually every bit as hard wearing as things like leather (brand dependent).
Synthetic materials are usually used to create a hardshell with a waterproof insert or coating that will help to keep water out. These can often be combined with a synthetic leather palm or real leather palm for ease of use and dexterity.
Liners are usually made of thin synthetics or merino, which is naturally fantastic at wicking sweat. These are usually quick to dry too, and have little odor.
The fill of your gloves will usually be made of synthetic lofting, or animal-based products to help with insulation. Sometimes brands will use their own in-house materials here or developed technologies.
Appearance
Most winter hiking gloves look pretty chunky, as their main job is to keep your hands as warm as possible. This is really the case when it comes to ski gloves and backcountry gloves.
General hiking gloves often look smoother, sleek and closely fit to the skin, with limited logos and can often be worn as a day to day glove too. This is great in terms of cost effectivity.
Workwear gloves, which are often much cheaper, are less likely to be suitable for day to day wear. They will often include bigger logos, bright colors and designs you may find too much for everyday use too.
Features
The higher end gloves in our line up are generally the ones with more features. This can vary from glove to glove, but you will often find nose wipes, liner gloves, lofting, reinforced thumbs and waterproofing as standard here.
Some gloves in the hiking and general use category actually sit very much ahead in terms of their feature set for their price point. So it is possible to get a lot for your money here.
Usually, day to day gloves, liners and those intended for basic tasks and work will have the least number of features. These are often very basic and just intended to provide some protection from the elements.
Durability
Some hiking gloves are naturally more durable than others. For example, hard shell gloves that offer extreme protection from the elements, or leather gloves are very much top of the line here.
General hiking gloves can really vary in terms of durability, and this may be down to what materials have been used and how well each element has been put together. Naturally, liner gloves are much thinner so they are more suspectable to rips and tears due to this.
It’s worth checking the stitching once your gloves arrive to make sure there are no areas that could form weak spots over time. Gloves likely won’t last forever, and this will also really depend on how much you use them. If you keep them well maintained and don’t use them outside their feature set, you will generally find they last you as long as they can.
Sustainability
Sustainably when it comes to gloves can be divided into two pretty clear areas. The first is whether the brand has any specific sustainability credentials themselves. We always research this in detail and write this into the sustainability section of our individual reviews, which you can see linked above.
This can be down to manufacturing standards, use of materials and other fair trade practices. Many brands also use recycled materials now too, which has an impact on the production process many of the winter hiking gloves above have been through.
The second area we consider is the durability of the product and how likely it is to last. Of course, if you’re using your new gloves a lot, they will last for less time than if they’re used once a week. Within this, we also consider how likely it is that the gloves in question can be used as general gloves too. As buying less is one of the best ways to improve sustainability.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking for your first pair of winter hiking gloves or want to get an upgrade to an existing pair, we hope our guide has given you some incredible options to suit every budget. The options on the market at the moment provide such varying and incredible levels of protection from the elements that there are gloves suited to pretty much any activity you could expect to do in cold, wintery conditions.
Our buying advice section has also hopefully helped you to get a good understanding of what considerations you should make before buying to get a pair that are truly right for your needs and will help keep you toasty warm and pushing further in winter. If you’re new to hiking in the colder months, we’d also recommend checking out our guide which includes lots of top tips for hiking in winter.
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