If you’ve ever been on a ski before, you know that the worst thing you can have during skiing is ice-cold fingers. Not only is it dangerous, as it makes your hands more vulnerable to cuts and hits, but cold hands can actually hurt your ability to ski drastically.
But worry not! As we have taken the time to create this beautiful list of the best ski gloves that will keep your fingers warm and agile.
If you’re going on a ski, you should also check our complete list of Ski Protective Gear.
We will start off with our top best ski gloves list, following everything that needs to be considered when picking the right gloves for you. For any questions please refer to our Facebook Community, and we will be happy to answer everything that is on your mind!
BURTON Ski Gloves
Best Value
Main Features:
- Great Thermal Insulation
- Wind and Water proof
- Adjustable Fit
- Breathing Material
The Burton Gloves are the best choice for those who are on a budget. Even though they aren’t a known brand, they are a great alternative for the expensive brands out there, featuring almost the same quality as the expensive ones for very comfortable prices.
Hestra Leather Heli Ski Glove
Best Overall
Main Features:
- Elastic Strap Closures
- Wind and Water Resistance
- High Quality Polyester
Cons:
- Expensive
The Hestra Heli Ski Glove is probably the safest choice when choosing your gloves. It does the job perfectly, maintaining warmth with great insulation, finger flexibility and elastic straps for better fit. It’s good for professional and for casual skiers.
Hestra All Mountain CZone Glove
Best for Casual Skiing
Main Features:
- Adjustable Fit
- Breathable Materials
- Water and Wind Proof
- Has a pocket for your stuff
- Insulated with 100% Polyester
The Hestra Mountain Gloves will keep any casual skier warm and insulated from outside conditions. They make a very good choice for first-timers and intermediate skiers, though for extreme skiing, I’d take something a bit heavier.
Booking.com
Gordini Three Finger Waterproof Mittens
Main Features:
- Great Insulation with strap closures
- Wind and Water Resistance
- Breathable and Elastic Polyester
Cons:
- No finger separation (better for snowboard)
The Gordini Three Finger Mittens are professional pair of gloves that has everything, and they are one of the best you can find on Amazon. The only real thing you need to consider is that three finger mittens aren’t the best choice for every skier, as this design is more suitable for snow-boarding rather than skiing.
COPOZZ Ski Gloves
Main Features:
- Extra cotton layer for extra warmth
- Great insulation
- Adjustable straps and fit
Cons:
- Not water resistant
- Puffy, more heat but less dexterity
The Copozz Ski Gloves are a great choice for those who seek warmth, as they are probably the warmest gloves on this list. But you should know that this warmth comes with a price of puffy gloves which reduce finger precision. It’s a great choice for those who ski for fun.
Booking.com
Gordini Gore Gauntlet Glove (Mens)
Main Features:
- Durable and adjustable fit
- Wind and Water Resistance
- 100% Polyester
Cons:
- Good insulation, but less warm than the tier 1 gloves
- non breathing material
The Gore Gauntlet Glove is a more budget friendly gloves that will still do that job just fine. They fit those who go skiing in touristic and non-extreme ski sights, and they provide great protection against the cold, with good dexterity.
FRDM Clutch Snow Gloves (Unisex)
Main Features:
- 92% Nylon, 8% Elastane
- Breathable Material
- Adjustable straps and fit
Cons:
- Not wind resistant
The FRDM Clutch Snow Gloves are a comfortable set of gloves, that can be great for those who ski for fun. It’s important to note that these will not guard you from extreme weather conditions, as they are only water proof without and water or wind resistance.
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What to consider for Ski Gloves
When picking ski gloves, you have many different kinds to choose from. There are many aspects that you want to consider when picking the right pair of ski gloves that fit you best. For example, if you’re a first timer, you’re probably gonna ski casually, therefore fingers dexterity wouldn’t be as crucial to you as it would have been to an experienced skier that is going on extreme ski tracks.
Here are the main aspects you should be considering:
Water and Wind proofing
When skiing, you want your gloves to be waterproof and windproof. That means you need to find a pair of gloves made of high quality material that can be both durable and resistant to water and wind. Falling on snow, which will happen, means getting wet, and believe us, you don’t want to ski with wet hands.
Booking.comBreathable Material
It’s also important that your gloves be made out of breathable material, otherwise you’ll start to sweat like hell in there, making your hands cold and soggy. In addition to that, I don’t need to tell you the health issues that can be caused if your skin doesn’t breathe for too long.
Insulation / tightness
If you’re among those who think that gloves with super tight insulation are good, think again! Tight insulation, while might be good for some cases, can actually make things worse for your hands. We spoke about the importance of breathability, but you should also know that a tight pair of gloves that doesn’t breath interferes with blood flow, which is extremely important for heating your hands, and for fingers’ agility.
Ski gloves vs Mittens
Mittens allow your hand to share heat under the same umbrella, meaning that overall it’s a better way to make sure your hands stay warm. But, it’s almost impossible to ski with mittens, as traditional skiing requires the use of your fingers. Because of that, mittens are usually a good choice for snowboarding, or other cold activities that don’t require the use of fingers. Otherwise, if you’re going skiing traditionally, choose ski gloves over mittens, those will maintain good grip and finger flexibility.
If you’re skiing casually, and prefer to keep your hands warm over finger flexibility, there is an alternative of a split finger glove. This glove is basically half a ski glove and half a mitten, meaning you have 3 pockets for your 5 fingers.
Booking.com
Ski Gloves: Leather vs Synthetics
Leather
Leather ski gloves are considered long-lasting, and they are usually cheaper than their alternatives. Such gloves are very comfortable, maintaining great grip and finger dexterity. The problem is, leather doesn’t breathe. This ultimately means that wearing leather ski gloves for long durations will make your hands sweaty, which can lead to skin problems, and cold hands. Using leather gloves wouldn’t be my first choice when skiing, but they make a solid choice overall for those who are on a budget.
Booking.comNylon and Polyester Ski Gloves
Most ski gloves are made of a synthetic shell. The thing about Nylon and Polyester gloves, is that they are very efficient against wind, water and snow, which makes them a perfect choice for skiing. The problem is, each glove is made out of different synthetics, and it’s easy to fall on a glove that is made out of cheap material. Cheap synthetic material will tear easily, and won’t last more than a single use, because of that, you want to invest in a good pair of synthetic ski gloves, or if you’re on a budget, get leather gloves instead.
Sizing
Probably the most important aspect of ski gloves – it should fit you literally like a glove. Otherwise, all of its features are worthless. The better fit the gloves you use, the more warmth, durability, weather proofing and everything else that we discussed is. So, make sure you’re reading the sizing guide before you order any pair of gloves.
Additional Features
Some gloves offer additional features, such as touchpad fingertips, or even heating mechanisms. Whether you actually need those is up to you, if you’re planning on recording yourself with your phone, you should probably get a set of touchpad gloves, as you don’t want to take your gloves off for every video shoot.- Some other features like anti-slip mechanism or wrist leashes can be more crucial for the actual ski, as they will assist with better grip and insulation.
How to Wash Ski Gloves?
You want to avoid washing your ski gloves, but instead satisfy with dry cleaning. This is because washing your ski gloves can hurt its attributes like water resistance. But, if you must wash your gloves, this is how –
First, dry clean your gloves from any dirt, sand, dust etc.. Second, you want to start washing with water only, and not too much. If it’s not enough, add a bit of soap, but never use anything stronger than soap. You don’t want to use bleach or any special cleaner. Use a rag to clean the gloves so the material won’t crumble. Make sure you squeeze all the water and soap out when you’re done, then put the gloves to slow dry outside.
What to wear skiing?
We’ve written a whole guide on the best ski gear guide for 2023. Find out what to wear skiing in 2023.
3 comments
[…] otherwise we might find ourselves dealing with inflammations. You can also check our review on Best Ski Gloves for Women and Men in […]
[…] to avoid injuries on slopes, get yourself a pair of ski gloves. […]
[…] wrote a full article on how to pick the best ski gloves with recommendations […]