Nothing ends an enjoyable winter day faster than cold hands. Once your digits get cold, the fun seeps out of whatever you’re doing, and all you want to do is head home. It’s happened to me more times than I care to count, and I now pay extra close attention to my gloves so I can keep my hands warm and happy. Here are my favorite pairs that I use for specificactivities.
Best For: Skiing
are my favorite all-around ski gloves, hands down.They’re thin anddexterous enough thatyou can buckle your ski boots or adjust straps on your backcountry ski pack, but packed with enough synthetic insulation that your hands won’t freeze while riding the lift.A tough, waterproof pigskin leather on the palms resiststears if you use them to put on chains during a powder day orgather wood for your après fire. The breathable back ventsheat on the skin track onsunny spring days.
Best For: Running
Regular liners won’t cut it when you head out for a run on frigid days: your hands will start and stay cold, which can be a recipe for misery. That’s why Patagonia wisely included a thin nylon mitten that folds out of the cuff of and covers your fingers. It withstandschilly wind and provides warmth to keep you going when temperatures dipbelow freezing. The Peak Mission also featuresa DWR coating to shed precipitationanda reflective hit across the wrist so you’revisible after dark.
Best For: Walks and casual outdoor pursuits
Rosie, our year-old mutt, is so active that if she doesn’t get out daily,she goes insane. That’s why walking her is the one outdoor activity I do every single day during winter. I wear onthose walks, because they’re just warm enough for the early-morning chill andtheyhave touchscreen functionality, so I can check emailalong the way. ϳԹ ofdog walks, the Screentapisalso a great backcountry ski gloveon spring daysand works well inside the Vermonter glove(below) for cold-weather projects.
Best For: Yard work
live inside my truck year-round and are frequently put touse. Made in Vermont from rugged goat leather, and hand-stitched with thick nylon thread to prevent seam tears, they’re the most durable work gloves I’ve ever tested. Just last week I wore them with the Black Diamond liners while attaching a towrope to a vehicle that was buried in snow. This week I’ll be sportingthem to cut down and buck a tree in my front yard. The company also makes a with a waxed canvas cuffyou can cinch.
Best For: Everyday use
Theisa cross between the aforementioned Lightweight Screentapand the Vermonter. Tough leather palms make them perfectfor cold-weather tasks at homeor digging your car out of a snowbank, while a thin constructionwith touchscreen functionality, articulated fingers, and a breathable soft-shell back mean it can work as a liner. Beyond suggests treating the gloves with itsbeeswax to make them waterproof.
Best For: “Oh shit” moments
Packed with gobs of PrimaLoft insulation, the are the warmest mittens I own, keeping my hands cozy when all other gloves fail. I’ve used them on bitter powder days, when friends had to head inside to warm up, and they live in my backcountry ski pack in case something goes wrong. If I get stranded, or a partner does, and we have to wait for a rescue, these mittenswill be the first piece of emergency gear to go on. (Editor’s Note: this glove is discontinued—bummer. If you’re looking for something for similar purposes, Arc'teryx’s has a lot of the samefeatures as the Alpha SV, but we haven’t tested it. The most comparable gloves we have tested are the .)