Here’s what I found makes a good ski glove:
Enough warmth for the day: To provide warmth, ski gloves primarily use synthetic insulation, such as fleece and lofty “synthetic down” options, as well as wool. In humid and wet environments (including the microclimate between your hand and the outside of the glove), synthetic insulation and wool insulate effectively—better than down or other natural materials like cotton. More insulation generally means more warmth (a glove can be too warm); companies typically express the amount of insulation in grams.
Many ski companies lump gloves, mittens, and hybrid mittens, including split-finger or “lobster” styles, into one glove category. The differences are usually in how many fingers move independently, but sometimes companies put more insulation in the mitten version. We tested both traditional gloves and mittens for this guide.
Water resistance: When you’re skiing, you’re more likely to face wind and snow than rain, but some regions in the US will see more rain than others. If you’ve ever fallen or had to sit in the snow when you’re snowboarding, you’ll realize the importance of protection against the cold, often wet snow.
Leather is water-resistant, and you can effectively make leather gloves waterproof by routinely applying waterproofing treatments. Many gloves combine nylon or polyester and leather, and add water-resistant coatings. There is also often a waterproof membrane between the liner and the shell of the glove, to keep outside moisture from infiltrating the inner insulation.
A ski glove doesn’t necessarily need to be waterproof, though. Waterproofing is helpful if you often ski in storms, especially rainy ones, but a glove without a waterproof barrier will be more breathable, allowing sweat to escape more easily.
Durability: Leather is the most durable material for a glove’s shell, but polyester, nylon, and synthetic leather can last several ski seasons. Sturdy stitching and reinforced high-abrasion areas also make a glove more durable. It can be difficult to assess whether or not stitching is sturdy, however. So we’ve also looked to long-term owner reviews (when applicable) to identify problem areas.
All of our picks are double-stitched in critical areas.
If you ski only a few weeks a year, all of the gloves and mittens we recommend should last you several seasons. If you’re a ski-mountain local, consider our top pick, which will last you several seasons.
Secure wrist closures: Ski gloves come in either a low-profile wrist-cuff style or a gauntlet style. A wrist-cuff-style glove tucks into a ski jacket sleeve, whereas a gauntlet-style one fits over a jacket sleeve and reaches farther up the arm.
Gloves with wrist cuffs reduce bulk and are easier to stow in a pocket. But if you fall or it’s snowing, or if you’re skiing hard in deep powder, these gloves may allow snow to enter a sleeve.
Gauntlet-style gloves, especially ones with longer cuffs, are intended to help battle the wind chill of cold snowstorms.
Here are some other characteristics that differentiate good ski gloves from great ones.
Good dexterity: Though good dexterity in a glove is not as necessary as warmth and water resistance are, it does feel more important the more you ski. It’s always a plus when you don’t have to take off your gloves to adjust your boots, check your phone, remove your goggles, and perform other essential tasks.
Some leather gloves are supple right out of the box, while others take longer to break in. Many leather pairs have fabric inserts at the knuckle to make bending fingers easier, so you can grip your poles with less effort. We found that cheaper leather gloves typically had a sloppy fit in the fingers, so they were less precise when we were handling gear—regardless of how supple the leather was.
Synthetic gloves with soft synthetic fingers are usually easier to bend. Still, we found that most fully synthetic gloves almost always had a sloppier fit in the fingers than similarly warm leather gloves.
Heavy insulation also contributes to bulk, and that results in a less nimble glove. Mittens, which are already inherently less dexterous than gloves, are often made with more insulation than their glove equivalents. For instance, our top pick is available in a mitten style, with more insulation in the palm than the glove version.
Removable liners: Skiing is a demanding physical sport despite gravity being on your side. Even if gloves keep you dry from the elements, your hands will likely sweat inside them if they have more insulation than you need. We prioritized gloves with removable liners, testing how easy they would be to remove, dry, and re-insert between ski sessions.
Other useful features: It might sound gross, but on really cold days, we found a soft nose-wipe patch of fabric to be a welcome reprieve for our leaky fountains.
Wrist leashes have undoubtedly saved thousands of gloves from being dropped off of chair lifts. Leashes also keep your gloves out of the snow when you’re removing them for tasks that require more finesse than even the most dexterous pair can provide.
Some gloves have a pocket on the back for storing a hand warmer or your ski pass (this makes swiping your card at the chair lift easy).
Some gloves have touchscreen-compatibility patches on one or two fingers (usually the thumb and index finger). But if you’re doing much more than answering a call or checking the ski-resort map, you usually have to remove your glove anyway.
