Nothing ends an enjoyable winter day faster than cold hands. Once your digits get cold, the fun seeps out of whatever you鈥檙e doing, and all you want to do is head home. It鈥檚 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 specific听activities.
Best For: Skiing
听are my favorite all-around ski gloves, hands down.听They鈥檙e thin and听dexterous enough that听you can buckle your ski boots or adjust straps on your backcountry ski pack, but packed with enough synthetic insulation that your hands won鈥檛 freeze while riding the lift.听A tough, waterproof pigskin leather on the palms resists听tears if you use them to put on chains during a powder day or听gather wood for your apr猫s fire. The breathable back vents听heat on the skin track on听sunny spring days.
Best For: Running
Regular liners won鈥檛 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鈥檚 why Patagonia wisely included a thin nylon mitten that folds out of the cuff of and covers your fingers. It withstands听chilly wind and provides warmth to keep you going when temperatures dip听below freezing. The Peak Mission also features听a DWR coating to shed precipitation听and听a reflective hit across the wrist so you鈥檙e听visible after dark.
Best For: Walks and casual outdoor pursuits
Rosie, our year-old mutt, is so active that if she doesn鈥檛 get out daily,听she goes insane. That鈥檚 why walking her is the one outdoor activity I do every single day during winter. I wear 听on听those walks, because they鈥檙e just warm enough for the early-morning chill and听they听have touchscreen functionality, so I can check email听along the way. 国产吃瓜黑料 of听dog walks, the Screentap听is听also a great backcountry ski glove听on spring days听and works well inside the Vermonter glove听(below) for cold-weather projects.
Best For: Yard work
live inside my truck year-round and are frequently put to听use. Made in Vermont from rugged goat leather, and hand-stitched with thick nylon thread to prevent seam tears, they鈥檙e the most durable work gloves I鈥檝e 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鈥檒l be sporting听them to cut down and buck a tree in my front yard. The company also makes a with a waxed canvas cuff听you can cinch.听
Best For: Everyday use
The听听is听a cross between the aforementioned Lightweight Screentap听and the Vermonter. Tough leather palms make them perfect听for cold-weather tasks at home听or digging your car out of a snowbank, while a thin construction听with touchscreen functionality, articulated fingers, and a breathable soft-shell back mean it can work as a liner. Beyond suggests treating the gloves with its听beeswax to make them waterproof.
Best For: 鈥淥h shit鈥 moments听
Packed with gobs of PrimaLoft insulation, the are the warmest mittens I own, keeping my hands cozy when all other gloves fail. I鈥檝e 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 mittens听will be the first piece of emergency gear to go on. (Editor鈥檚 Note: this glove is discontinued鈥攂ummer. If you鈥檙e looking for something for similar purposes, Arc'teryx鈥檚 听has a lot of the same听features as the Alpha SV, but we haven鈥檛 tested it. The most comparable gloves we have tested are the .)