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Best Hiking Gloves
Standout Picks
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Flexibility
In this case, the manual dexterity of the glove refers to the ability, or sometimes inability of the glove to allow for independent movement of the fingers, thumbs, and palm area of the hand when necessary. This is perhaps one of the more important aspects to consider when buying a hiking glove, considering all the different activities that a person needs to be able to perform while wearing them.
Most manufacturers of hiking gloves try to find a balance between a higher manual dexterity and overall protection from the elements. One way to provide additional warmth and protection is to allow for more insulation around the finger area, which unfortunately can decrease the glove’s manual dexterity. Another preferred method, such as found in the Black Diamond Soloist glove, is to gather a group of fingers together into one area in the glove and utilize the proximity warmth to keep the fingers protected from colder temperatures. And while this does work quite well for keeping the hands and fingers warm, it is of little help when finite control is needed.
Materials
In the past, gloves were made primarily from natural fibers, such as cotton, wool, or leather. And while those natural fibers certainly still exist in the world of quality products, they are not the only ones available. Synthetic materials such as polyester, nylon, spandex, and Gore-Tex have all made their appearance and usefulness known to the world. These materials are sometimes lighter, more durable, offer better temperature control, and are less reactionary to sensitive skin than natural fibers.
In the case of the hiking gloves presented here on this list, the materials used give an indication of not only the overall durability and flexibility of the glove but also the best environment to use them. Gloves that are designed to be used in colder temperatures will usually have materials that will provide additional insulation and warmth while trying to minimize the loss of manual dexterity. The ones that are designed to be used during warmer weather, or as liners in colder temperatures will often have an increase in ventilation and use materials that promote moisture-wicking or be more lightweight in nature.
Overall Fit
There is an old adage that advises that when something “fits like a glove” it means that it is perfect for the task at hand, or is a perfect fit for the person using it. While many such sayings have dubious origins, in this case, the truth of it rings out. A pair of poorly fitted gloves is sometimes worse than having no pair of gloves at all. If a pair of hiking gloves don’t fit well, there could be significant losses in the departments of overall protection, manual dexterity, and overall usefulness of the glove.
In the case of the products presented in this list, the overall fit of the gloves is certainly taken into account. A wide range of sizes is presented, and the manufacturers have taken the time and effort to make sure that the gloves fit well enough to not hinder movement overall and provide the protection required in most outdoor situations.
Protection
By definition, hiking gloves should be designed to be used in multiple different outdoor environments. A hiker should feel comfortable using his gloves while hiking through the forest, climbing through a mountain pass, or pulling in a canoe while standing on the shoreline of a lake. The reason for this comfort and versatility lies in the gloves ability to protect the wearer from a wide array of potential dangers, including bites, scrapes, stings, moisture, temperature extremes, and burns to name a few.
The overall protection offered by many of the products on this list is provided through the use of quality materials, good design and overall workmanship. In some cases, such as the gloves designed to be used during colder temperatures, protection is offered through the use of increased insulation. Other, such as those gloves designed to be used in warmer temperatures; the focus is mainly on using materials that reinforce certain high-stress areas of the glove, such as the thumb crotch or fingertip areas.
Top Ten Pairs of Climbing Gloves
1. Bruceriver Pure
These high-quality hiking gloves brought to you by Bruceriver will not only make a great addition to your hiking trips this winter or fall but will also act as a great pair of winter gloves as well. they will keep your hands warm and feeling comfortable no matter the temperature you find yourself in.
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These gloves do not provide a bulky fit and fit your hands quite well, the wool feel allows you to have great hand motion and be able to accomplish all your tasks without issue with these gloves from Bruceriver.
Materials Used
These gloves are made from 100% wool, which will keep your hands warm and maintain your body heat for your complete trip.
Overall Fit
These gloves fit great as the wool will mold to your hands and can be stretched. They come in a variety of sizes including small - X-large, so you will have no problem finding your perfect size and fit.
Protection
These gloves offer great hand protection and can protect your hands in cold weather. If you are looking for gloves to ensure your hands stay warm throughout your whole hike, these are the gloves for you and your next adventure.
Style
These gloves come in a variety of styles and colors so you will have no problem finding the perfect style that will fit you. They also have the five finger style glove to allow you to have more hand motion and control.
Summary
Overall, these gloves are built great, offer great hand protection in cold weather, and are stylish. You can't really want more in a pair of gloves.
2. Ozero
These hiking gloves brought to you by Ozero have a lightweight feel and fit your hands comfortably without making them feel bulky. This is great as it allows for full hand motion and will be a great addition to your hiking gear.
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These gloves offer great hand motion as they do not have a bulky feel and allow you to use your five fingers without restriction. The lightweight feel also provides you with the protection you need but does not get in the way of you performing tasks. You will still be able to use your phone without interference.
Materials Used
These gloves are made from a waterproof material to allow you to use them in the snow or rain and they will not affect your comfort. the palm and fingers have a silicone material to give you extra grip while wearing them.
Overall Fit
Overall, these gloves fit great and come in a variety of sizes to ensure you will have the best fit and comfort possible. These gloves come in medium - XX-Large.
Protection
These gloves as stated above are made from waterproof material so will keep your hands protected in rainy or snowy weather. They are not recommended to be dipped in a water source as they could dampen. They can also be used in cold temperatures as cold as 14 F and up to temperatures that are 60F.
Style
These gloves just come in black, so not styles to choose from but they are still stylish. We would have liked some more color and style options.
Summary
Overall, if you are looking for gloves that will provide you with great motion control and still allow you to use your phone and other devices but keep your hands warm on your next hike, check these gloves out.
3. Marmot Randonnee
These highly insulated gloves from Marmot are going to keep your hands warm in the great outdoors. With a hard outer shell and a Thermal Insulation, these are a great option especially considering the decent price.
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While these gloves do offer a good bit of overall dexterity, they are thick enough to make some fine motor skills difficult. But, when buying these gloves you're more than likely looking for something to keep you extra warm. And that is what you can expect.
Materials Used
These gloves are created with a 2-layer MemBrain material on the shell. This provides excellent protection against snow and but, but is also very breathable. The insulation layer has Marmot's Thermal R insulation. This is made from polyester fibers and provide great warmth even when wet. They also have a DriClime lining made from two different denier yarns so it pulls moisture away from the skin and leaves you comfortable.
Overall Fit
Most people find these gloves true to size, with only about a third finding them to be slightly on the small size overall.
Protection
While these gloves offer a ton of protection from the cold. These are made with very cold weather in mind and you should have no problem staying warm.
Style
These gloves offer a full finger styling with an extended lower area that is flared out to cover part of the wrist area. Included pull tabs make them easier to pull on and take off as well.
Summary
These Marmot Randonnee gloves provide an excellent amount of protection from the cold. With multiple layers to keep you warm, these gloves will keep you out on the trail longer and with less annoyance from cold fingers.
4. Black Diamond Soloist Finger
If your hiking expeditions involve some serious alpine type climbing, you’ll definitely want these gloves from Black Diamond along for the adventure. The split-finger design is perfect for holding onto the rope with ease, and the protection from the elements that it provides is truly second to none.
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These gloves are not designed for fine motor work. You won’t be able to tie a knot or thread a needle, but in colder weather, it provides enough warmth and dexterity to get most jobs done with a little ingenuity. The design makes gripping objects fairly straight forward, and maintaining a strong grip is easy enough.
Materials Used
This glove is comprised of a nylon/spandex shell with a goatskin palm and polyester lining. It’s designed to be both lightweight and stretchable. The gloves also feature a removable liner with insulation and fleece edging.
Overall Fit
Most customers found this hiking glove to fit very well based on what they expected, and it comes in a variety of sizes, from extra-small to extra-large.
Protection
These hiking gloves offer protection from abrasions, water, colder temperatures, and are wind resistant as well.
Style
This pair of gloves features a split fingerstyle where three of the fingers are housed in a second area, while the index and thumb are treated as independent digits. This allows for greater strength when it comes to gripping, pulling, or grasping.
Summary
While not practical in every situation, if you’re planning on doing a little climbing with ropes in your next outdoor adventure, these gloves by Black Diamond is certainly something to consider.
5. Marmot Spring
Whether you’re enjoying the woods during a winter hike, setting up camp in the valley or simply taking a walk around the block, these hiking gloves by Marmot are a great way to keep your hands warm and comfortable.
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These gloves offer a great range of movement and articulated fingers and palms that allow for easy adjustability when tightening or grasping small objects. While we wouldn’t suggest trying to tie a pair of shoelaces with these gloves, most every other task that you might encounter in the great outdoors is not a problem.
Materials Used
The gloves consist of a 20 layer nylon shell that is both breathable and only allows for water to pass from the skin to the outer shell. The palm consists of a goatskin material, and the lining is a polyester fleece that is designed to wick moisture away.
Overall Fit
These gloves range in size between extra-small and extra-large, with most customers finding that they fit remarkably close to what was expected, with a few indicating that a larger size would have been a better choice. The only other area of contention was the closure at the bottom of the glove, which some felt was too much of a hassle to use effectively.
Protection
While these gloves perform fairly well as far as manual dexterity is concerned, it also does remarkably well in the realm of protection from the elements. It provides a great deal of insulation and warmth and offers moderate wind and water resistance.
Style
These gloves feature an under cuff design that is well suited for gripping items such as poles, ropes, and branches relatively easily. They are a great companion to cross-country skiers or people who enjoy a bit of mountaineering added to their hiking adventure.
Summary
When cold weather is in the forecast, having a pair of gloves that is both easy to use and offers decent protection from the elements can be a pain to find. With these hiking gloves from Marmot, not only do you have adequate protection from the weather, but you also have the ability to easily grasp the items you need to seize the day.
6. Outdoor Research Versaliner
Staying active outdoors when the weather is less than cooperative can be a little bit tricky. It can mean either wearing heavyweight and cumbersome gloves or learning to live with lighter gloves and stiffer hands. Thankfully, there are some gloves, like the Versaliner that tries to find the balance between superior cold weather protection and flexibility.
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Overall, these gloves offer a moderate amount of flexibility and a decent range of motion, although not as much as some of the other examples on this list. These gloves will allow you to easily grip a pole or stick, or handle keys or a padlock with relative ease.
Materials Used
These gloves are relatively lightweight and created with 100% nylon material with a fleece liner fabric in the interior portions of the glove.
Overall Fit
These gloves come in small, medium, or large, and are known to be true to fit about 88% of the time according to customer reviews. When the size does vary from what is expected, most people find them to be a little on the smaller size. In addition, a tapered wrist design helps to keep the overall fit fairly snug.
Protection
These gloves offer a moderate amount of protection from the cold temperatures but really do well as a way to keep your hands dry and comfortable. They are highly water resistant, and allow for quick wicking of perspiration and sweat away.
Style
These gloves feature a closed full finger design with a tapered base to allow for easier heat retention and wearing.
Summary
Whether you wear these gloves as liners underneath or by themselves, these lightweight and versatile gloves can offer a good deal of protection from colder temperatures and water as well.
7. Outdoor Research Alti
If you’re looking for a pair of hiking gloves that find a great balance between protection from the elements and the need for finite control and great manual dexterity, these hiking gloves from Outdoor Research are very hard to beat.
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These gloves are designed specifically to promote the use of the fingers and hands in a wide range of situations where manual dexterity is not only useful but a requirement. The glove was designed using a state of the art 3-D design program that helped to improve the overall ergonomic function and comfort of the glove. Moving fingers independently of each other is fairly easy, although the added bulk may cause issues for some.
Materials Used
These gloves are made from a combination of nylon and spandex materials that not only provide superior protection from the elements, but also a good deal of flexibility and stretch when needed.
Overall Fit
The Alti Gloves by Outdoor Research are available in sizes ranging from small to extra-large, so finding ones that fit you will probably not be an issue. It should be noted that they can run a little small on occasion, so take that into consideration when making a purchase.
Protection
Protection from the elements is one area where these hiking gloves from Outdoor Research really excel. The outer shell is both waterproof and breathable, and the glove itself can easily pull moisture away from your skin and protect you from the harshest wind out there. In addition, the drawstring closures at the base make it easy to keep the weather away from your hands. It does lose a bit of dexterity based on the insulation, but the protection from the elements more than make up for it.
Style
These hiking gloves feature a full-finger design that covers the fingers, hand and a good portion of the wrist depending on size. There is a drawstring enclosure at the bottom providing the ability to close off the hands nearly completely from the winter elements if necessary.
Summary
These gloves from Outdoor Research are a fantastic choice if you want protection during the colder weather months without sacrificing too much dexterity and practical applications. While they can run a little small, overall these are some of the most versatile and popular gloves around.
8. North Face TKA 100 Microfleece
These gloves from The North Face provide a great way to keep your hands warm and ready for action when the summer heat starts to give way to the nip of fall. Designed for natural movement and a great overall fit, you’ll be hard pressed to find another glove that fits your lifestyle so well.
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This pair of gloves are specifically designed to allow your hands and fingers to move and flex in the most natural way possible, making it one of the better choices when it comes to manual dexterity.
Materials Used
These lightweight gloves are made from polyester micro-fleece material, making them some of the most comfortable hiking gloves on the skin.
Overall Fit
These gloves from North Face are designed to fit and move with most hands easily. They range in size between extra-small and extra-large and fit hands with circumferences of between six inches and nine and one-half inches. In addition, the way these particular hiking gloves are designed, they usually keep their shape and size relatively well by using a trademarked “5 Dimensional Fit” to ensure proper proportions for nearly any hand.
Protection
While these gloves may feel fantastic next to the skin and fit remarkably well, they really offer very little protection from the weather or things that might cause abrasions in the great outdoors. They are truly a lightweight glove, and can only be counted on to take the edge off a chill on an autumn day.
Style
These gloves feature the classic closed full finger style of most athletic gloves on the market today. They also do not have an interior liner.
Summary
These hiking gloves from North Face are a great choice for a weekend stroll through the park or a trail hike during pumpkin picking season. While they won’t offer that much protection from the cold or abrasions, they certainly are comfortable to wear.
9. Black Diamond Crag
If you know Black Diamond then you know that they make quality outdoor equipment that you can rely on. These gloves offer that reliability and durability you expect from Black Diamond. The Crag gloves are great for offering comfort and grip and will make a great addition to your outdoor gear.
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These gloves from Black Diamond are great for motion control but can feel a bit bulky, they are good if you are doing some hiking in the fall and will plan on overcoming some obstacles as they will give you a great grip.
Materials Used
These gloves are made from synthetic leather so they will hold up to a beating but may not be the most comfortable for long term use.
Overall Fit
These gloves take some time to work in due to them being made from leather but they are offered to you in X-small - X-large, so you should have no issue finding a size to fit you comfortably.
Protection
When it comes to protection these gloves will protect you as their hard leather exterior will act as a protective extra skin to ensure your hands will not be hurt or cut. These gloves will keep your hand protected in mild temperatures but if you are planning on going hiking in extremely cold temperatures, look for another glove that offers more warmth.
Style
These gloves look quite stylish and have a leather finish to them. they come in blue and black.
Summary
Overall, these are very protective gloves and are great if you are planning on using them in the summer or fall but if you are planning on hiking in cold temperatures, look for a more insulated pair of gloves.
10. Glacier Waterproof
When it comes to hiking, sometimes full protection from the elements is where you need to be. If you’re searching for a pair of hiking gloves that can withstand just about anything that Mother Nature has to throw, these gloves by Glacier Glove may be just what is needed.
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Although these gloves offer superior protection from the elements, they have limited manual dexterity due to their curved knuckle design. While they can easily grip things such as thicker ropes, branches, and handles, they aren’t as well equipped to handle smaller objects or situations where fine motor control is needed.
Materials Used
These gloves are made from quality Yamamoto neoprene, one of the most well-respected brands of neoprene on the market today. In addition, these gloves are lined with soft fleece material.
Overall Fit
These gloves come in a wide range of sizes, from double extra-small to double extra-large, so finding ones that fit your hands shouldn’t be too much of an issue. They were also shown to be true to fit about ¾ of the time, with gloves running slightly on the larger size overall.
Protection
While these gloves may offer limited flexibility, they truly excel in the area of overall protection. The neoprene material makes the gloves essentially waterproof and highly tear resistant. In addition to protection from water and abrasions, these gloves also help to keep your hands surprisingly warm due to the fleece lining.
Style
These gloves are full fingered, with a pre-curved bend to the fingers to allow for maximum grip strength and curvature during colder temperatures.
Summary
If braving the bitter cold and wetness of winter is in your adventure itinerary, finding gloves that will save your hands from the onslaught is important. This entry from Glacier Gloves can help you do just that.
Sources
- , BEST HIKING GLOVES OF 2018, Outdoor Guide
- , Best Hiking Gloves 2018 : Review and Buying Guide, Hiking Blog