These Are the 9 Best Ski Gloves for Winter Riding (2024)

"Bottom line, you want your hands to stay warm," says Kaylin Richardson, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team and a two-time Olympian. Richardson's more than three decades of experience on the mountain has been pivotal to getting every facet of her gear right. So she knows better than most that a good ski glove should provide all-day warmth but not hinder dexterity or comfort as they protect you from the cold.

Richardson helps us break down the key characteristics that the best ski gloves should have, and which pairs can help keep you warm on your downhill runs.

Hop on almost any forum, and everyone’s consensus is that Hestra is the skiing brand for gloves. One of the best gloves Hestra has to offer is its Heli Ski Glove. Besides the fact that it's all-terrain proof, it’s also wind and weatherproof thanks to durable Triton nylon fabric construction. You can rest assured that this glove will keep out all the elements during even the most blustery days on the trails.

This glove’s proofed army goat leather on the palm and fingers makes keeping a hold of your ski poles a breeze. It’s as warm as possible and offers ample finger wiggle room—nailing down those basics specs. The long collar plus a wrist strap is a great snowy defense and ensures you won’t lose your gloves even if you do wipeout, while the carabiner clip-on allows you to attach your gloves to the jacket so you don't lose them.

Finally, these bad boys have a removable Bemberg fleece insulated liner to keep your hands warm while helping with breathability yet minimizing sweaty hands. It’s the total package–the only thing they won’t do for you is help you become a better skier, that one’s on you.

When you're on a budget, spending several hundred dollars is not always a necessity–enter Kinco’s genuine pigskin gloves. Fun fact: Pigskin is naturally water-repellant, and since leather is porous, it naturally dries quickly. This pair comes with Nikwax leather wax to take its water resistance to the next level. While the price tag is nice, you don’t lose out on high-performing amenities in lieu of this.

Our favorite spec is what the brand has dubbed as Heatkeep. This thermal insulation is made up of finely spun polyester fibers, creating thousands of air pockets that regulate and trap the heat produced by your hands inside the gloves, keeping them toasty warm. To make it the perfect insulation, they took it one step further, laminating the lining, which helps to wick moisture away from sweaty hands.

If you cannot utilize your hands and fingers as needed when skiing, then what is the purpose of the warmest gloves in the world? Black Diamond’s Guide Gloves have the best dexterity of any glove we've tested, yet this model is still the brand's warmest. How? An abrasion-resistant, woven nylon shell with 4-way stretch.

While these keep your fingers nimble and moveable, they do not sacrifice warmth. The Gore-Tex membrane and Primaloft Gold pack the one-two punch, while a boiled wool blend adds an extra layer of warmth. The fleece palm lining wicks moisture on the inside, while goat leather palms help with gripping on the outside. This is the next-level pair you'll have for seasons to come.

Even with all the layers of insulation in the world, some people still get cold hands. The solution is an electrically heated ski glove. And with lots of brands now offering an electric heated ski glove, it’s hard to know which is best. Trust us, it’s Unigear’s.

While others have one setting, minimal power and heat, and a short-life battery, you need one that is going to function well. Unigear takes heated gloves up a level, largely in part to its Interwoven heating wires, which mean an even heat distribution. Where others mostly go wrong is with wiring, Unigear’s wires are durable enough to withstand repeated bending and movement—like actually using them to ski.

These gloves produce quality heat too, with three warming levels which equates to varying temperatures of 95/113/140 degrees that last for an impressive 7/4/2.5 hours of heat. The added benefit—the gloves are touchscreen sensitive and they have fast charging using USB Type A and C compatible.

"Not all material is made equal," Richardson says. "It might be the coziest inner fabric ever, but if the outer material isn't water- and wind-resistant, you will find yourself in the lodge before lunch, warming your hands by the fire."

The best way to have a high-performance ski glove is to make sure it has a multi-system layer of insulation. The Fission SV Glove does just that. The outer layer is known as the Fortius 1.0, a hybrid nylon-elastane fabric that offers excellent 4-way stretch and is also permeable, so it helps with moisture management. The Fission glove then adds a waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex insert for complete weather protection. It tops it off with a double-layer premium goat leather, ensuring maximum durability.

The next layer is Primaloft Silver and Gold insulation, offering ultimate warmth-to-weight ratio. Lastly, it’s finished with Octa Loft insulation for next-of-skin lining, making it easy to put the gloves on and off. When it comes to premium ski gloves, you can't get better than how Arc'teryx makes 'em.

Mittens are the best style to keep your hands as warm as possible, as they help trap the heat your hands produce and they keep all your fingers together. Swany’s X-Change is our pick for best ski mittens. This mitten is designed to maximize its benefits with a waterproof soft shell exterior and a leather palm combo, so gripping your skis is easier than with nylon mittens.

But what stands out most about this mitten is its excellent insulation and utility pocket. The insulation is the Tri-plex Alpha Insulation System, a blend that rivals the warmth of Primaloft Gold. And the zippered utility pocket on the backside of the hand is the perfect little compartment for adding a hand warmer to for that extra bit of warmth.

While we could talk about these Prevail Heated Gloves' rugged construction featuring a solid polyester/nylon outer with goat leather palm, the Gore-Tex waterproof insert, or the excellent insulation, we’ll highlight something else that makes this our pick for most durable ski gloves.

Its the Outdoor Research Infinite Guarantee. Outdoor Research stands by the quality and durability of its gear. If you ever experience a defect in materials or workmanship, the brand repairs or replaces it for free. That alone will boost the longevity of these gloves.

We should also highlight the durability and effectiveness of the ALTIHeat battery-powered heat technology. These gloves are no joke, and while they're a bit stiffer than others and the price tag is the highest on our list, they are a pair you will literally have forever.

With over 100 years of making durable leather goat gloves, Vermont Glove still makes high-quality leather gloves sewn by hand. And the result shows in the quality you see and performance you get when you hit the slopes.

There are thick leather gloves, and then there are The Uphill Skier, thick leather gloves. When we say thick, we mean thick—but they provide all the warmth you need with optimal durability. The surprising part is that they are extremely flexible due to goat leather's supple nature, not really sacrificing dexterity for warmth. And the longer you own them, the more broken in they become, making them unique to your movement patterns.

The neat little feature of these gloves that we truly love is the removable Merino wool liner. This insert is moisture-wicking and dries super quick, helping your hands stay dry yet warm. If it's a nice sunny day, you can stash them in a jacket pocket or use both on a blustery winter day.

If you want to smash some records and take your skiing experience to the next level, you need to level up to what the pros use. "A hybrid three finger glove that combines the warmth of a mitten with the dexterity of a glove," is Richardson's choice. And we can see why, as they offer the best blend of performance and warmth.

While the gloves may lack elite warmth and insulation, they are built for speed. They are thin and lightweight, at only 12 ounces, and offer great grip from their leather palms with just the perfect amount of dexterity for optimal use of your ski poles.

As Richardson points out, "The hand-body connection when it comes to comfort while skiing is real. If your hands are warm, it will be easier to keep your body warm, so you can ski top to bottom, bell to bell!" These gloves are perfect for the ideal hand-to-body connection.

Meet the Expert

Kaylin Richardson is a 10-year U.S. Ski team member, a two-time Olympian, a four-time National Alpine Champion, and the 2012 Freeskiing World Tour North American Champion. She also provides guests at Deer Valley Resort with the opportunity to Ski With a Champion.

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