Updated August 24th, 2024
Skiing is the best winter sport without question. The fun can get ruined in a hurry if you don’t have the right gloves and have cold hands and fingers. There are so many choices out there for ski gloves that it’s hard to choose. If they aren’t warm enough, you can get cold fingers or worse, frostbite. If they are too warm you get sweaty hot palms that make you uncomfortable. We are here to help you find the right ski gloves with our decades of skiing experience.
The 7 Best Ski Gloves
- BEST OVERALL: Black Diamond Guide Glove
- TOP PICK: Swany X-Change Glove
- BEST VALUE: MCTi Waterproof Ski Gloves
- BEST MITTEN: Black Diamond Mercury Mitts
- BEST HEATED SKI GLOVES: Black Diamond Solano
- Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski Glove
- Kinco Premium Ski Glove
About our ratings
We look at a few key factors when we review for ski gloves. Warmth, dexterity, water resistance, construction, and features.
- Warmth – How warm are the gloves? The insulating material matters most here.
- Dexterity – How easy is it to move your fingers and do things while wearing the gloves.
- Water Resistance – How waterproof are the gloves? Will they keep your hands dry in the snow or rain?
- Construction – How well put together are the gloves? Do they use durable materials and parts such as zippers?
- Features – Do the gloves have wrist leashes, cuff elastics, zipper pockets and other nice to have features.
1. Overall Best – Black Diamond Guide Glove
Specifications
- Insulation – 170g Primaloft & 100g boiled wool
- Waterproofing – Gore-Tex
- Shell Material – Nylon
- Palm Material – 2 layer goat leather
What we liked:
- Very warm on very cold days
- Thick wool insulation inside
- Removable liners
- 2 layer goal leather palms
- Heavy duty stitching and construction
- Large enough cuffs to easily go over jacket sleeves
What we didn’t like:
- All that insulation makes the fingers stiff
- Tight fitting elastic around the wrists
- No touchscreen material in the fingers
- Wrist straps not included
Bottom line:
Very thick and warm gloves built for to keep your hands warm through a polar mountain expedition
Summary
The Black Diamond Guide Gloves are ready for the most severe cold ski day. The Guide Gloves have a removable liner with boiled wool and Primaloft Gold insulation. They have a nylon shell with Gore-Tex insert and goat skin around the fingers and palms. They are the warmest ski glove I have ever used, not counting gloves with a built in heater.
Black Diamond Equipment makes gear for mountain climbing expeditions and backcountry use. The Guide Gloves construction looks like it would stand up to any ski day you can throw at them. They have gauntlet style cuffs that easily go over most ski jackets to keep your wrists warm and protected from snow. Their thick insulation makes the fingers a little stiff. Their warmth more than makes up for it.
They do not have many extra features such as touch screen compatible fingers. I have never warn a pair of really warm gloves that had enough dexterity to grab my phone out of my pocket without removing them. I don’t really miss that feature at all. If I’m wearing Guide Gloves it’s because I want to keep my fingers warm on a cold day. They excel at doing that.
Review
See our full review of the Black Diamond Guide Gloves to learn more.
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2. Top Pick – Swany X-Change Glove
Specifications
- Insulation – Tri-Plex Alpha Primaloft Gold
- Waterproofing – Swany Dryfinger II Insert
- Shell Material – Soft Shell with LeatherShield Trim
- Palm Material – Leather
What we liked:
- Zipper vents allow gloves to work for a wide temperature range
- Waterproof and breathable shell
- Cuff elastics are easy to tighten with gloves on
- Soft feeling with good finger dexterity
- Come with removable wrist leashes
What we didn’t like:
- Not as warm as some of the really heavily insulated gloves
Bottom line:
A very versatile and waterproof ski glove that is works well on cold or warm days thanks to the zipper vents.
Summary
I have skied with a set of Swany X-Change Gloves for years. I’m on my second pair of them now. The Swany X-Change gloves are very waterproof and use Primaloft Gold Insulation. I have skied with these on an awful week at Whitefish Montana where it poored rain everyday and had dry hands the whole time. I have worn them on 50F days in the spring with the zipper vents open and found them very comfortable.
The insulation on these gloves is good but not as heavy as some other gloves. I have worn them skiing on days as cold as -14F. That day required frequent warm up breaks. I have skied them on plenty of 25F average ski days and these gloves are more than adequate at that temperature.
The X-Change gloves have a lot of other good features. They come with wrist leashes (I never use them on any gloves). The cuff elastics have nice large pull handles for tightening them with gloves on. They also have a webbing around the wrist. They have a zipper pocket on the back of the hand. It works very well as a vent zipper. You can also squeeze a hand warmer in there for colder days.
Review
See our review of the Swany X-Change gloves to learn more.
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3. Best Value – MCTi Waterproof Ski Gloves
Specifications
- Insulation – Thinsulate 3M C40
- Waterproofing – Fan-Tex TPU Insert
- Shell Material – Polytex soft shell
- Palm Material – Rubber synthetic leather
What we liked:
- Low cost
- Warm enough for not too cold ski days
- Water proof lining for getting your hands in the snow
- Elastic cinch around the cuffs
- Small pocket on back of hand that is big enough for hand warmers
What we didn’t like:
- Not that warm on really cold days
- Not built to last more than a few ski seasons
- Insulation takes a long time to dry out
Bottom line:
A low cost ski glove that will work well for casual resort skiing on average ski days that aren’t too cold
Summary
The MCTi Waterproof Ski Gloves are one of the most popular winter gloves on Amazon. They can be had for a very low under $25 price. They will keep your hands warm on an average 25F-35F ski day. I would want something with more heavy insulation for anything colder. If your new to skiing and don’t want to spend a ton on a set of ski gloves these are a good choice for your first ski days to find out if you like it or not. If you don’t, they will make a good set of gloves for shoveling snow or other outdoor activities.
These MCTi Gloves have Thinsulate Insulation and a generic waterproof insert. They aren’t super thick and heavy gloves. They are a lot more than a thin set of knit gloves. They use a rubber synthetic leather palm and fingers that lets you grip things. They won’t stand up to a lot of rope tow use.
They have a zipper pocket on the back of the hands that you can shove a handwarmer into to help stretch the temperature range a bit. You can also store keys or some other small item there. They have a webbing strap around the wrists and an elastic to cinch the cuffs against your ski jacket.
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4. Best Mitten – Black Diamond Mercury Mitts
Specifications
- Insulation – 170g Primaloft Gold Cross Core & 133g Primaloft Gold Grip Control
- Waterproofing – BD.dry and GTT Empel DWR finish
- Shell Material – Nylon
- Palm Material – Goat leather
What we liked:
- Very warm on cold freezing days
- Thick wooly feeling insulation on the inside
- Removable liners to make drying easier
- Waterproof insert and coating make them dry on wet days
- Reinforced goat skin leather palms for good grip and durability
- Elastic wrist and cuff bungee to help keep the gloves on and snow out
What we didn’t like:
- No wrist straps included
- No touchscreen compatible finger or thumb surface
Bottom line:
Very warm and well made mittens good for the coldest polar ski day on the mountain
Summary
The Black Diamond Mercury Mitts are the second warmest mittens that Black Diamond Equipment makes. Why do we recommend them over the warmest? The Black Diamond Absolute Mitts are so big and bulky they are overkill for almost anything short of an Everest expedition. The Mercury Mitts have 170g of Primaloft Gold Cross Core insulation making them warm for very cold ski days. They use their own BD Dry waterproof insert so your hands will stay dry and warm.
The construction of the Mercury Mitts is first rate with a nylon shell and goat leather palms. They look like gloves built to stand up to a backcountry expedition and will give you many ski seasons worth of use. They have elastic around the wrist to keep them tight. They have a cinch strap around the cuff to seal against your ski coat. They do not have any touch screen compatible areas which is one of the few downsides.
If you want ski mittens that are first and foremost warm and built to last, you can’t go wrong with these.
Review
See our full review of the Black Diamond Mercury Mitts to learn more.
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Get 20% to 60% OFF SITEWIDE during Black Diamond Equipment Holday Sale
5. Best Heated Ski Glove – Black Diamond Solano
Specifications
- Insulation – Primaloft 200g-100g
- Waterproofing – Goretex insert
- Shell Material – Nylon & Goat Leather
- Palm Material – Goat leather
What we liked:
- One of the warmest gloves available thanks to heavy insulation and strong heating
- International adapters are included for the charger making them easy to travel with
- Goretex membrane and Primaloft insulation keep your hands warm and dry
- Primaloft 200g and 100g insulation
- Goatskin on all glove surfaces from the cuff forward
What we didn’t like:
- Stiffer fingers reduce finger dexterity
- Very high price
- No touch screen compatible surfaces on these gloves
Bottom line:
Very thick and warm gloves with built in battery powered heating for those special really cold days on the mountain
Summary
The Black Diamond Solano Heated Gloves are very warm ski gloves with 200g Primaloft Insulation. Then they threw in some battery powered heating elements to make them even warmer. I find that my hands are almost sweating hot on 25F days with the heating power turned off. I save these gloves for those special days when it’s well below freezing and nothing else will keep my hands warm.
The Solanos are built to withstand severe winter use on the mountain with goatski around both sides of the hand with the nylon shell on the cuff only. They use PrimaLoft Gold insulation along with Gore-Tex inserts so you will stay warm and dry. The batteries are stored in zipper compartments in the cuff so they don’t restrict your hand motion. They are good for 3 to 6 hours of heat on high or medium power.
See our guide to the best heated ski gloves for other good heated glove options.
Review
See our full review of the Black Diamond Solano Heated Gloves to learn more.
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Get 20% to 60% OFF SITEWIDE during Black Diamond Equipment Holday Sale
6. Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski Glove
Specifications
- Insulation – G-Loft
- Waterproofing – Water Resistant
- Shell Material – Hestra triton polyamide
- Palm Material – Goat leather
What we liked:
- Durable leather construction
- Removable liner that can be worn separately
- Hooks allow gloves to hang with opening facing down to dry
- Includes wrist leashes
- Available as a glove, mitten or 3 finger style
What we didn’t like:
- Leather palms and fingers aren’t waterproofed
- Not warm enough for polar cold days
Bottom line:
Gloves designed for professional ski guides that need versatile warm gloves for their time on the mountain.
Summary
The Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski Glove was designed for professional ski guides in Western Canada. It is a glove designed for hard working skiers who need performance and versatility. Hestra makes nothing but gloves and has been doing it since 1936 and are known for producing some of the best gloves available.
The Army Leather Heli Ski Glove uses Hestra’s G-Loft insulation and uses goat skin construction on the palms and fingers. The rest of the glove is covered by a waterproof shell. The goat leather palms and fingers are not waterproof and water will seep in through them. If you are skiing somewhere that tends to be wet, you should look at their Gore-Tex heli-ski glove instead which has waterproofing.
These gloves are warm enough for most ski days until it gets really polar. If you are standing around and not exerting yourself you may find your hands get cold fast on below 20F days. They are soft feeling and provide above average finger dexterity. They use a removable insulated liner so you can take it out for drying or when you need less protection than the full gloves give you.
The Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski Glove is available as a glove, mitten or 3 finger glove. It’s available in several colors for each style.
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7. Kinco Premium Ski Glove
Specifications
- Insulation – Kinco Heatkeep
- Waterproofing – Nikwax
- Shell Material – Pigskin
- Palm Material – Suede Pigskin
What we liked:
- Heavy duty pigskin construction
- Very warm for cold days
- Suede palms and fingers for good grip
- Low price
- Comes with Nikwax for waterproofing
What we didn’t like:
- Pig skin leather requires some break in to soften up
- Nikwax must be reapplied to keep them waterproof
- Large and bulky.
Bottom line:
Great value heavy duty leather work gloves with thick insulation
Summary
Kinco Premium Ski Gloves are the heavy duty leather work glove style ski glove available cheap on Amazon. I see these come up regularly on a few Facebook ski groups when people ask for cheap ski gloves that are actually warm. Kinco leather gloves always pop up.
They are made with thick heavy duty pig skin with lined with thick insulation. They are not light duty super flexible ski gloves. They are bulky and need some break in to soften them up. They are a favorite among lifties and the snow making crew who work outside in the cold in harsh condition to being us the goods.
They include some Nikwax for waterproofing the leather. It needs to be reapplied a few times a winter to keep them waterproof. They don’t have a Gore-Tex or any other kind of waterproof insert.
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Ryan Craig
Co-Founder & Chief Editor
I am a total gear nerd and love learning how things work and thinking about how they could be improved. Nothing excites me more than trying out new gear. I’d rather spend 3 hours taking my bike apart and learning how to change something than go to a bike shop. These days, I reside in Michigan by the Great Lakes and go skiing, biking, and boating as much as possible. Visit our About Us page and learn more.
ryan@lowbudgetadventurer.com