Buyers' Guide - Gloves

The trouble with fingers is that they're like thin pipes, hard to insulate efficiently. Stcik 'em in a mitt and they're more like a plate with less surface area to radiate heat. The bottom line is that mitts tend to be warmer, but against that, you have to weigh an increase in clumsiness.

That means big, warm mitts are great for, say, trudging across the moors - until you need to fold a map of course - but not so clever if you're trying to tie a knot or place an ice screw while your legs are vibrating with fear.

One compromise is to wear overmitts, which you can slip off either to briefly reveal bare hands or an underglove with a grippy finger and palm grip. Once you've done the fiddly bit, slip 'em back on again. Sorted.

You can treat gloves like clothing systems and use layers or you can opt for a single, insulated layer that's either on or off.

One plus of a layering system is that you can use the same shell mitt or glove with a number of liners to give different properties. Maybe a thin baselayer glove on mild days, a sticky midweight fleece glove for ice-climbing or mountaineering or a thick insulated fleece glove for really cold days.

If you're going to do that, at least for climbing, it makes sense to tether your gloves to your jacket or wrists. A loop of shock cord around the wrist works well and allows your gloves to hang safely while you mess around with knots or climbing hardware.

A single insulated glove, like a ski glove, can also work well and, with practce, you can do most fiddly things wearing them and keep your hands warmer at the same time. One disadavantage with many of these gloves, is that they take ages to dry out. We prefer to use a removable fleece liner for this reason, it's simply hard for moisture to evaporate through the shell of the glove.

It's up to your really, but you want enough cough with a secure enough closure to keep your wrists protected - look for one that's easy to use even with the other hand gloved.

Some prefer to wear jacket cuffs over their gloves, others prefer it the other way round. Bear in mind, as with overtrousers, if you wear your sleeves tucked into your gloves, any rain will run into them. Not good.

For that reason, we prefer a to wear a glove that sits under the jacket cuff, though that's impractical if you plan to remove your gloves for fiddly tasks, particularly if you're climbing. For UK use, where rain is guaranteed, we suggest you look for a glove that will fit comfortably under your shell jacket cuffs however.

Liner and mid-weight fleece and similar gloves work a bit like other parts of a layering system, wicking moisture away from the hands and adding insulation.

Some can be used alone in milder conditions, however, if you're going to use them for more technical stuff, or with trekking poles and / or ice axes, it's worth using one with some sort of grippy pattern.

The old-style sticky black dots were never particularly grippy, though far better than bare fabric, but the latest silicone sticky grip stuff is much better and ideal for technical work. We're less convinced by leather palms in UK conditions. They tend to soak out eventually and are slippery even when dry, though they work well for rope-handling in cold, dry environments like the Alps.

Windproof or wind-resistant fabrics will make them more versatile.

Most winter gloves these days come with a waterproof / breathable liner. In really wet conditions they always seem to leak and eventually your hands will get damp from either perspiration or simply wetness, but they will keep the worst of it out for a while.

The pay-off seems to be increased drying times as moisture struggles to escape from the sodden glove. Bear in mind too that waterproof liners can't be sewn into the inside of the finger, so you need to hold the ends of the fingers as you remove your gloves or the entire inner can just invert and be almost impossible to replace.

Our primary choices for insulation would be either removable fleece, which is simple and easy to dry, or Primaloft, which is the best of the synthetics in damp conditions in our experience. Remember that a removable liner will always dry faster, which is a major consideration in cold, wet UK conditions.

The other option, for the traditionally minded, is matted, shrunken wool, particularly Dachstein mitts. These are incredibly warm, sticky comfortingly to snow when climbing and, once covered with a crust if ice, no kidding, are virtually windproof too. Surprisingly effective.

Finally, Buffalo and other pile / Pertex mitts dry fast and are windproof though not great for dexterity. They make ideal spares and work well as something to throw on a the top of a winter route.

There are plenty of other things to look out for. Fit is important, some gloves have short fingers, some long, you want ones that are right for your hands.

On winter gloves, we like to have some sort of snot-wipe area at the base of the thumb for those moments of nose-running horror.

As fas as construction goes, our favourites from the likes of outdoordesigns have contoured, box-cut fingers, which are pre-curved for easy grip on axes and the like, and less insulation in the palm area for the same reason. When you're buying, try gripping an ice axe or a trekking pole and make sure you can hold it comfortably, insulation may pack down a little, but don't rely on it.

If you're planning on tethering your gloves with shock cord or a straight loop, then make sure there are fixing points on the glove.

Finally, if you're in the market for something different, flip-topped gloves, as pictured, are available from at least two manufacturers. They work brilliantly in alpine summer conditions and allow you to combine finger-tip dexterity with insulation when needed. They look silly, but work great in the right situation.

More Help and Advice

This article should have given you some basic pointers. The good news is that there's a load more advice on OUTDOORSmagic:

• Ask on the gear forum about general issues or specific items.
  
• Check the member reviews section for user experiences of kit.
  
• See OM editorial reviews on the front of the site for our impressions.
  
• Ask Richard Gear if you have a specific question you need answering.