Lightweight Gloves

At the risk of drawing attention to my gear geekness, I decided to address the topic of “gloves” closer to summer to avoid the mass number of people who will recommend therapy groups for my gear addiction. Besides, if you read something you like, you could probably find a better deal on it now instead of waiting for winter.

To a lightweight backpacker, gloves are often considered a luxury item. After all, a pair of spare socks worn on the hands, or pockets on a jacket, both tend to do the job sufficiently without the extra ounces. If you’ve decided a pair of gloves is worth the weight and utility, than you have a couple of decent options.

When selecting a pair of gloves for backpacking, there are a couple features worth considering other than fit, pack size, and weight. First, what kind of temperatures will you be experiencing and what will be sufficient to keep your hands warm? Second, will your hands be getting wet (i.e. will your hands be exposed while hiking in the rain, for example, if you use trekking poles)? Third, do you need to worry about wind (some very warm gloves can be made fairly useless in substantial and constant windy conditions)? Fourth, will you be wearing the gloves when you hike or only at camp (hand sweat and need for durability on trekking poles may be an issue and the wrong gloves used with trekking poles can give you blisters)? Lastly, do you need to use them to handle anything fresh off the stove or fire which would easily burn (wool can handle hot items whereas fleece and synthetics will burn/melt)?

Yes, there is a lot to consider.

First off, it is worth mentioning that a “mitt” style glove is more efficient at maintaining warmth between fingers. Unfortunately, mitt gloves are more difficult to maneuver for finite handling. Also, constantly taking on and off a pair of gloves to gain use of your fingers is quite miserable, especially if your hands are wet or gloves are too tight. To get the same benefit of a mitt and gain finger dexterity, some people use half-fingered mitts which have fabric to pull over the fingers to form a mitt if desired or otherwise leave the fingers exposed if necessary. Unfortunately, these are often heavier than other options. Others choose the standard 5-fingered glove to both keep warm and to maintain some finger movement.

Different fabrics also perform differently when warmth is desired. Fleece is inexpensive, doesn’t perform well when wet, and is heavier than lightweight wools...but is generally a decent lightweight, inexpensive, and reasonably functional option. Wool is generally more expensive, dries poorly, retains decent warmth when wet, and is lighter than fleece. Possumdown is on par with the price of wool, dries fairly well, retains excellent warmth for minimal weight, and is lighter than wool. Ounce for ounce, Possumdown shows the greatest weight to warmth ratio, second only to goose down.

Different fabrics also offer different benefits when staying dry is a concern. GoreTex is heavier than microporous polypropylene (DriDucks/FroggToggs), is expensive and fairly durable, but does not breathe very well. Polyproplylene is lighter than GoreTex, is inexpensive and breathes well, but it isn’t very durable. eVENT is lighter than polypropylene, breathes fairly well and has decent durability, but it is fairly expensive.

Despite knowing these things, my “glove journey” has run the gamut and ultimately I ended up with a variety of options. Below are some of my findings for your consideration. Please reference the labeled picture (weights are based on size XL gloves, so if you have smaller hands, you have lighter gloves):

- PossumDown (1.62 oz) – Best general lightweight glove for warmth and function
- DeFeet Wool (2.50 oz) – Best heavy duty wool glove and has a gripping surface
- SmartWool (1.58 oz) – Solid lightweight wool glove, although more warmth can be gained from PossumDown for the same weight
- Mountain Laurel Designs eVENT Mitt (1.23 oz) – Best rain mitt
- ULA Rain Mitt (1.26 oz) – Close “second” rain mitt when durability is not a concern
- Mountain Hardwear Fleece/Windstopper (2.11 oz) – Excellent cold weather gloves used while hiking
- Outdoor Research Nylon Mitt (2.92 oz) – Excellent cold weather mitt used while hiking
- Fingerless Fleece Mitts – Generic (3.42 oz) – Good all-round option, extremely warm, durable, best for finite finger movements, but a little heavy
- Outdoor Research GoreTex Cold Weather Mitts (9.41oz) – Best for very cold weather, but irrelevant in most circumstances as they are too warm to be worn while hiking and too cumbersome for camp (for most reasonable conditions)