Snowboarding Gloves & Mittens

Gloves or Mittens - What's Best?

When looking to insulate your hands from the cold air and snow you first need to decide whether gloves or mittens will work best for you. With gloves, each of your fingers is protected individually. This is handy where you need to have maximum dexterity such as when adjusting your helmet, tightening your boots, strapping your boots onto the board at the top of the lift, zippering and fastening.   In the case of mittens, they usually assist in generating more body heat and offer greater warmth when compared to gloves.   This is mainly because four fingers stay in the same area next to each other, allowing them to share the collective body heat.   The downside with mittens though is that they can make it more cumbersome and difficult to adjust gear or other snowboarding clothing items.  

The more experienced snowboarders wearing gloves can do the same tasks as those wearing mittens but without having to remove their hand-warming accessories.   On a freezing cold day gloves really come into their own.

Make Sure They Fit Well

Gloves should fit the wearer perfectly. This will serve to ensure that they have adequate warmth and are easily maneuverable. When trying on gloves they should fit firmly and be comfortably snug with the tips of the fingers sitting towards the very end tips of the gloves. If there is space (an air pocket) between fingertip and glove tip, you're liable to get colder more easily. This will also make it more difficult to grab onto things as well and could even contribute to an accident.

Make Sure They're Waterproof

Gloves will usually come into a good deal of contact with the snow (pushing your self, playing with snow, etc). This makes it important to ensure you purchase good quality waterproof gloves. The most commonly found glove liners are made from insulting material such as outlast, thermo-liner or fleece. The best gloves are those that include a GORE-TEX shell and have padding. There are gloves that are priced or marketed in the mid to higher quality range that come with removable liners.  These provide maximum warmth and allows you to tailor your gloves to the outside conditions. Removable liners can be removed and washed, allowing you to keep your gloves clean and fresh.

Lobster style gloves (a sort of hybrid between gloves and mittens) have a location for your thumb and then a location for two fingers and a location for your other two fingers.

Look For Durability

Snowboarding gloves should be durable. After all they're going to face a lot of punishment. When looking to purchase a pair make sure that the palm grips are durable. Check to see that the gloves have adjustable cuffs and if they have a built-in writ guard to avoid any wrist -related snowboarding injuries. Certain gloves have additional features included such as goggle/lense cleaners and nose wipes.

Price Comparison - Gloves v Mittens

Price isn't a big determinant when it comes to choosing between mittens and gloves.  Both are often similarly priced when looking at the same brand.

Top Snowboarding Gloves and Mittens Suppliers

Snowboarding Gloves and Mittens