Glove Buying Guide

Cold fingers ruin a good walk faster than almost anything else. A great pair of gloves solves that problem in seconds, but only if you pick the right type, the right material and the right size. This guide walks you through glove sizes, glove sizing charts and the best gloves for running, hiking, skiing and everyday winter wear. 

Getting your glove size right starts with a simple measurement. Wrap a tape measure around the widest part of your dominant hand, just below the knuckles, excluding your thumb. This number in inches or centimetres is your hand circumference, and it maps directly onto most glove size charts.

Here is a simple three-step method:

1. Measure around your palm at its widest point, leaving your thumb out of the loop.
2. Round the number up to the nearest whole inch or centimetre.
3. Match that figure against the brand's glove size chart, since sizing can shift slightly between men's and women's ranges.

Most adult gloves run from small to extra large, roughly matching hand circumferences between 7 and 10 inches (18 to 25cm). If your measurement lands between two sizes, size up rather than down. A slightly loose glove still works well with a liner glove underneath, while a tight glove restricts blood flow and makes hands colder, not warmer.

Men's gloves and women's gloves are not simply scaled versions of each other. Women's hands are typically narrower, with shorter fingers relative to palm width, so women's glove sizing charts use a different scale even for the same circumference. This is why a men's medium and a women's medium rarely fit the same hand.

The material inside and outside your glove decides how it performs in the wet, the cold and everyday wear.

Leather gloves for men and women offer strong wind resistance and mould to your hand shape over time, making mens leather gloves and womens leather gloves a popular choice for city commuting and general winter use. Leather also holds up well against abrasion, which matters if you grip poles, bike handlebars or car doors daily.

Waterproof gloves use a membrane, often similar technology to a waterproof jacket, sandwiched between the outer fabric and the inner lining. This keeps rain and snow out while still allowing sweat vapour to escape. Look for "thermal waterproof gloves" if you want both properties in one product, since not every waterproof glove includes serious insulation.

Thermal gloves and insulated gloves trap air within a synthetic or down fill to hold heat close to your skin. Insulated gloves suit low activity situations like watching sport pitchside or standing at a bus stop, while a thinner thermal glove suits active pursuits where you generate your own heat.

Liner gloves are thin, close fitting layers worn under a heavier glove or on their own during mild weather. A silk or merino liner glove adds a genuinely useful boost in heat retention without adding bulk, and it also lets you use a touchscreen without removing your outer glove.

Fleece gloves offer a lightweight, breathable middle ground and work well for dog walks, school runs and low intensity outdoor jobs where you need dexterity more than full waterproofing.

If you are still not sure which pair to pick, run through this simple framework:

• Cold hands on the school run or dog walk? Choose a fleece glove or a lightly insulated leather glove.
• Training through a wet UK winter? Choose a waterproof running glove with a thin, breathable lining.
• Long days on the hills? Choose a thermal waterproof hiking glove, and pack a liner glove as backup.
• A week on the slopes? Choose a proper insulated ski glove or snowboard glove with a gauntlet cuff.
• Rock or ice climbing? Choose a climbing glove with reinforced palms and enough dexterity to handle gear.
• Standing still in freezing conditions? Choose the warmest gloves for women or men you can find, prioritising thick insulation over flexibility.

A handful of specialist brands consistently lead the way on performance gloves:

• Sealskinz gloves are known for genuinely waterproof, breathable construction, popular for cycling, running and general wet weather use.
• Arcteryx gloves focus on precise fit and weather protection for climbing, skiing and mountain use.
• Black Diamond gloves are a strong pick for climbing gloves and ski gloves, with reinforced palms and reliable insulation.
• Montane gloves suit fast and light hiking and running, with a focus on low bulk and wind resistance.
• Mountain Equipment gloves cover serious mountaineering and winter hillwalking needs, built for extreme cold and heavy snow contact.

Matching a brand's specialism to your activity gets better results than picking on looks alone.

Picking the right gloves comes down to three decisions: get your size right using a proper glove size chart, match the material to your activity, and choose insulation levels based on how much heat your body generates during that activity. Runners need thin and breathable, skiers need warm and weatherproof, and everyday winter wear sits somewhere in between. Get those three things right and cold hands become a thing of the past.