What are the latest and greatest cold weather gloves that are not too bulky when used with a rifle, shotgun or handgun?

Curious about this myself

My glove arsenal consists of Kuiu for hunting then devolves rapidly to Mechanix, Kinco & Green Kings for other stuff.

Green Army woolies are, and forever shall remain, a good choice. Three pairs for $10 at the Army/navy school. Pair with a Goretex Mitten shell from Rei and there isn't a thing they can't handle. MAYBE drop a hand-warmer packet down between the mitten and glove if on a truly freezing cold day.

I've got the latest/greatest of everything else in my clothing arsenal, but keep coming back to these stupid things.

Now, if one of you would like to buy me a set of the Sitka Gear GTX gloves for $200 that would be fantastic because I like everything about them.

Dave

I like the green Army gloves as well and the plain jane brown Jersey gloves work good as well.

Most gloves fit too tight even the XL and cut off circulation to my fingers.

Nothing fancy here, usually a liner glove inside a leather glove. Shed the outer glove to shoot. Also use the milsurp wool gloves and milsurp mittens. I haven’t found the perfect glove so I just have plenty on hand to swap out as they get wet. Hand warmers take up the slack.

Outdoor Research Gripper Gloves have been a longtime favorite of mine.
They're windproof and wonderfully articulated for dexterity.

For really cold, the ECWS mittens are tough to beat.
https://www.mcguirearmynavy.com/pro...V0szvSC5chrDd308aoqx9EjxuyxoCJ1sQAvD_BwE

I like polypro liners under most mitts and gloves if I can make them fit.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Glacier-Glove-Polypropylene-Glove-Liner/51409118

For not-crazy cold, I like the trigger finger mittens. They work with the military wool liners or the polypro liners.
https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...MU-j7k-ghwP0iC85HRRiG8HNPohoCPUwQAvD_BwE

95% of the time, I'm wearing a generic pair of insulated leather gloves with fleece backs that I get for $5-7 locally. Found a link: https://www.aih.com/Catalog/Safety-...rk-Gloves/MJC-Fleece-And-Deerkskin-Glove
I don't cry if they get lost/ruined, and they work pretty well down to -10 or so on a snowmachine or when active. The only ones I could find were 2XL, and I normally wear XL. The larger size helps them rip off easier if needed. I generally don't shoot with gloves.

I was gifted a pair of Kuiu down mitts. Similar to these, but mine are straight mittens, and have no grip dots. https://www.kuiu.com/products/super-down-pro-glassing-glomitt-valo-camouflage?variant=40479861244062

They are pretty awesome, as much as it pains me to say it. Light, compressible, and really really warm. They are clumsy and slippery, but they keep your hands warm. Don't expect to do anything while wearing them though, because it wouldn't take much to shred them.

That seems like a lot of glove for the $$$$. And I like the idea of the entire back of the glove being game for snot wiping.
Gonna give a pair a whirl.

I'm in for a pair too.

Kinko Premium lined glove w/ pigskin palms, the choice of mountain guides and outdoor workers for years, $38.00. For sitting and glassing or calling in serious cold I use OR trigger finger mitts w/ several pairs of poly liners.


mike r

Rag wool convertible mittens. For me the best of both worlds.
When it gets super cold then a pair of light weight gloves inside a pair of XL mittens.

If those are the same as Trustworthy has, they’re pretty good. I have three pair I keep on the furnace and rotate when pushing snow - on an open station tractor. 😉

The pairs I have are XL, but last I tried, L was too small. They had no XL.

I like the Badlands Convection Gloves. Bought a pair 3 years ago for a late season cow elk hunt. Snowed for 3 days and never got above 10 degrees while I was there. Kept my hands warm and dry and they aren't so bulky that you can't shoot while wearing them.

https://www.badlandsgear.com/collections/gloves/products/convection-glove?variant=40984515870912

Always have jersey gloves with me and sometimes double them up.

For wet cold environments;

https://www.go2marine.com/showa-282-temres-gloves

Through lots of years, I have tried all manner of glove/mitten combinations, and for a long time had settled on a pair of wool liners inside a set of leather chopper mitts. If I needed more warmth than the combo could provide, I would stick a chem heat pack in each mitt. When a shot presented itself, I would bite the tip of the mitt and pull it off. The system worked pretty well.

Four years ago, I took a hard right turn. I bought and started using a Hunters Safety System Muff with a pair of merino wool liners and a couple of chem packs when necessary. I'm a stillhunter, so while one hand carries my rifle, the other is in the muff all toasty. When my carry hand gets tired or cold, I alternate hands. So far, I find it to be a great system, although I'm considering looking into rechargeable battery powered heaters to replace the chem packs. The dexterity allowed by wearing just the wool liners is an added plus.

Always nice until the dreaded nettle strikes....and it will!

I have some Cabela's glommits from when Cabela's was Cabela's. Couple handwarmer packs and you're good for about anything.

When handgun hunting a pocket full of handwarmers and the bare hand gets the nod.

For driving or still hunting, buckskin leather just to keep the pointy objects (and nettles) and the chill off.

Hot Shot glommits are pretty decent but you may want to chop the index and middle finger for improved dexterity. Theirs has a pocket for a handwarmer built in.

Like you, I started using a hand muff when hunting years ago because my fingers always stayed cold no matter what gloves I tried. The muff I use is a Cabelas Big Game fleece. It’s thick enough but not bulky, quiet, soft, has a zipper pocket to put stuff or a chem pack warmer. I use a thin fleece glove for my hands and they slide in and out of the muff easily.

If working outside I double up on the brown jersey gloves. They keep my hands as warm as anything.

Roundoak: I have been seeking the answer to that question for MANY decades myself!
I decided (about 20 years ago) to give up in my search for and of buying all manner of gloves that would allow deft handling of shotguns, Rifles and pistols.
Heres what I do when it is COLD and I am out shooting, Hunting, snowmobiling or fishing - I rely on a pair of green Army surplus insulated mittens with Army surplus inner gloves!
Your hand can NOT get cold while wearing these.
The Army surplus gloves that I have (and horde!) are the green canvass insulated type with leather palms on them and the furry, back of the hand protection.
I just put up with needing to remove (and they remove in just a few seconds!) these gloves/mittens and then shooting/handling my firearms or fishing pole as needed - with WARM hands by the way.
I sometimes even use the issued long green string that can be threaded through ones coat and coat sleeves and attaching to each glove - thus preventing their loss.
These gloves are not only impervious to cold they are impervious to wind - and when it is really cold there is not much chance of them becoming wet!
I highly recommend you try a pair and learn to live with the few seconds it takes to get them off of your warm hands.
Good luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Last year I used the Kuiu Axis gloves and was so pleased with how they performed 6 of the younger generations of hunters in my family got them for Christmas presents, on sale of course.

The one really cold day I used merino liners and they were perfectly comfortable. I have their warmer, fancier guide gloves but they never got used. Simple & comfortable in a wide range of temperatures they replaced my typical leather driving gloves & Cabelas goretex that I’ve used for years. They were my best gear improvement last year by fat.

I always wear a pair of these regardless of temp, they are light and cause me no problem with dexterity:

https://www.blackovis.com/blackovis...3j4uq9gIVOx-tBh016wflEAQYASABEgKHC_D_BwE

When riding an atv or tractor, I wear a cheap pair of lined leather mitts as was mentioned above. They are great.

When on a stand and hunting in cold weather I wear a pair of fleece glomitts over the light merino gloves. Easy to slip fingers through and shoot/whatever. If it's REALLY cold I put a handwarmer in the glowmitt. For me, a glove is never as warm as a mitt.

Thanks to all for submitting cold weather gloves that work for you. Currently I have a menagerie of cold weather gloves that work for me in cool to below zero cold. You could say one size does not fit all conditions. On the move in brush, thickets and downfalls I like a deerskin glove and my favorite all around glove and particularly like the grip it gives me on a shotgun and rifle. When more insulation is needed I go with a split cowhide leather glove insulated with 100 grs of Thinsulate. (Why not deerskin? Cheaper found at the local farm store). If more insulation is needed I turn to military surplus trigger finger gloves. I treated the trigger finger with a couple coats of Fiebings leather balm to give it more dexterity.

In open country or on stand if I need hand insulation I start with Mechanix Utility (leather trim). Colder weather I turn to Gates glove with 100 grs Thinsulate. Really cold I put on the Military surplus trigger finger gloves

Oversized mittens with liner gloves, can drop mittens for quick action as needed. Works hunting and ice fishing for me.

A muff and the lighter jersey gloves or thin woven gloves that I can still feel the trigger with have worked the best for me. And time permitting, I can still unobtrusively remove my right hand trigger finger glove with my left hand inside the muff. A Hot Hands chemical warmer inside that muff helps if it gets really cold. Hunting is one thing and other cold weather activities require different gloves like my sheep skin lined choppers if I don't need much dexterity. Being in better shape with better circulation helps a lot too. Your body will reduce the blood flow to your extremities first to keep your core warm, so it isn't just your hands that need insulation, it's your whole body and head. Also your left non-trigger hand that doesn't need the dexterity can have a heavier glove than your trigger hand that could be in a hand warmer pocket on your jacket.

yep chopper mits with liners hand warmers or as suggested glove liners in a muff with hand warmers

Tag

I was really hoping that I was the only one who hadn’t stumbled onto glove nirvana - I guess gloves are like golf clubs after all.

Want to become rich….sole that problem!

If you fellers are referring to the ubiquitous brown jersey gloves, I find cotton gloves to be damn near as bad as no gloves in Winter. If the get wet, and they will, they will never dry or keep you warm until you get home.

I gave up on them as chore gloves decades ago.

I agree

I learned to hate those brown jersey gloves as a kid and haven't wore them since then. They seem to attract water. You might as well wrap your hands in paper towels.

tag

https://www.firstlite.com/collections/whitetail-gloves-and-hand-muffs/products/alpine-glove

I love these gloves

I have arthritis in my hands, so when hunting I wear a light glove, like the Tommy Copper, or Head, most all of the time. One reason is to keep the sweat off the metal and from the 40's down to give me some relief from the joint pain. Rally cold I go to wool mittens with liners or just a heavy mittens with a hole for the trigger finger.

They are nothing special, but they are cheap. I rotate as bender mentioned. And I can vouch for the snot wiping ability. If you buy from aih, tell them you work for an oil company and save even more.

Me as well. I bought my last pair about 30 years ago. I remember wearing them as a kid and my hands being wet and cool most of the time. I couldnt keep them dry.

Feet and hands are IMO the 2 most difficult parts of the body to offer suggestions for. What one guy freezes in, the next guy sweats wet from the inside. Then of course one also has to define what/when/where said clothing will be used. Then of course there's "fit". Some folks want all gloves to fit/feel like a tight set of European driving gloves so they get great feel. That's fine, but, without some dead-air space, you'll not ever get much insulative value no matter how bulky the glove may be. The gloves I'd wear to spot and stalk are significantly different than what I might wear sitting for hours in an ambush location or up in a tree-stand. That being said:

"Active Glove Nirvana", not sure if I've found it, but Hestra Ergo Grip Active is getting pretty darned close. WindProof Gore-Tex Infinium stretchy back and extremely tactile leather face. How tactile you ask? As I was writing this response, I just put them on and I can pick up a quarter off my desk. I don't mean sliding it to the edge, I mean I pinned it with my index finger, slipped my thumbnail under the quarter and picked it up. I can "still hunt", spot and stalk, or bird hunt behind the dog with these as cold as I want to be out, as long as I'm moving a bit, they'll keep my hands comfortable.

Active Glove Nirvana

A much more budget-friendly option that's "almost" as good are by Manzella, they're made for archery hunting and have a little longer gauntlet. Mine are several years old, they're wind-proof and the trigger finger from the 2nd knuckle to the tip is spandex and allows for excellent feel of a trigger wether it's a rifle, shotgun, handgun, or bow-release. I think they make a newer model w/Gore Infinium now that's ~$40 @ regular price.

For more stationary pursuits I go straight to "Glommits". Simms made a great one that was wind-proof, had high-pile lining on the back, a pretty thin palm/face, and a pocket in the fingertips for a chemical heater. I typically pair them with a thin merino liner. The Kuiu liner would be a good choice too. A buddy bought me a set of the Kuiu liner gloves and used appropriately they add a LOT of warmth for very little bulk. Simms doesn't make the high-pile lined gloves/glommits anymore and have instead moved to Primaloft (synthetic down) and Gore-Tex infinium rather than their previous proprietary windstopping material. They're still called the Simms "Ex-Stream".

Again, Manzella also has a more budget friendly option that's almost as good. They make a wind-proof fleece glommit with a chem-heater pocket in the fingertips that's ~$30-40.

I LOATHE "tight" gloves. My hands typically measure out to "XL" or size 10 in sized gloves. I almost always opt for 2XL or 11 so long as they're not "sloppy" or the fingers aren't too long and folding over. IMO, that upsizing allows me to get by with far less bulk than what I could with a tight fitting glove.

The search for "The Perfect Glove" is (or has been for me) far worse than the search for "The Perfect Pocket/EDC" knife.

I received a pair today. XL whoa doggies, very tight fit. May give them to the neighbor's 14 year old son.

Bummer. I can probably trade you a pair of 2xl if you need them. I've never seen xl in stock

Horse1, what is your mainstay upland cold weather glove?

Chinee sizing.

Hard to say "mainstay" because I've tried so many that it keeps changing. The Hestra ErgoGrip I mentioned in my 1st post was my mainstay this fall. I can manipulate all the controls of a Beretta semi-auto with the gloves on.

The Kuiu liners under thin/soft deerskin or similar leather gloves are also a great choice as well.

I'm a sucker for end-of-season closeouts as well. I have the Manzella soft-shell wind-proof archery gloves stuck in every vehicle, backpack, and hunting-gear bag as a "just in case". They might not always be just exactly what I need, but, they're really good most of the time.

Cold-hands is a relative term that must be taken into account as well. First and foremost, I'm "well insulated" IE: Chubby. As such, I'm almost always too warm rather than cold. Second, I'm "comfortable" as long as my hands are warm enough not to lose dexterity. Some folks aren't comfortable unless their hands are truly warm. Same goes for feet and ears.

A couple of guys I hunt with we end up with a lot of the same gear because we have similar tolerances. One guy that I hunt and ice-fish with always needs something significantly warmer than what I wear whether it's gloves, hats, boots, coats, whatever. The guy is plenty tough, just has different needs than I do. I grew up being told by my dad that if he was warm enough in XX piece of gear that I damned sure better be warm enough too and if I didn't think I was, toughen up. With that in mind, now I just try to tell folks what works for me and why/how it works for me hopefully with enough description that they can make a decision on whether it'll work for them or not.

Made in Myanmar.

roundoak, besides the sizing issue, what is your opinion of build quality, odds of performing in cold weather, etc?

I never used to need gloves until it got down below 25 degrees. Now that I'm getting older that's changed and I need gloves if it's below 40. Down to the low 20's I'm fine with a pair of jerseys. I usually carry a couple extra pairs in my pockets in case they get wet and if it gets colder than anticipated I may double up. When it's colder than that I've got a pair of those fleece hunting mittens that flip up and have a built in compartment for hand warmers.

Thanks horsey.

Its tough to identify what is "warm enough for active wear when you need X amount of dexterity", but I figured that was a good measure.

Im likely too cheap to try the Hestras, but I will check out the manzellas at some point. The quest for the perfect gloves is never ending.

For $6.99 plus shipping I can't see any build flaws for that price point. The split grain deerskin is the only good feature for me. It would give you a good gripping surface on your firearms. The back of the glove is fleece and will collect dust, dirt, hair, weed stickers, etc. Did not try them for cold weather because they did not fit. To sum it up, I will not order a larger size.