Best Winter Hiking Gloves and Mitts (for Actually Keeping Your Hands Warm)

Last Updated on 02/2025 by Mom Goes Camping

Most of us know that we need to layer our clothes to stay warm in cold weather. The same principle also applies to winter hiking gloves. If it’s not too cold, you can get by wearing insulated gloves. But, when it gets really cold, you’ll need to wear three layers: A liner glove, insulating glove or mitten, and an overmitt.

This system will keep your hands from getting sweaty, keep them warm, and still allow you to use your hands for tasks like opening water bottles. Here are some of the best winter hiking gloves, plus how to wear gloves so your hands actually stay warm when hiking in cold weather.

Best Winter Hiking Gloves and Mitts

1. Outdoor Research Meteor Mitts

These are one of the most popular winter gloves and are made with hiking and backpacking in mind. The best thing about these gloves is probably their dexterity; the fold-back fingers on the fleece layer mean you’ll be able to get your fingers out for camp tasks. They are also pretty lightweight compared to other winter hiking mittens. Just note that you’ll still need to wear a liner glove with these to wick sweat away.

Features:

Waterproof/windproof nylon shell
Synthetic palms
Removable 300g fleece insulating layer with fold-back finger flaps
Magnets to hold back finger flaps
Hand-warmer pocket
Cinch gauntlet closure
10.8oz per pair
Men and women’s versions available
Affordable
Buy At Amazon

2. Outdoor Research Alti Mitts

These are another pair of winter mitts by Outdoor Research. Compared to the Meteor mitts above, they are much warmer. The shell itself is insulated. It also includes an insulating liner mitten.

Both the shell and the liner mitten use PrimaLoft insulation the back of the hands and thumbs. This insulation is very good at resisting moisture. The palms are insulated with fleece.

Compared to the Meteor mittens above, these mittens are much warmer. The tradeoff is that the mitts are bulkier and heavier (and quite pricier). If you need more dexterity, then go with the Meteor gloves. If you need more warmth, then choose these. As with the Meteor gloves, you’ll still want to wear a liner glove under these.

Features:

Gore-Tex nylon 40D shell with 170g PrimaLoft gold insulation
Anti-slip leather palms
Removable 340g PrimaLof insulating mitten
Extra long wrist area
Hand-warmer pocket
Designed for serious alpine and arctic use!
12.8oz for pair (Men’s large weight)
Men’s and women’s available
Buy At Amazon

3. Burton Gore-Tex Mitten

Burton is known for making ski and snowboarding gear. Their gloves and mitts also work great for hiking, especially this one. It consists of two parts: an insulated shell and a liner glove.

The shell is made from Dryride with a Gore-Tex membrane. This makes it waterproof and windproof yet still breathable. The shell also has built-in insulation made from Thermcore. When the weather isn’t too cold, you can wear just the shell.

The removable liner is made from DRYRIDE Thermex, which is a very stretchy material. There is rubber-like texture on the fingers for improved grip. The shell is good for semi-cold weather hiking.

Features:

Dryride 2-layer shell with Thermacore insulation and Gore-tex membrane,
Removable liner
Hand-warmer pocket
Touchscreen compatible
Wrist leash
Men’s and women’s available
Buy Men’s here, Buy Women’s here

4. Black Diamond Mercury Mitts

These mitts by Black Diamond are very warm without costing a fortune. They consist of a shell made from BD Dry, which is mostly nylon with a bit of spandex for stretch. It’s rated to 10,000mm waterproofness! The palm is from goat leather, so extra durable.

The removable insulating layer is waterproof and made from 340g PrimaLoft Gold fleece. The design of this layer is unique in that it has a split-finger: the thumb and index are separate, and the remaining three fingers are together. This gives you the warmth that comes with mittens but some of the dexterity of gloves.

Because the fleece layer is waterproof, I’d still recommend wearing a wicking liner glove with these mitts.

There are wrist cinches on both the shell and liner glove, but a few features are missing. There aren’t any wrist straps, nor is there a pocket for hand warmers. This is why they don’t get a higher rating in the list of winter hiking gloves.

Features:

Waterproof shell made BD Dry
Leather palm
Removable waterproof fleece liner with 340g PrimaLoft Gold insulation
Wrist cinches
No wrist leashes or hand-warmer pocket
Buy At Amazon

5. Hestra Heli Three-Finger Gloves

These gloves are very popular for hiking and winter camping because of their three-finger design. You get more dexterity without sacrificing the warmth of a mitten.

The outer shell is windproof and water-resistant (not waterproof, but good enough for most snowy conditions). The three-layer fabric is fairly breathable and the leather palms are very durable.

The removable liner is insulated with polyester. It’s a 5-finger liner, so it’s the better choice when you need more dexterity.

There are some nice extra features, like wrist cinches and wrist leashes. These are probably also the most comfortable gloves thanks to their pre-curved fingers. They definitely are a pricier option, though they overall get great reviews.

In very cold weather of it you get sweaty hands, you’ll still want to wear a thin moisture-wicking liner glove with these mitts.

Features:

Waterproof, water-resistant 3-layer breathable shell
Leather palm
Removable insulated liner glove
Wrist leash and cinches
Pre-curved fingers
Buy At Amazon

6. Dakine Leather Scout Mittens

These are the most affordable winter hiking mitts listed here. They lack a lot of the features of the other (pricier) options, but are still very good for cold weather hikes.

The mitts consist of two layers. The outer shell is made from a nylon/polyester blend with a water-resistant coating. There is 110g of insulation on the palm and 280g of insulation on the back of the hand. This gives you good dexterity and enough warmth to wear the shell by itself in semi-cold weather. The palms are made from leather for durability.

The liners are made from 150g stretch fleece which have rubber-like fingers for touchscreen compatibility.

Features:

Water-resistant shell with 110g of insulation
Removable 5-finger insulating liner with 280g of insulation
Wrist leash
Nose wipe thumb panel
Touchscreen compatible liner
Very affordable
Buy At Amazon

7. Boiled Wool Gloves

One hiking glove option that a lot of people don’t know about is boiled wool. It is made by getting a too-large pair of wool gloves and boiling them for a few minutes. Then you take them out of the water and (as soon as they are cool enough) you let them dry on your hands. They shrink to fit over your hands. The larger the wool gloves are, the more you can let them shrink for optimal warmness.

The boiling process means you get a very tight-knit wool glove. It gives you all of the insulating properties of wool plus makes them even more water- and wind-resistant. Boiled wool is actually what lobstermen/women in Maine use (you can read an article about boiled wool here).

If you want to wear just one pair of gloves while hiking (though a liner glove is still recommended), this is the way to go. You’ll get the most dexterity and still stay warm. Dachstein is one of the few brands that makes boiled wool gloves.

Features:

Naturally water-resistant
Good insulator
Superb dexterity
Can be used as a liner with a waterproof shell mitt
Affordable
Buy At Amazon

8. Wind Rider Touchscreen Insulated Gloves

This is a pair of very cheap winter gloves that, for the price, actually keep you pretty warm. Since they are gloves and not mittens, they definitely won’t be as warm as the other mitts listed here. They also don’t have a removable insulating layer. You could end up sweating up a storm. If that insulating layer gets soaked, you’ll have to remove the entire glove. To wick away moisture, you’ll definitely need a liner glove with these – but I still wouldn’t recommend them if you have sweaty hands!

For the price point though, these are a great hiking glove for temps around 30F. There’s even some nice extra features like touchscreen fingertips and a storage pocket that can fit your keys, a hand warmer pack, or a lift pass.

Features:

Water-resistant Cordura nylon shell
Non-removable waterproof liner with 70g of Thinsulate insulation
Good for semi-cold weather
Unisex
No wrist leash
Touchscreen compatible
Storage pocket
Very affordable
Buy At Amazon

How to Layer Gloves for Winter Hiking

Forget about wearing just one pair of gloves when hiking in very cold weather. In fact, you’ll probably need to wear THREE layers on your hands:

Liner gloves (aka base layer) +
Insulating layer +
Waterproof outer shell (aka overmitt)

You don’t necessarily have to wear all the layers at once. When it is warmer out, you could just wear the liner gloves. In moderate weather, you wear the liners with the shell over them. This will give your hands more dexterity to do camp tasks.

Note you shouldn’t wear just the insulating layer by itself. The insulation isn’t windproof, water-resistant, or wicking. Your hands will probably start to sweat and drench the glove. If any snow gets on the glove, it will stick to the insulating material and melt, causing it to get wet.

Guide to Buying Winter Hiking Gloves/Mitts

If you are confused about what type of hiking gloves to get for cold winter weather, here’s a rundown of the types and features you want to look for.

Gloves versus Mittens

When it comes to warmth, mittens are superior to gloves. Because your hands are together and surrounded by the insulation, you lose much less heat than if you were wearing gloves.

Compared to mittens, gloves also cut off circulation. Take a look at your hand in natural position. Do you see any large gaps between your fingers for insulation? No! Insulated gloves will cause you to spread your fingers out unnaturally, potentially cutting off circulation. This will make your fingers cold. This is why mittens are so much better.

However, the downside is that gloves lack dexterity. If you need to perform a lot of hiking or camp tasks, then gloves are the way to go.

The solution? To get the best of each world, choose a mitten shell with a glove insulating layer. You can remove the shell and expose the glove for dexterity when you need to use your hands. Just make sure that there is a wrist leash so you don’t lose your overmitt!

Types of Winter Hiking Gloves/Mitts

All winter gloves/mitts can be broken down into a two types.

1. Insulated Gloves

These are a glove made from a waterproof shell with built-in insulation. The insulating layer cannot be removed.

The benefit of this type of glove is that they are easy: Just put the gloves on your hands. No need to worry about putting on multiple layers or losing your overmitt. You also get more dexterity. They also tend to be much more affordable.

On the downside, an all-in-one system isn’t going to be as breathable. Your hands will probably end up sweaty, which means your gloves could get drenched. Since the insulation is sewn-in, you can’t remove it.

2. Shell Mittens with Removable Liners

These consist of a waterproof/windproof shell. Sometimes the shell contains a bit of insulation. Then there is an insulating liner that can be removed.

The two-layer system gives you a lot more versatility. You can carry an extra pair of insulating gloves (like a cheap pair of fleece gloves) to put on in case the liner gets sweaty and wet. You can also choose to wear just the shell with a liner glove if the weather isn’t as cold.

The downside is that shell mittens tend to be very pricy. They are also pretty bulky, which can make them annoying to wear when hiking or doing camp tasks.

Features

Here are some of the main features to look for when buying winter hiking gloves or mitts.

Wrist leash: This is a loop that goes around your wrist so you don’t lose the mitt when you remove it. You definitely want this feature with shell mittens.
Reinforced palms: The palm gets a lot of use when hiking with poles (which you are probably doing in winter). Leather palms are the most durable but many synthetics are nearly as tough.
Hand-warmer pocket: This isn’t absolutely necessary since you can put hand warmer packs right into the mitt between layers. But a pocket helps keep the pack in place so it doesn’t move around your glove/mit.
Touchscreen compatible: If you use devices frequently while hiking, then you need this feature. It is usually the insulating layer that has touchscreen compatibility, so you’ll need to remove the overmitt to use devices.
Insulation amount: Insulation is usually listed in grams. For very cold weather, you’ll want around 300g total of insulation. Better gloves/mitts will spread out the insulation so there is less around the areas where you need more dexterity.