The Best Winter Work Gloves, According to Testing

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Don’t drop the ball on tough chores when the temperature plummets. These winter work gloves will help you get the job done while protecting your hands from the elements.

Work doesn’t stop just because the temperature drops, but getting jobs done in the cold can be downright painful without the right pair of gloves. We tested some of the best winter work gloves to find out how well their special features such as insulated layers and waterproof coating could keep our fingers toasty.

In all, we put these gloves through six different tests, one of which involved submerging our hands in a 33-degree Fahrenheit cooler, to determine which sets would best withstand a variety of uses in harsh winter conditions. We then listed them by category and presented our findings in detail, including the pros and cons of each set of winter work gloves.

1. BEST OVERALL: Wells Lamont Deerskin Leather Winter Work Gloves
2. RUNNER-UP: Wells Lamont HydraHyde Insulated Leather Gloves
3. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: G&F Products 1628 Waterproof Winter Work Gloves
4. BEST HEAVY-DUTY: Wells Lamont Heavy-Duty Leather Palm Work Gloves
5. BEST MULTILAYER: Carhartt Waterproof Insulated Gloves
6. BEST DEXTERITY: Mechanix Wear Coldwork Original Winter Work Gloves
7. BEST-LOOKING: Ozero Suede Leather Insulated Warm Winter Work Gloves
8. ALSO CONSIDER: CLC Work Gear Flex Grip Handyman Work Gloves

How We Tested the Best Winter Work Gloves

To help guide our decision-making for our list of recommendations, we spoke with professionals who use work gloves when temperatures drop. One such expert was George Matusyan, the owner and operational manager of United Windows Pro, a window repair company based around Denver and Chicago (places that certainly gets cold enough to warrant a pair of work gloves!). His advice was to strike a balance between insulation and dexterity. “Consider gloves that employ a layered approach; opt for ones boasting removable liners or those engineered to offer an optimal balance between insulation and tactile sensitivity.”

With this expert advice in mind, we wanted to ensure that we were recommending only the best winter work gloves, so we put these pairs through a series of tests to prove their worthiness. We used them for various winter-related activities, such as splitting and gathering wood, driving nails with a hammer, and general yard cleanup. We also wanted to test their dexterity, so we opened and used a pocket knife and picked up screws off the tailgate of a truck to ensure we could do these tasks while wearing each glove. Some gloves allowed us to do these tasks, while others couldn’t, but we needed to know more about how each glove performed.

We filled a cooler full of ice. For a day, we donned a pair of winter work gloves, placed our hands on top of the ice, and handled loose ice in our palms. While far from scientific, we assessed how quickly our hands started to chill and whether water was able to penetrate the glove. At that point, we had a clearer picture of how well these gloves would work over the winter (along with some chapped digits).

Our Top Picks

These winter work gloves will keep hands warm and dry, and there’s an option for almost any situation or project. Read on for in-depth information about each carefully selected product and opinions from our hands-on testing.

Best Overall

Wells Lamont Deerskin Leather Winter Work Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: Leather and Thinsulate
• Waterproof: No
• Touch screen: No

Pros

• Very soft and breathe well, allowing users to wear them all day comfortably
• Thin enough to manipulate a pocket knife but durable enough to not wear down
• 100-grams insulation keeps hands warm in very cold weather

Cons

• Does not have a waterproof construction; may not be suitable for some winter activities

Made from traditional materials and with a classic look, the Wells Lamont Deerskin Leather Winter Work Gloves offer ample abrasion resistance and multiple layers of protection from the cold to keep hands warm and safe.

These gloves’ deerskin exterior is tough but flexible and relatively lightweight compared to rawhide gloves. They feature 100-gram 3M Thinsulate to help retain body heat and resist the cold. There’s also a comfortable fleece lining and an elastic wristband to promote optimal fit and keep out wind and snow.

While these Wells Lamont gloves are not waterproof, our hands stayed dry for quite a while when resting them on ice and handling the ice. Also, the insulation kept our fingers warm throughout the test, despite the 33-degree Fahrenheit temps inside the cooler. They were thin enough that we could manipulate a pocket knife but also durable enough that they didn’t wear down when swinging the axe or hammer, partly thanks to the double layer of leather at the base of the thumb. They were also the softest in testing and breathed well, making them very comfortable for all-day wear or even driving to the job site on cold mornings.

Get the Wells Lamont Deerskin winter work gloves at Amazon or Blain’s Farm & Fleet.

Runner-Up

Wells Lamont HydraHyde Insulated Leather Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: Leather and Thinsulate
• Waterproof: Water-resistant
• Touch screen: No

Pros

• Water-resistant treatment works well for keeping fingers dry in cold weather
• 100-gram insulation retains body heat and keeps fingertips comfortable
• Reinforced, textured palm allows for better grip in slippery conditions

Cons

• Not all users may like the faux stitching on the back of the glove
• A bit bulky, so picking up small items can be a bit more difficult

For folks who like the feel of leather gloves but need enhanced performance, the Wells Lamont HydraHyde Leather Winter Work Gloves might be the way to go. Made of cowhide, they feature a patented water-resistant treatment to keep snow and rain from penetrating.

Inside these gloves is a 100-gram 3M Thinsulate insulation and a fleece lining. A thick elastic wristband keeps heat in and moisture out, while a reinforced leather patch in the palm promotes better grip on slippery surfaces and provides abrasion resistance and protection.

There is a lot to like about these gloves from Wells Lamont. First, we appreciated the doubled palm pad with the rough side out, as it boosted grip and durability. Also, the elastic wristband kept the cold out, but more importantly, the water-resistant treatment kept our fingers bone-dry when working with the ice during testing. We did find the faux stitching on the back of the glove a little cheesy, but the durable construction and soft leather make up for it. Also, this pair was a little bulky, which made picking up small items a little more challenging than our best overall pick.

Get the Wells Lamont HydraHyde insulated leather gloves at Amazon or Blain’s Farm & Fleet.

Best Bang for the Buck

G&F Products 1628 Waterproof Winter Work Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: Latex, nylon, acrylic
• Waterproof: Yes
• Touch screen: No

Pros

• Latex coating makes these exceptionally waterproof; suitable for working outdoors
• The grip texture on the palm and fingers offers plenty of traction, even when they’re wet
• Good stretch to support range of motion; the knit cuff keeps them in place

Cons

• Synthetic materials don’t allow the gloves to breathe well

Shoveling snow may never be fun, but it could be easier on the digits with these G&F Products gloves. They boast high-quality waterproofing, thanks to a nylon shell with multiple layers of waterproof latex. The orange latex coating protects the entire glove, and the black foam layer creates plenty of grip and a durable surface—suitable for just about any

outside project

.

It’s not just the outside that makes these gloves winter-ready. Inside the glove is a layer of acrylic terry material to help retain body heat and protect skin. They come in several different sizes, so most folks should be able to find a proper fit.

It was really hard not to choose these gloves as the best overall. First, they proved to be waterproof during the ice test, thanks to the rubberized latex coating all around the glove. The textured fingers could get a grip on almost any surface, including the wet bags of ice and the cooler, even when the gloves themselves were wet. These gloves have some stretch to them, but we found they stayed in place nicely while swinging the hammer. They did get a little hot inside, however, as that latex prevents them from breathing at all.

Get the G&F winter work gloves at Amazon, The Home Depot, or Walmart.

Best Heavy-Duty

Wells Lamont Heavy-Duty Leather Palm Work Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: Leather and fabric
• Waterproof: Water-resistant
• Touch screen: No

Pros

• Durable rough-out palm to improve grip and durability
• Natural water resistance keeps hands dry during most jobs
• Thick cuff locks glove in place, preventing the glove from slipping off during work

Cons

• Water can penetrate the fabric backing; may not be ideal in some professional areas

Whatever project is at hand, the Wells Lamont Heavy-Duty Winter Leather Palm Work Gloves likely can handle it. These pigskin gloves are naturally water-resistant while also being extremely tough and abrasion-resistant.

The gloves feature 100-gram 3M Thinsulate insulation and fleece-lined interior layers to keep hands toasty. The knit wrist is extra long to keep the gloves in place yet can also fit nicely under a work coat’s sleeves. The gloves’ backside is made of a breathable fabric with a leather knuckle strap, allowing a bit of breathability to reduce sweating and overheating.

These gloves are tough, making them great for heavy-duty use. Our hands stayed dry throughout most of the icy cooler test, though water did get through the fabric back. However, that fabric allowed for breathability while the knuckle strap across the top protected knuckles. The rough-out palm provided grip, even when holding wet objects, but it also didn’t show any wear during our test, including when splitting and picking up wood.

The size that we received was pretty large, but the thickly knit cuff locked the glove into place on our wrists. Finer movements like picking up small objects or opening a knife were totally out of the question, though, since the gloves were so thick (and, in our case, oversized).

Get the Wells Lamont leather palm work gloves at Amazon, Ace Hardware, or Blain’s Farm & Fleet.

Best Multilayer

Carhartt Waterproof Insulated Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: Polyester and polyurethane
• Waterproof: Yes
• Touch screen: No

Pros

• Tough polytex exterior is light and free-moving, making these gloves very comfortable
• Waterproof interior layer keeps hands dry; fleece lining keeps hands warm, even in icy conditions
• Polyurethane palm and fingertips are more durable than a traditional ski glove

Cons

• Very little dexterity to offer due to the layers

Carhartt’s Waterproof Insulated Winter Work Gloves offer three layers of cold-weather protection, including a durable polytex exterior shell, a waterproof layer, and a FastDry fleece lining. (While Carhartt describes the waterproof layer as an insert, it is not removable, as we noticed in testing.) On the exterior, the polyurethane palm and fingers add plenty of grip. These work gloves also feature long fleece cuffs to keep wrists warm and dry. They come in a wide range of sizes and four colors.

In testing, these gloves were very warm and did an excellent job of keeping our hands dry. They’re more like ski-style gloves, but they’d be great for shoveling or snow blowing, and their waterproof polyurethane palm and fingers held up well during testing. Also, the polytex feels durable enough for light-duty work, but the range of movement is unrestricted. That said, we found that the insulation and layers made fine movements, such as picking up smaller items or opening pocket knives, too difficult.

Get the Carhartt waterproof insulated gloves at Amazon or Boot Barn.

Best Dexterity

Mechanix Wear Coldwork Original Winter Work Gloves

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Product Specs

• Material: SoftShell, synthetic leather, Thinsulate
• Waterproof: Water-resistant
• Touch screen: Yes

Pros

• Enough grip for picking up small items, opening a pocket knife, tying boots, answering calls
• Thin layer of fleece keeps hands warm without making gloves too bulky to use
• Durable synthetic leather can handle hard-wearing tasks without showing any wear

Cons

• Unable to send a coherent text message with these gloves on

Anyone shopping for a pair of winter work gloves that lets them operate a smartphone while keeping their hands warm should consider these winter work gloves by Mechanix Wear. These gloves use a wind-resistant softshell exterior to provide flexibility and dexterity, as well as a C40 3M Thinsulate and an inner micro-fleece lining.

The synthetic leather palm and fingers on these gloves provide plenty of gripping power for most projects—with double layering for some of the most heavily used areas of the palm. The fingertips are carbon-infused so a smartphone can recognize the user’s touch without removing their gloves. There’s even a Velcro cuff to secure these gloves in place.

This glove provided so much range of movement and the ability to grip small items that it ranked as the best for dexterity. The Work Gear gloves maintained their warmth despite their dexterity. While the glove is insulated with a layer of fleece, it proved thin enough to handle a variety of tasks, from opening a knife to picking up small objects—even tying boots and using a cell phone (though unfortunately, texting was out of the question).

The synthetic leather appears to be extremely tough as well, taking everything we threw at it without showing wear. These weren’t the warmest gloves in the test, but they did keep the water at bay for a while during the test.

Get the Mechanix Wear winter work gloves at