A blend of fashion tastes, practicality and technical aspects, riding style and conditions, personal preferences and (of course) price all get poured into the mix when it comes to choosing what you wear on your hands. There are numerous offerings from both hardwear and specialist softwear manufacturers. This guide is aimed at putting your priorities in place, and making your ultimate decision easier.

Fashion Tastes: These should be the least of your worries, and extend no further than ‘do I like the colourways’ offered’.

Practicality and Technical Aspects: Can be the most bewildering area. Conventional wisdom is for a GoreTex type of outer layer, with a Thinsulate type of liner. The thicker or greater number the layers so the the greater the insulation, but with the trade-off that thicker gloves = less sensitivity. Fumbling with bindings halfway down a mesmerisingly difficult Black Run is particularly annoying, more so when you have six extra-thick sausages instead of fingers. There are also extras: gizmos to wipe your goggles clear, or maybe a nice soft patch to help clear a snotty nose. Thin Liner Gloves can also be used to insulate lighter weight gloves, as an option.

Riding Style and Conditions: From Freeriding to Slopestyle and Off-Piste Powder to Snow Park, there are gloves for all. Mitts tend to be warmer and more water-resisitant, with less surface area and fewer stitches piercing through that waterproofed material. Gloves offer more dexterity for grabbing drag lifts or adjusting boots. Both can come in long over (keeps out powder), or under (looks ‘cooler’ to some) the jacket cuff. Short gloves or mitts should be fine in the snow-park or on bluebird days, but will probably be uncomfortably cold if the temp drops or the wind picks up. Longer gloves also offer better protection when the going gets iffy and the possibility of skin to ice/rock contact rises.

In a later guide we’ll be looking at some specific gloves, and what they’re best suited to.