Picking the right winter hiking gloves comes down to one question first, and it isn’t the number printed on the label. It’s what your hands actually need to do out there. For an all-rounder that handles wind and wet snow equally well, the Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves is our top pick thanks to its modular design. For mountaineering and ski touring, where every carabiner clip matters, the Salewa Ortles Durastretch takes the lead. For light urban wear with real touchscreen needs, the North Face Etip does exactly its job and nothing more.
- Best overall: Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves, the 2-in-1 system that adapts to whatever the sky throws at you
- Best for technical dexterity: Salewa Ortles Durastretch, for handling ropes, ice screws and ski bindings without fumbling
- Best for light urban use: The North Face Etip Recycled, keeps your touchscreen working without adding bulk
Table of contents
- The comparison: warmth, dexterity, waterproofing
- Why layering beats one thick glove
- Winter hiking gloves and dexterity, the compromise most get wrong
- What wet snow reveals about waterproofing and breathability
- Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves
- Salewa Ortles Durastretch
- The North Face Etip Recycled
- Best pick for your use case
Warmth against dexterity against waterproofing
None of these three gloves ticks every box at once, and that’s exactly what should steer your choice. Black Diamond leans into weather versatility. Salewa leans into precision handling. North Face leans into everyday connectivity. Here’s how they stack up on the three things that matter when your hands are cold.
| Model | Warmth level | Dexterity | Waterproofing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves | Manufacturer range -9°C to 0°C | Good, thumb and index touch inserts | Excellent with the storm hood (20,000mm membrane), none without it |
| Salewa Ortles Durastretch | Moderate on the move, limited when static in real cold | Excellent, pre-shaped fingers and flexible softshell | Moderate, DWR treatment but no full membrane |
| The North Face Etip Recycled | Low, built for activity or short use | Excellent, touchscreen on all 5 fingers | None, neither waterproof nor windproof |
Why layering beats one thick glove
We covered this exact principle for jackets in our best Gore-Tex hiking jackets comparison: stacking several thin, complementary layers beats one thick piece that’s supposed to do everything. The same logic applies to your hands. A thin layer against the skin that moves moisture out, an insulating layer that traps warmth, and an outer shell that blocks wind and water once the weather turns.
The Black Diamond Gridtech builds this logic into a single product. The fleece glove handles the breathable insulating role, and the removable 3-layer nylon storm hood adds a shell the moment wind picks up or snow turns wet. On ultralight hiking forums, the trick that comes up most often for pushing this glove into deep winter is slipping a thin merino liner underneath, which effectively rebuilds the full three-layer system.
The Salewa works differently. There’s no removable outer shell, everything is built into one softshell piece lined with merino wool. That’s a deliberate trade for anyone who wants feel and precision over modularity. The North Face Etip, meanwhile, slots naturally into the liner role under a bulky ski mitt, exactly how reviewers who wear it through winter describe using it.
Winter hiking gloves and dexterity, the compromise most get wrong
A good winter glove needs to let you grip a trekking pole, pull out your phone for a photo, or check a compass without stripping your hands bare every time. Most heavily insulated gloves sacrifice this first, chasing maximum warmth until any precise task becomes impossible.
The North Face Etip is the clearest example of this trade-off, in both directions. Its Etip U|R Powered tech covers all five fingers, not just the index like on entry-level gloves, so you can type a message or run a GPS app without ever taking them off. In exchange, this is the thinnest of the three, and the one that loses heat fastest under 0°C.
Salewa tackles the problem from another angle. Its anatomically pre-shaped fingers and stretchy softshell fabric give near-bare-hand precision for clipping a carabiner or adjusting a ski binding, without leaning on touchscreen tech at all. Black Diamond sits in between, with touch inserts limited to thumb and index, enough to unlock a phone but less precise than a fully touchscreen-capable glove.
What wet snow reveals about waterproofing and breathability
Dry powder snow won’t expose a single one of these gloves. Wet snow, the kind you get late in the day or right around 0°C, is what shows which of the three keeps water out.
Black Diamond performs best once the storm hood is deployed. Its rated 20,000mm membrane blocks rain and wet snow effectively while still letting sweat escape during hard effort. Salewa handles dry snow and light weather well thanks to its PFC-free DWR treatment, but it doesn’t rely on a fully sealed membrane, so heavy rain or soaked snow will eventually get through. The North Face Etip has neither a waterproof treatment nor windproofing at all, it’s built for dry conditions and quickly overwhelmed once snow starts melting in your palm.
On breathability, Black Diamond’s grid fleece moves moisture out well during hard effort like a ski touring ascent, and Salewa’s Alpine Merino Responsive lining does the same job while avoiding overheating on intense climbs. Two different approaches aiming at the same result: keeping hands dry from the inside, not just shielded from the outside.
Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves
At 60 grams a pair, the Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves answers a simple problem: what do you do when the weather flips three times on the same outing? The fleece glove alone breathes well and keeps good freedom of movement for trail running or fast-hiking. The moment wind picks up or rain shows up, the removable nylon storm hood deploys in seconds and turns the glove into near-waterproof protection.
In the field, hikers who use them for pitching a tent in the rain or blocking a cold gust praise this instant switch the most. The wrist opening for a GPS watch avoids creating a cold gap mid-hike, and the silicone grip on the palm holds trekking poles well.
Pros
- Weather versatility thanks to the removable storm hood
- Good moisture management under effort
- Thoughtful details, GPS watch notch and thumb/index touch inserts
- Excellent silicone grip on the palm
Cons
- Too light alone for static use or Raynaud’s-type cold sensitivity
- The folded storm hood creates a small bulge at the wrist, awkward under a tight sleeve
- No abrasion reinforcement on the palm, skip these for heavy rope work
Salewa Ortles Durastretch
The Salewa Ortles Durastretch is built around one specific problem: actually feeling what you’re handling while moving fast, whether on a ski touring ascent or ice climbing. The goat leather palm takes repeated friction against a rope or an ice axe handle in stride, while the Alpine Merino Responsive lining regulates heat without turning your hand into a sweaty mess on a hard climb.
This is a softshell glove, built for precision rather than the piste. On static stretches at camp or a belay in real cold, it shows its limits fast, and its PFC-free DWR treatment handles dry snow but not a persistent downpour. Salewa also makes a warmer, fully waterproof version (Ortles Powertex) for anyone who wants something other than pure dexterity, but that’s not what this model is built for.
Pros
- Exceptional dexterity thanks to pre-shaped fingers
- Smart thermal regulation under hard effort
- Goat leather palm holds up well against abrasion
- Short, stretchy cuff that tucks neatly under a jacket
Cons
- Not warm enough when static in real cold
- No fully waterproof membrane, saturates under heavy rain
The North Face Etip Recycled
The The North Face Etip Recycled knows exactly what it is: a thin, urban-friendly glove, worlds away from an expedition piece. Its Etip U|R Powered tech covers all five fingers with a silicone palm grip that holds a phone well, and the build uses 93% recycled polyester. It’s the obvious pick for a daily commute, a cool-morning run, or as a discreet liner tucked under a bulky mitt.
Its limit is clear and North Face doesn’t hide it, this sits at the lowest warmth tier in the range, with no waterproof or windproof treatment. One more thing to flag, the current version lost some of the stretch at the wrist compared to older versions, which can make it harder to pull on over wider hands. Size up if you’re on the fence rather than fight a stiff seam every time.
Pros
- Touchscreen compatibility on all 5 fingers, the best of the three
- Light and comfortable for everyday wear
- Good silicone grip for holding a phone
- High share of recycled materials
Cons
- The lowest warmth level of the three, unsuited to static use under 0°C
- Neither waterproof nor windproof
- Stiffer wrist than before, try it on first if your hands are wide
Best pick for your use case
| Best overall | Black Diamond Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves, for adapting to weather that keeps changing |
| Best for mountaineering and ski touring | Salewa Ortles Durastretch, for a level of handling precision neither of the other two matches |
| Best for urban and touchscreen use | The North Face Etip Recycled, for daily wear and short outings in dry weather |
None of these three is built to sit still for hours in real cold, these are active gloves, built for movement rather than expedition-grade stillness. If that’s your main use case, look elsewhere. But for most hikers who move, sweat, stop, and move again, the choice between these three winter hiking gloves comes down to one honest question: what exactly are your hands going to do between two pairs pulled too fast out of your pack. Worth checking too is your 72-hour survival kit, which should already include a dry spare pair, and your winter firewood stock if you’re heading home from a cold outing to a stove that’s waiting. Our four survival terrains guide and our complete bushcraft guide round out the thinking on kitting out your extremities, and our piece on carbon monoxide risk in a closed shelter is worth reading before any winter night out.
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