Chilly dipping is not for the faint of heart. The sport which sees veritable polar enthusiasts plunging themselves into terrifyingly icy water in the depths of winter requires training, steady acclimatisation and immense dedication - not to mention proper kit.
If you’re considering taking up cold water swimming or plunging but don’t know where to start, heed our foremost warning: it’s not something that should be done in a standard swimsuit, bikini or trunks. Unless you were born and raised among the Monroes of the Scottish Highlands and find solace in Arctic temperatures, you’ll need to invest in some cold water swimming gear.
Wetsuits and dry robes are essential. The former is often made from neoprene for supreme insulation. The latter, a humble changing robe, will keep you marvellously toasty before and after your polar dip. Changing robes are often oversized with raglan sleeves, which makes changing inside of them and in the wild an absolute breeze, without feeling a breeze.
True arctic swimmers will also invest in additional kit to keep the extremities warm - namely the head, fingers and toes, through which we lose the most heat.
What to consider before purchasing a pair of gloves for cold water swimming
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best gloves for plunging or swimming in icy cold waters.
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Waterproof gloves for cold water swims
Zone 3 Neoprene Heat-Tech Warmth Swim Glove
Triathlon-approved, these high-tech swim gloves will enhance your cold water performance by preventing all-important heat from escaping your fingertips. Featuring high-stretch, 3.5mm neoprene with a heat-tech lining and double-bound, stitched and bonded seams – they’re a confidently watertight pair of mitts that can tuck into a wetsuit.
In ensuring you have feeling in your hands after the swimming portion of the triathlon, you’ll be able to grip onto the handlebars of your bike with smug ease.
Buy now £39.00, Zone 3
Zone 3 Thermo-tech Warmth Swim Mitts
Those who participate in cold-weather sports know that mittens, while not as dextrous as finger gloves, provide superior warmth by keeping the fingers together.
Zone 3 has taken that simple truth and applied it to a fabulous pair of cold water swimming mittens, fabricated from a durable 3.5mm double-lined neoprene with a 3D-printed palm for enhanced grip.
Buy now £39.00, Zone 3
PAWHITS Wetsuit Gloves 3mm Neoprene Gloves Thermal Anti-slip Diving Gloves
Crafted from a 3mm thick neoprene and nylon blend, these wetsuit gloves by PAWHITS may be cheap and cheerful – but they certainly do the trick.
With a remarkable thermal performance and impressive lifespan, they also feature an anti-slip design on the palm to help you get in and out of freezing water with ease.
Buy now £11.50, Amazon
Summshall Neoprene Gloves
Available in either 3mm or 5mm thickness, Summshall’s neoprene swimming gloves are a stylish investment in your cold water kit. We’re big fans of the easy-to-spot, galaxy design on the shell of these insulating mitts which feature an anti-slip palm and a seamless glue design.
Buy now £11.50, Amazon
Plunge-proof gloves for cold-water dips
GORE WEAR Thermal Gloves, C5, GORE-TEX
Harness the power of GORE-TEX with gloves made from the hardwearing fabric. The unisex design is more than a match for cold weather conditions, resistant to water and wind while remaining blissfully breathable. Foam padding offers additional insulation and comfort while synthetic leather palms aid grip.
Buy now £63.74, Amazon
Sealskinz Anmer Waterproof All Weather Ultra Grip Glove
Ready to take Brat summer into winter? Sealskinz neon gloves lead the way with the bonus that the shade makes them particularly hard to lose in a drawer or cupboard.
Available in S to XL sizes, they may be breathable but they're also waterproof and finished with a grip formation on the fingers that makes using touchscreens with them on easy peasy. Also available in bright blue and black options.
Buy now £45.00, Sealskinz
GripGrab Windster 2 Windproof Winter gloves
Purveyors of good, reliable gloves, GripGrab, has an impressive range to suit varying levels of coldness throughout the autumn and winter months - so you can choose accordingly depending on the weather forecast. This pair will protect you from the windchill throughout your ride, even on those colder crisp days.
As an upgrade from the original Windster gloves, the 2.0 uses a premium windproof stretch fabric on the top of the glove and a soft fleece inner lining layer that’ll keep your digits cosy, comfy and functional. The outer layer is covered in a durable water-repellent coating so any light rain or spray will wick away. Despite all of this layering though, these gloves are highly breathable so even if you manage to work up a bit of a sweat on a cold day, your hands will stall well regulated.
The palms are perfectly padded and you’re assured of the usual high level of grip that we expect from GripGrab along with the usual nice touches of reflective detailing. The sweat wiper on the thumb is a nice touch. What’s more, these gloves are made up of a total of 80 per cent recycled materials.
Buy now £64.99, Amazon
Gore Wear GTX Infinium Thermo Split Gloves
We opted to test out the neon yellow version (the other option is pure black) for added visibility on an evening ride home from work. If you’re seeking extra hand warmth for bitterly cold winter bike rides (hello January!) these Thermo gloves are the answer with their proud boast of ‘keeping the warmth in and the weather out’.
At first, we thought the split-finger (thumb and pointer/gear changer finger are separate) would be annoying but actually, it worked really well. Touchscreen is built into the pointer fingertip, although this is- a little clunky due to the padding.,
Buy now £45.00, Sigma Sports
Simond waterproof mountaineering gloves - sprint
Whether you're fiddling with the car engine, raking the lawn or taking the weekly shop home, manage fiddly tasks without taking your gloves off in this waterproof Simond design. The back of the hands are covered with a membrane softshell fabric to keep your extremities warm while the adjustable wrists have a link to keep them together in storage. No losing one to the abyss at the back of the cupboard.
Buy now £29.99, Decathlon
Montana Utility Gloves
The perfect insulating pair of gloves for the outdoorsy type, the Montana Utility Gloves by The North Face are completely waterproof and designed to create an impenetrable barrier to rain and snow.
They’re windproof yet breathable and made with Heatseeker synthetic insulation for warmth even in the dampest conditions. The Dryvent insert helps to keep hands dry, while eTip functionality means you’ll be able to use your touchscreen device.
Buy now £50.00, The North Face
RAINS Gloves
Rains has become the go-to outerwear brand when wet conditions strike - an all-too-frequent occurrence in wintry London. Keep hands warm and dry whether you’re battling mist or a torrential downpour with these coated black slip-on gloves, which feature neoprene on the palm side for insulation. The thumb and forefinger are touchscreen-compatible.
Buy now £45.00, RAINS
Elmer Deep Pile Gloves
Stylish, practical and subtly touchscreen-compatible, these deep pile gloves from Elmer come in an array of delightful colour combinations. Like wearing miniature high-tech fleeces on each hand, the gloves have a 100 per cent wool shell for supreme warmth and a 100 per cent polyester lining for durability and sweat-wicking.
The elasticated ribbed cuff ensures that if you find yourself in snowy and/or rainy conditions, none of that inclement weather can find its way into your mitts. Be warned, only the thumbs on these gloves are suitable for use with a touchscreen. Taking photos on a snowy hike will be a breeze, but typing lengthy texts might be slightly more difficult.
Buy now £79.00, END
