Growing up in western New York meant embracing the cold, but not necessarily defeating it. As a kid, I shoveled snow, built snow forts, ice-skated … and always had cold hands.
While my winter gloves were thick, ballooned with insulation and advertised as waterproof, they were perpetually wet. And they never seemed to dry. I can still recall yanking on a pair in the morning and plunging my fingers into five sodden little pockets of snowmelt from the day prior. And good luck holding anything but a snow shovel with them.
Then I moved to the Pacific north-west, where I began bike-commuting year-round, working on my house in the cold and camping in shoulder seasons when evening temperatures dipped into the 20s. That’s how I discovered a better way: wearing two thinner pairs of gloves rather than one bulky pair. While I didn’t invent this approach, I still see a lot of people battling with overpriced, ineffective winter gloves for everyday wear, so I’d like to show you the merits of wearing two pairs of gloves, and why one of them should come from Home Depot, not REI.
At a glance
The best inner winter glove: M Mcguire Gear Wool Nylon Blend Glove Inserts
The best outer winter glove: ATG MaxiFlex Ultimate Work Gloves
What are the best two winter gloves for everyday cold?
I wear a combination of military surplus-style wool glove liners topped with a flexible, nitrile-palmed work glove like the ATG MaxiFlex Ultimate. That’s it. After trying about six pairs of work gloves, I found that none beat this jack-of-all-trades, which also performs well for its intended tasks such as hauling firewood and raking leaves.
The glove liners are unisex, and while the ATG gloves are listed as “men’s”, my wife has worn the small size without issue, and ATG does sell a women’s version. Buy them a size up from what you’d normally wear to accommodate the liner. You can buy both gloves in bulk and have enough to lose a few every winter (I always seem to).
I originally wore this combination for camping based on the advice of pro backpacker and outdoor legend Andrew Skurka, but then I found myself using them for bike commuting. And working outside in the cold. And walking in the neighborhood. And yes, I’ve tested these back in my native Rochester, New York, too. These are not a substitute for a heavy mitten in 0F temps, but for day-to-day wear through most of a North American winter, this is an unbeatable glove combo.
Why wear two pairs of gloves instead of one?
The inner glove: a wool liner. The outer glove: a thin-but-rugged work pair. This inexpensive duo keeps your hands as warm as a bulky gauntlet of a winter glove does, but solves almost all the problems that plague the latter.
First, you can still perform intricate tasks with your hands. I wear this combo to bike in 30F weather, and I can still brake, shift and handle the small key for my bike lock without removing gloves. I can even thumb open dog-poop bags on those soggy predawn dog walks.
The secret is the work glove’s nitrile-coated palm, which was built for manual labor instead of clumsy ski pole grabs. The material stretches and flexes almost like the latex on a surgical glove, with a pebbled, tacky texture that won’t wear off like those worthless little gripper dots on gloves from an outdoor store. Because the back of the hand has an open knit that breathes, I’ve never experienced sweaty hands like you would with a surgical glove.
That also means this combination isn’t totally waterproof, but I’ve found it matters way less than you’d think. Most gloves get wet from touching wet things, not rain falling on them, and the outer glove’s nitrile palm still protects you from, say, a wet handrail. If water seeps in through the back of the glove, the inner wool liner insulates your hands even when wet, unlike cotton or acrylic. I’ve ridden in enough downpours to know.
When both layers do (eventually) get damp, just peel them apart and let them dry in a matter of hours. And if they’re absolutely soaked, both of these gloves are affordable enough to break out a spare while another pair dries.
As a bonus, the wool liner tightens up after drying, eliminating that stretched-out bagginess some gloves get over time. I’ve used pairs for three or four years straight, and always seem to lose them before I can wear a pair out.
What should you know before buying two pairs of gloves?
My cheap wool liners require breaking in. They feel like something you’d pull out of a crate at a military surplus store because they pretty much are. They do soften up with a week or two of wear, but if you’d prefer comfort straight out of the box, Minus33 and Smartwool make merino versions that are a bit pricier. I’ve never tried them, but they’re almost certainly way more comfortable.
Though the ATG work glove operates with touchscreens on its own, after you add a wool liner all bets are off. Some touches register, some don’t. You’ll never type on a phone keyboard with them on, but I’ve found them sufficient for answering a call or killing an alarm. And it’s a small price to pay for warm hands in the middle of winter.
Finally, you’re not going to fool anyone into thinking this is anything but a work glove. This isn’t particularly problematic in Portland, where people routinely clomp around bars in bike cleats and day-glo raincoats, but the look may be more gauche in cities with a Prada store. But hey: all over, gorpcore is in.
Minus33Merino wool glove liners
SmartwoolLiner glove
