Come winter time, the only way to keep your hands toasty while also maintaining their mobility, is to invest in some thin gloves. In this article, we’ve reviewed the 5 best thin gloves for extreme cold on the market.

Introduction

Frozen fingers have got to be one of the worst aspects of the winter season. The moment you step outside, your fingers grow stiff and you can’t get any work done. Even texting from your phone feels like a pain. Sure, people wear gloves to keep their fingers warm. But most gloves are so thick that you can’t use it for touch screen, typing on a keyboard, or texting. In order to do any of that, you have to keep taking your hands out of the gloves.

However, you can avoid all of that by purchasing thin gloves for extreme cold. Thin gloves are usually made of materials that can keep your hands warm without hindering their mobility. They leave your fingers nimble enough to perform all acts, including texting.

There are a lot of great thin gloves for extreme cold out there. All of them are made of different materials and have different features. As such, it’s important to know which thin glove is ideal for your specific needs.

We took the liberty to try out dozens of the best thin gloves for extreme cold on the market so you don’t have to! In addition to trying them on, we’ve also consulted several clothing experts on their choices. In this article, we’ve compiled all our findings to provide an overview of the 5 best thin gloves for extreme cold.

Best Thin Gloves for Extreme Cold 2020

Best Thin Gloves for Extreme ColdEditors RatingCheck Price
Mountain Made Outdoor Gloves5 Stars
Pearl iZUMi Thermal Lite4 Stars
Arcteryx Rivet Ski Glove4 Stars
The North Face3.5 Stars
Glacier Glove ICE BAY3.5 Stars

1. Mountain Made Outdoor Gloves

Mountain Made Outdoor Gloves are an extremely versatile pair of thin gloves for externe cold, and they can be worn by both men and women. They are largely meant for sporting activities like hiking, skiing, driving, and other activities that require a firm grip.

These gloves are made with a combination of polyester, spandex, and PVC rubber. They’re also pretty rich in terms of features. The fingertips of these gloves are touchscreen-friendly so you can use the phone whenever you want. Furthermore, the fingertips are thin enough that you won’t end up hitting a dozen different keys simultaneously. They also have thermal heat preservation properties to keep the gloves insulated and warm for a long time. If you’re worried about germs and bacteria, you’re in luck because they have an anti-bacterial property as well.

Mountain Made Outdoor Gloves

  • Made of polyester, spandex, and PVC rubber.
  • Touchscreen friendly tips.
  • Thermal Heat preservation properties.
  • Anti-bacterial material.
  • Stretchable. 
Pros
  • Great features.
  • Great grip.
  • Multi-purpose and can be used for a wide range of tasks.
Cons
  • None.

Mountain Made Outdoor Gloves are undoubtedly the best thin gloves for externe cold because they have the most extensive set of features amongst all other gloves.

2. Pearl iZUMi Thermal Lite

Pearl iZUMi Thermal Lite is an extremely sleek and stylish pair of thin gloves for extreme cold. Furthermore, as one of the cheapest insulated thin gloves out there, it’s a total steal!

In terms of warmth, they’re far superior to all of the other thin gloves out there. They’re made of PRO thermal Lite fabric, which provides warmth in the coldest of circumstances. The fingertips come with Silicone linings — and they’re stylistically marked as well — to provide better grip and traction. They’re also extremely lightweight.

The biggest issue with these gloves is that they’re not very functional. Despite the silicone grip, you can’t use them for texting or typing, or even operating larger tools.

Pearl iZUMi Thermal Lite

  • PRO thermal Lite fabric.
  • Silicone screened finger tips. 
Pros
  • Cheap.
  • Good grip.
  • Stylish.
  • Extremely warm.
Cons
  • Not functional.

Pearl iZUMi Thermal Lite is the best pair of thin gloves for extreme cold if your main aim is to keep warm and you’re not worried about using your fingers a lot.

3. Arcteryx Rivet Ski Glove

As the name suggests, this Arcteryx Rivet Ski Glove is meant largely for people who want to go skiing or engaging in other similar heavy-duty tasks. However, they’re also pretty solid when it comes to dexterity because you have complete mobility in all your fingers. One of the greatest accomplishments of these gloves is that they manage to be breathable, while also preserving heat, while simultaneously protecting the hands from harsh winds.

Arcteryx Rivet Ski Glove

  • Made of durable Polartec Power Stretch fleece.
  • DWR treated exterior ensures wind and snow are kept at bay.
  • Leather reinforced surface for durability and strength.
  • Touchscreen-friendly imprints.
  • Stretchy fabric. 
Pros
  • Provides great mobility on the fingers.
  • Can be used for a wide range of uses.
  • Durable.
  • Wind and snow resistant.
Cons
  • Customers complain that they stain your hands black.
  • Expensive.

This Arcteryx Rivet Ski Glove had the potential to be the best thin gloves for extreme cold out there. They have all the great features, however, the material stains your hands black, which is a big deal breaker for most people.

4. The North Face

The North Face is one of the most aesthetically appealing pair of thin gloves for extreme cold, and they’re available in Black, Grey, and Cherry Brown. The Radiametric Articulation™ technology ensures that the hands are kept in their natural position, thus ensuring mobility and dexterity as well. It’s made of a Polartec Power Stretch material which is flexible, highly durable, and keeps your fingers nimble.

The North Face

 

  • Made of Polartec Power Stretch material.
  • Use of Radiametric Articulation™ technology.
  • Available in 3 colors. 
Pros
  • Flexible and durable.
  • Attractive.
Cons
  • No touchscreen friendliness.
  • Can be expensive.

The North Face is a great pair of thin gloves for extreme cold if you care about aesthetics. However, they’re not functional due to a lack of a firm grip or touchscreen imprints.

5. Glacier Glove ICE BAY

Glacier Glove ICE BAY is the best thin gloves for extreme cold and rain. If you live in a place where you receive cold showers often, these are the ideal pair of gloves for you as they’re 100% waterproof. They are made of 2MM Fleece Lined Neoprene that are extremely comfortable and durable, while still offering moderate mobility. Your fingers won’t be noble enough to handle the phone, but you can handle other tasks requiring the whole hand. These gloves were originally meant for fishing purposes.

Glacier Glove ICE BAY

  • Waterproof.
  • Made of 2MM Fleece Lined Neoprene.
  • Has a Sharkskin Texture. 
Pros
  • Waterproof.
  • Comfortable and durable.
Cons
  • No touchscreen imprints.
  • Not very nimble.

Glacier Glove ICE BAY are the ideal gloves for people living in cold and rainy climates.

Factors to Consider when Buying Thin Gloves for Extreme Cold

In this part of the article, we’ll list out some of the most important factors and features you should look into when buying thin gloves for extreme cold.

Purpose

Gloves are meant for different purposes. And different people have different requirements. A person working on a desk job might need their hands to type, text, make coffee, etc. Someone working out on the field might need to handle tools like spades, axes, or other tools requiring a firm handhold.

Material

If your hands are generally used for light tasks, you don’t have to worry about the strength of the material too much. However, if you do field work, you’ll need an extremely tough and durable pair of gloves. A great multipurpose material to consider is polyester in combination with some PVC rubber. This keeps the material light, flexible, yet durable.

You also need to consider the amount of protection your hands generally need. For example, if you regularly handle hazardous material, you should use a non-porous and tough (but thin) material like leather. While leather doesn’t provide a lot of warmth, you can find thin gloves wherein the inner lining is warm and the exterior is made of leather.

Lining

The lining of the glove is crucial as that’s where all the warmth comes from. Furthermore, the way the lining is positioned also determines the amount of insulation that the glove provides. The lining should be made of a warm material, but it should be comfortable enough to wear long term.

Furthermore, you should consider whether you want a removable lining. On the positive note, a removable lining is easier to clean. However, it’s also harder to maintain.

Fitting

The glove must fit your hands properly for comfort. If there’s absolutely no space at the end of your fingertips, the glove will offer no insulation as it won’t trap any air. As such, you can’t get tight fitting gloves.

Furthermore, they shouldn’t be short enough that they leave empty space between the end of your glove and your coat sleeves. There’s nothing more annoying than having to constantly adjust ill-fitting gloves.

Touch-Screen Friendly

This is one of the most important factors in this day and age. Some gloves come with unique markings on the tip of the fingers that allow them to be used on touch screens. You should get those gloves. If you get regular gloves, you’ll constantly have to remove your gloves to handle your phone.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you find the best thin gloves for extreme cold, and I hope they suit your needs. As you can see, we’ve selected a wide range of thin gloves with different features. One of the most important factors we considered was how touchscreen friendly they are since that’s an important aspect of our lives.

We’ve also provided you with a Buyer’s Guide at the end of this article so you know exactly which features to watch out for when buying thin gloves for extreme cold. If you have any other questions about the best thin gloves for extreme cold, feel free to mention them down in the comments section.