How to Choose the Best Snowboarding Gloves

Step 1

If you have ever been on the mountain with the wrong pair of gloves, you know how miserable it can be. Follow these quick tips to purchasing snowboarding gloves, and your fingers will thank you.

Step 2

Temperature is a big factor in your choice of gloves. Gloves sometimes are rated on the tag for the optimal weather conditions by the company. A good rule of thumb is the thicker the material of the glove, the colder the weather that they should be used in.

Step 3

Snowboard gloves come in sizes ranging from small to extra large. It is important to buy well fitting gloves. If your gloves are too big for your hands, you will have trouble fastening and unfastening your binding straps as well as trouble getting into your jacket on the lift and so forth. Make sure that the glove fits comfortably around your hand to where there is no restriction of movement due to lack of space.

Step 4

Your style of riding is an important factor when choosing the right gloves to purchase. If your style of riding is more freeride, where you take long runs and spend little time in the terrain park, disregard the rest of this step and move onto the next. If your style is freestyle and you can be found at the park all day, you will want to get a pair of "pipe" gloves. These gloves are thinner than most gloves but allow for a better range of finger movement. Park runs tend to be shorter which means you will be strapping in and out frequently. They also are coated with a sticky surface on the palm and fingers for sticking those grabs.

Step 5

If you normally ride in warmer conditions where the snow tends to be slushy and is very wet, you will want to check out the waterproofing technology of the glove. I recommend buying gloves that are weatherproof sealed with Gore-Tex technology. Gloves treated this way are much more water resistant than gloves that offer an off-brand waterproofing technology.

Step 6

If you ride in more powdery conditions where snow is getting on you all the time, you should get a glove that has the option of going over the cuff. These gloves tend to be for colder temperatures and heavy snow conditions as it can be challenging to get them on and off. The other option is to get a pair that goes under the cuff. These tend to be much shorter and are good for warmer conditions where one will be taking the gloves on and off at a higher frequency.