Warm and Durable Natural Gloves

I have started my own personal landfill with failed work gloves. There has to be a better way!

For warmer weather I've been okay with Wells Lamont leather ropers with the cinch back. Pretty tough and okay dexterity. If used when wet or to handle damp things (a seemingly unavoidable eventuality), the fingers wear out on my left index and middle finger. A bit of synthetic in them with the drawstring I could avoid, they don't do all that great a job of keeping debris out anyway. At $15 a pair, they seem to last okay and are cut better than the standard leather glove offerings at the home improvement places, but still have too much material in some fingers.

I've tried a few of the latex(?) dipped knit ones, but these don't seem to be the go-to ones and if they are put down for a season, the fake latex or whatever they use has ossified and/or glued itself to whatever it was sitting on. Super cheap, super easy to pollute the dump with.

Trying on insulated ones in the store, they all feel like ski gloves with no dexterity unless being compared with a mitten. In fact, at boot camp last winter I found plain, thin, uninsulated leather choppers to be my favourite selection for warmth and dexterity until I misplaced them.

I saw Mechanix gloves showing up in reviews positively. They fit well with better than average dexterity when trying them on, but none of the stores around me carry insulated pairs. I'm thinking of ordering some of these direct to give the thermal ones a shot. Unfortunately they are heavy on synthetic components, but if I can work better and they stay out of the landfill longer than the others, it may be the best compromise.

I see Bob Villa recommends Ironclad which are pretty close to Mechanix it seems.

I found some Merino wool lined leather ones at (ugh) Amazon, but the leather looks questionable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KGKSSSE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?smid=A1JKJ6V6EEU3HP&th=1&psc=1

Looking upscale, I'm seeing some leather ones with merino wool lining that look ranch work worthy: https://www.oldtradingpost.com/geier-winter-gloves-amp-mittens-c-558_557/deerskin-glove-with-merino-wool-lining-p-418.html

Any experience/recommendations with these or others?

I've worked outside a lot as an electrician, and my preference is wool shooters mittens.
They are fingerless wool gloves with a "mitten" flap that covers the fingers when manual dexterity is not needed.
They stay warm even when damp, and they wear well, since they have strategically placed leather pads.

William Bronson wrote:I've worked outside a lot as an electrician, and my preference is wool shooters mittens.
They are fingerless wool gloves with a "mitten" flap that covers the fingers when manual dexterity is not needed.
They stay warm even when damp, and they wear well, since they have strategically placed leather pads.

I was trying to skirt that whole can of worms, looking at designs other than regular gloves. I've long been a big fan of lobster (Nightcrawler) gloves with three fingers for things where limited dexterity is needed, like the controls of a bicycle or motorcycle. Having two fingers in each 'buddy' pouch is much closer to one big one for warmth than four individual ones.

I've also seen 'shooter' mittens where there are 3 fingers together and just the index trigger finger by itself. Never tried them as they seem designed to just make your index finger cold, though I guess one key element to both these and the lobster ones is just enough slack to be able to curl up all the fingers in the main pouch. I've ridden a bike with very thin lobster gloves in extremely cold weather using this 'feature', though the manufacturers themselves took a few more decades to figure it out.

What you are describing we used to call a 'glomitt'. I had a pair of synthetic ones and liked them, but the temperatures and tasks they were useful for was very limited. Do you have an example to point to of ones that you think are particularly good?

My main thrust in this thread is to isolate the possibilities and look for the best 5 finger insulated glove that allows enough dexterity for basic homestead work. I have a pair of oversized, fur lined leather mittens that would give me the glomitt effect (with a bit extra bulk) for doing shorter tasks in extreme cold weather...

Coydon Wallham wrote:For warmer weather I've been okay with Wells Lamont leather ropers with the cinch back. Pretty tough and okay dexterity. If used when wet or to handle damp things (a seemingly unavoidable eventuality), the fingers wear out on my left index and middle finger. A bit of synthetic in them with the drawstring I could avoid, they don't do all that great a job of keeping debris out anyway. At $15 a pair, they seem to last okay and are cut better than the standard leather glove offerings at the home improvement places, but still have too much material in some fingers.

...

Trying on insulated ones in the store, they all feel like ski gloves with no dexterity unless being compared with a mitten. In fact, at boot camp last winter I found plain, thin, uninsulated leather choppers to be my favourite selection for warmth and dexterity until I misplaced them.

I saw Mechanix gloves showing up in reviews positively. They fit well with better than average dexterity when trying them on, but none of the stores around me carry insulated pairs. I'm thinking of ordering some of these direct to give the thermal ones a shot. Unfortunately they are heavy on synthetic components, but if I can work better and they stay out of the landfill longer than the others, it may be the best compromise.

...

Looking upscale, I'm seeing some leather ones with merino wool lining that look ranch work worthy: https://www.oldtradingpost.com/geier-winter-gloves-amp-mittens-c-558_557/deerskin-glove-with-merino-wool-lining-p-418.html

Update on  last year's experience-
I ordered direct from Mechanix based on a sale and got 4 pairs to meet free shipping requirements:
Leather M-Pact Insulated Driver;
Coldwork Insulated FastFit Plus;
Coldwork Base Layer Covert;
and Leather Original.
I usually wear an 'L' or a 9 in gloves for girth around the hand, but have long fingers so order XL or 10 when they do not offer 'long' options. All of these were XL and fit well, even better than I'm used to, except the Coldwork Insulated FastFit Plus, which fit like a ski glove and was so bulky the fingers still felt too short.

The "Original" fit and felt great, I used it all of late fall in warmer weather to complete winter prep on my yurt and RMH. After a month or so, the index and middle finger seams had big splits. I'd say it was worth the money for the use I got out of it, but won't ignore the collateral costs of production and sending synthetic materials to linger in a landfill indefinitely.

The "Coldwork Base Layer" was similar. It had some insulation so was better as the weather turned colder, but had cheaper materials so blew out the seams even quicker.

The "Coldwork Insulated FastFit" felt like a ski glove. Too clumsy to do any fine construction work. At least they haven't worn out yet, because the M-pacts were all around better and got the use when needed:

The "M-pacts" fit amazingly well for how much insulation they have. The 'armour' on the back seems a bit silly and redundant with the insulation already present, I suppose they are marketing to heavy industrial users. These feel and work well so far, but I didn't need to do much fine work outside once it got cold enough to need these (and after the Coldwork Base Layers blew out). I'd say these were well worth the purchase price. Unfortunately, they were on clearance at the time. This is something I've noticed increasingly over the last decade when evaluating gear, 'successful' corporations phase out high quality, long lasting items in favour of over-specialized, mediocre offerings that have shorter lifespans.

I also spent the same amount as I did on the four above to buy the Old Trading Post ones that were all leather and wool (The M-pact had a good chunk of leather, but the others were mostly synthetic and all insulation was synthetic also). It took a long time to get them as the guy operating the store wasn't sure what was in stock or details about what he was selling. When I eventually got them, I found that the leather did not feel like any of the work gloves/ropers I had, but much softer like a suede or something. The wool is a bit bulky. Not sure if they might break in to be more comfortable, but because of the feel of the leather I put them in my truck and am keeping them for more light/emergency work.

I ended up buying some Wells Lamont ropers with synthetic fleece/thinsulate. I figure I know the outer leather is like my other ropers and will outlast the junk they build the regular Mechanix gloves with. These are a little more nimble than the M-pacts (though they lack the 'snug' feeling the elastic in the Mechanix give) and have been the go-tos when it gets just a bit cold.

Finally, when spring rolled around I held my nose and did some Amazon shopping based upon recommendations I found for other types of leather. The chart I went off claimed that pigskin was better for the conditions I was working in and destroying cowhide leathers with. Better for wet for sure, plus either abrasion and/or impact/cutting damage. I bought three different types and have yet to wear any of them out. But none are insulated and actually feel colder than cowhide so I will start a dedicated thread to those if I have the time some day...

Coydon -

I probably live in similar winter conditions to you, based on your profile location.  I am on the south shore, but surrounded by the Big Lake on three sides, so our winter temps are more coastal and less continental (at least until the big Lake freezes over) than further back from the water.  Iron River, or Amasa we're not.  Most years, we only see 20 or 25 below F on a rare still night.

Until conditions are colder than about 10F, I can get away with only wearing the Wells Lamont Roper gloves or equivalent, as long as I am otherwise properly attired for conditions.  Actually, I can't find the drawstring version locally, of late.  Yes, my hands may be cold for the first 15 or 20 minutes I'm outside, even a bit achy, but then the blood gets pumping and I'm OK.  An occasional teamster's warming may help.  I learned this as a kid when I had a morning paper route.  I could handle the newspapers without taking off the leather work gloves, and I wasn't directly touching aluminum storm door handles and the like.  A slight bit of misery early on prevented cold wet hands later.  It's a trade off, but I think it's a good trade.  I tend to have sweaty hands, so a little on the cool side is better for me than a little on the warm side.

I usually also have a pair of leather mittens, preferably with removable wool liners (and spare dry liners), especially if it's cold and/or I intend to be or suspect I could be outside for a long time.  Around here, the leather mittens are colloquially known as "choppers".  If I am standing around waiting for something to happen (e.g. the sled dogs to come through the checkpoint), or the weather really turns vicious, then I can swap to mittens.  If my hands get sweaty and the liners get damp, I can swap liners (the damp pair will usually dry inside my jacket due to body heat and natural air circulation).

A variation on this is to use glove liners (knitted wool or the Ropers) inside a pair of mitt shells.  In this case, the overmitts will probably need to be a size bigger than you'd customarily use.  You can whip off the overmitts for tasks requiring some dexterity, then pop them back on to stay warm.  I have a pair of OR Goretex overmitts with a long gauntlet cuff, but they have rubberized palms and thumbs.  The rubber is so grippy, it can be difficult to shift your grip on a tool handle.  They are also a bit sweaty, after while.  I mostly use those for really wet conditions - chipping ice off roofs, grovelling around in the snow digging for misplaced or buried items, packing snow in the IceBox Igloo maker, etc.  I think they were sold as ice climbing overmitts or some such by the local hardcore outdoor outfitter.

If I was trying to string fence wire or some other such thing which requires a fair level of dexterity, in cold conditions (below zero F/-20C), then I might need to rethink my approach.  Maybe the lobster claw mitts would be better in those conditions.  Mostly, I don't need to do that stuff.

That's what I've found works for me, but your mileage may vary.

Kevin

Edit: Yesterday, when I was in my local hardware store, they had a new shipment of Kinco gloves on display.  Among them were the old-fashioned roper gloves, with the drawstrap on the back.  I bought a pair, but might go get another.  So, not Wells Lamont, but they still exist.