Gloves (and mittens)

The idea of this post is, to show you some different types of gloves, what I like and what I dislike, how they fit, about material...  - maybe you cand gain some useful infomration.

Different types of gloves

Gloves for summer, for winter, for work, for combat...

If you want to check out a lot of mind-blowing information about gloves, their history and whatsoever, check out the article on wikipedia about gloves. (Also great if you have a lot of free time and no idea what you should do now) 

Winter gloves (and mittens) 

Do I have to explain, why we sometimes need to wear gloves in the cold months of the year? 

Well, even when this should not be the "thing" to be concerned about: Frostbite

If you have you free skin in contact with the cold air around, you can get frostbite. (not immediatly, but after some time). Another point: you will loose your feeling, e.g. for pain, or for some fiddly tasks. All this can be prevented by wearing gloves. 

There are three pairs of gloves I will show you here: 

• Särmä Merino Wool gloves 
• Bundeswehr surplus mittens
• Swiss wool gloves - also surplus

My idea behind this gloves: I layer them. This keeps your hands warm, and you can switch through the layers however you like.

For example: It's cold outside, you are just hanging around in the woods for a whole day. Not doing much. Now, i would wear the Merino gloves and above them the Bundeswehr mittens. When I have to work, I just put off my mittens, and still have some protection against the cold, and when I get cold hands I switch back to the mittens. When you have to do fiddly tasks you can also put off all your gloves.
Alternative you can wear some fingerless gloves, so you are still able to do fiddly tasks while keeping your gloves on. I do not have some fingerless gloves, because I have no problem working with the "normal" wool gloves. 

Särmä Merino Wool gloves: 

They are not that special, they are just like normal wool gloves... except that the used wool is from a cute merino sheep... 

I use these gloves all the time (when it's cold)
Those gloves are also good as baselayer if you want to build up some super warm gloves. 

Be careful: if these gloves get wet, don't dry them on a radiator or under direct heat (like a woodfire) because they will shrink... (I have experience with this problem...)

black wool gloves, need more pics? 

Bundeswehr surplus mittens: 

Super thick, super warm, super quality. The back of the mitten is made out of some style of tight woven polyester/cotton (or something similar) in an OD-Shape. The palm, fingertips and thumb is covered with gray leather. On the inside these mittens have some fake fur coating, which keeps the warmth inside and the cold outside.
They are ment to be worn as outer-layer-gloves, so the sizes run large. I have a size 9 hand, and can easily wear wool gloves and combat gloves underneath.
These mittens are really warm and even when you have cold hands, they will get warm in there...
I always have them in my backpack when I'm outside during the cold winter months!
Mittens are warmer than all other winter type gloves, because there is much air trapped inside (which offers great insulation) and also the outer-surface is smaller (in comparison with finger-gloves)
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/bw-mittens-olive-drab-surplus/654

Budeswehr winter gloves: 

First of all: I bought these gloves approximatly two years after I've bought the BW mittens. Because: I totally love the mittens, they are super warm, but due to the fact that these are mittens and not gloves, your abilty to grab things is limited. So I looked for a good pair of warm winter gloves and because I was really happy with the Bundeswehr-quality I've choosen this type. 

I ordered the gloves (as most of my stuff) on Varusteleka. They where sold as "surplus - used" but I've got a new pair with the original instruction sheet inside. They keep your hands pretty well warm.

Bundeswehr winter gloves in the classic Flecktarn. With the black strap the gloves can be tighten. On the back is Shockcord, to provide snug fit with your clothing. All the grey leather parts are made from real leather. 

https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/bw-winter-combat-gloves-flecktarn-surplus/649

 Swiss surplus wool gloves: 

Those gloves where very cheap, so i bought them and I haven't been disappointed!
They consist of some grey wool... and are warm... nothing more to explain I guess... 

Extra Tipp:
If you have a pair of combat gloves laying around - use them as winter gloves: just add one layer of woolen gloves underneath. New available on Varusteleka are their Särmä Merino Wool Layer Gloves - I just use some standard woolen type gloves as baselayer.

Combat gloves

Combat gloves are ment to be sturdy and give your hand some kind of protection. I am using this style of gloves for different tasks: 

All of this tree pairs have been used for mountainbiking or even driving a Motorcycle. For the civil use I prefer the Bundesheer gloves, because those are black and don't shine in the civil world like my Mechanix in Multicam do... 

When I'm working outside I also like to use combat gloves as some kind of protection against splinters for example. 

As said before, when it's cold outside, I also layer my combat gloves to give them some insulation. 

Bundeswehr Nomex gloves

OD-Green Nomex back with a leather reinforcement across the knuckles. Palm covered with gray leather. Those gloves are in comparison with the other models the thinnest ones - but offer great protection and breathability

https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/bw-combat-gloves-leather-nomex-olive-drab-surplus/400

Mechanix MPact gloves

Fake leather palm, back made of some kind of coolmax-mesh-fabric, reinforcements made out of some kind of plastic on the fingers and across the knuckles. 

I don't really like this gloves, because they cost about 40€ - and are not worth it (in my eyes) 

Bundesheer gloves

Black Nomex with thick black leather. Reinforcements (with padded leather) on the back of the fingers and across the knuckles (same as the Bundeswehr gloves, but with some padded segments) 

This type of combat glove is the thickest - that's the reason why i use this type for (Motor)-cycling

Conclusion: 

Why use gloves in the alps? 

I think I don't have to explain why to use them during the harsh winter months.
In the summer you might get confused why you should bring gloves in the mountains. Well let me explain: When crossing a snow field in the sommer, the snow is not "fluffy" like in the winter months but very dense (not like ice) and consists of small "sharp" ice-crystals. Those crystals can really hurt you! So in the summer, gloves are more used as protection against Ice/Snow or sharp rocks/Steel ropes while climbing - not aigainst cold. Thats why I use in summer BW Nomex gloves (because they are lightweight) 

Thats what we are talking about!

(Reference Links to Varusteleka - I am not Sponsored or anything else - Not Promotion! Just think they have great descriptions)