9 best running gloves sure to keep your hands warm this winter

Made from a cruelty-free merino - which will please ethical shoppers – these have all of the benefits that wool offers: breathable but warm, quick drying, odour-resistant and very lightweight. In fact, there's much more to these gloves than first appears.

These gloves are superb at keeping fingers warm on cold days but, unlike many pairs we’ve tried, never seemed to reach the often surprisingly-sudden “overheating” point. In fact we tried these on several 15 mile+ runs and they achieved the rare feat of becoming “invisible” – that is, you completely forget you are wearing them. 

They come in unisex sizes of small, medium and large, which is more limited range than some, but with a good degree of stretch they should work for a wide range of hand sizes. Because of the softer fabric they aren’t as thin as some gloves, but given they weigh only 37g, if you do need to take them off, they are hardly onerous to carry. The seamless design was particularly good at preventing any annoying itching from internal seams – something that does often happen on longer runs. A superb pair of gloves from high quality materials at a very reasonable price.

Certainly a bargain buy, these are the cheapest running gloves on the market by quite some margin. They aren’t particularly robust or thick for very cold days, but with unisex sizes from XS through to 2XL you should find a decent fit for your hands.

As they aren’t particularly warm, they would definitely work best for a runner who isn’t out in cold weather for too long – hands tend to warm up initially on a run, but then get colder again on longer efforts, particularly if they get wet. These aren’t ideal for wet conditions, but given the price you do get decent features, including conductive patches for touchscreen phones, and reflective detailing on the back for better visibility in poor or no light.

Mittens can actually be more effective than gloves at keeping your fingers warm, and the relative freedom your fingers have inside can feel more comfortable and less restrictive. Many runners may prefer them for that reason – but on the flip side you do of course lose dexterity when it comes to operating a phone, a watch or indeed your front door key. But if you like mittens, then these are an excellent buy, particularly for cold wet days. And despite being mittens, they do in fact have “smart tips” where your fingers are, so you should be able to still perform basic functions on a smartphone without taking them off. 

The fabric retains heat very well, while wicking away excess moisture from sweaty palms, and they are also windproof for those bitterly cold wintery blasts. However the best feature for wet days – when hands can often end up colder than on dry, icier days – is the water-resistant material. Tested through a rather miserable hour of wintery downpour, while the body and feet were absolutely drenched and frozen, our hands stayed warm throughout.

A very thin lightweight glove, these are designed to be worn either underneath a warmer pair on days cold enough to warrant double layers, or on their own for less chilly runs. As an under-layer, they obviously need to be fairly close fitting, but with sizes from XS through to XXL, this is easy to achieve – and Wiggle’s site has a useful “how to measure your hands” size guide to make sure you get the best fit. 

The material is very thin indeed, with a slightly odd feel, but nevertheless soft and breathable with some stretch. These are very useful for those days where the temperature hovers on the gloves/no gloves border, and the fact that they are so lightweight is very useful if you need to take them off and put in a pocket as they take up barely any space. 

As undergloves they work particularly well underneath mittens to keep hands warm on the coldest of days. The  material has an anti-slip quality which keeps the two layers together nicely – and also, though this isn’t an advertised feature, means they seem to work absolutely fine with smartphone screens.

Unusually, these trail gloves come in separate fits for men and women, and sizes from XS to L within that. These are a high spec glove, seriously warm and windproof, while still being relatively lightweight. Indeed they are almost too warm for shorter city runs, but ideal for the more adventurous runner who may venture up hills, fells, or of course the trails they are aimed at. The soft side panel to wipe watery eyes and runny noses is particularly welcome.

We also liked the slightly curved fit of the glove – it feels like a lot of thought has gone into the design and making a glove that will stay comfortable even in long usage – as you’d expect for the cost. The fit isn’t too tight, which is actually a bonus if you need a pair you can easily take on and off during a longer adventure. We also liked the slightly longer wrist length.  The touch-sensitive fingertips worked well with a smartphone and they are also flexible enough to allow a good range of hand movement – for example, if you were trying to get a gel out of a pocket or a phone out of a running pack. 

Like the Montane gloves, these come in a mens and women’s fit – and an excellent fit it is too. They are made of a softer, fleecy-type material which is incredibly comfortable to wear, and wipe that running nose on, but may not be particularly useful in a downpour.

As you’d expect for the price, they have the requisite touch-screen sensitive finger tips, reflective detailing and also some grip on the palms which makes them useful for cycling too – though they aren’t the warmest gloves we tried, so probably not great for colder cycling days, or longer distances. 

One great feature of these gloves though is the little snap popper on each that allows them to be connected. This not only makes it easier when trying to find them before a run (why do gloves, like socks, hate to hang out in pairs?) but also means you can more easily stow them round or in a belt or pocket if you take them off mid-run. The stylish, simple black design also means that these are one of the rare pair of running gloves you would actually happily wear these in a non-running context too, which may mitigate the cost a little.

This is a very stylish-looking pair of gloves, absolutely wearable for everyday wear as well as for running.  They are a mid-weight material, good for nippy days but perhaps not the very coldest weather. Like the Montane pair, they have a nice side towelling panel for runny nose wiping, and they also have subtle reflective detailing on the back of the hand. The lining of these gloves is particularly soft, making them one of the most comfortable pairs to wear over a long period. 

On the palm is a nicely designed but very subtle circular radiating pattern of silicon dots for extra grip – useful if carrying a water bottle on the run, but probably also very handy if they double up as cycling gloves. The touchscreen-friendly fingers don’t have the panels that some gloves include, but rather are just part of the material itself, which again lends them a more stylish look.

Tracksmith are an American company, based in Boston, with a cult following – and these premium gloves will certainly mark you out as a runner in the know. The company produces their own custom-made fabric, which is both very lightweight and very warm, and particularly good at blocking the worst of icy winter winds. The fabric is actually double-sided: windproof on the outside but warm, wicking and very comfortable on the inside. 

The deceptively simple-looking design also hides a few really useful features. Firstly, the touchscreen fabric on the pointer finger is particularly effective, even when wet from rain. Secondly, the gloves come with a tiny magnet sewn into the cuff so you can ‘snap’ the pair together.  Finally, like all Tracksmith gear, the design is impeccably stylish – some of the best you will find in the whole fitness market.

If you want one single pair of gloves that will keep your fingers warm for everything, from freezing runs, cycle rides, hiking, climbing and even skiing, then these fit the bill perfectly. In fact, they are almost too warm and snug for most runs, in cities at least, but the level of waterproofing is truly impressive. You can quite literally stick your hands into a bucket of water, pull them out again and they will still be bone dry on the inside – yes, we did try this, and the water simply runs off, as from the proverbial duck's back. 

The liner of the glove is made from merino, so though they are very warm indeed, they do wick away sweat very effectively. Despite this “double” layer they are also very flexible. We found the sizing came up a little on the small side, so if in doubt, opt for the larger of two sizes: they range from S to XL. Definitely a premium price point, but they do come with a lifetime waterproof guarantee, so as long as you aren't prone to losing gloves, for those in really cold temperatures these are worth considering as an investment.