WINTER HILL GLOVES
UP TO £50
For most general valley, hill and easier mountain walking there are plenty of gloves in this price range that will suit your needs. Some care is needed in choosing models, however, as some may come in a very small size range, for example. The gloves are often made of polyester rather than more durable nylon, and may have more seams on the palm and fingertips than other more expensive gloves so they tend to be less durable in the longer term. They will generally lack some of the nice-to-have benefits of gloves in higher price brackets, but for easier or less regular walks to the mountains they still work well.
FROM £51 TO £75
Compared to lower priced gloves, you get some nice-to-have benefits in this price range. These may include roll-tip fingertips that ensure there are no seams on the fingertip, which leads to improved fit, dexterity and durability. Some gloves may have touchscreen-compatible fingertips so you can use electronic devices without having to remove your gloves. For extra durability you will often have nylon shell materials rather than less-durable polyester, and you may get a leather-reinforced palm. The waterproof materials and insulation will generally offer better performance than lower-priced gloves. This mid-price and midperformance range is ideal for regular winter hill and mountain walkers as the additional benefits will be noticeable.
£76 AND ABOVE
More activity-specific designs are available at this price, including gloves designed for climbing or mountaineering but these are still superb for hill and mountain walking if you want optimum performance. The types of benefits on offer may include a precurved palm and finger designs for an even closer fit. Palm materials will generally be very durable thanks to leather or Kevlar inserts. Dexterity will be superior to most other gloves, which makes them ideal for holding ice axes or trekking poles as well as scrambling over rock. Nose wipes, wrist leashes and roll-tip finger designs are common in this price band. However some gloves may be more technical than general walkers would need.