Best fingerless Gloves

[Patrick G]

Does anyone have a suggestion on a solid pair? I’m willing to spend a little extra to get a nice set if I have to. Thanks

[William N]

I wanted fingerless gloves for writing:  typing and using a pen, when it’s cold, at camp and in my house. When it’s cold I  prefer mittens because my fingers seem to get colder then most peoples’. So these might not be useful for real outdoors use, like fishing or shooting.

In general I found most fingerless gloves and thin gloves to not be thin enough to not get in the way and the serging (stitches) at the finger cutoffs is always annoying and in the way. (I found and bought a pair of cotton ones that are okay, but I’d suggest get cheap cotton gloves and just cut the fingers off. This’ll cost a buck, the other way is $10. There’re still issues with the stitches at the cut offs, and my fingers getting cold where they’re not covered.)

When I googled the topic I found all these fashionable things that are more like ‘fingerless mittens.’ So I thought I’d make some using spandex (aka Lycra, elastane), the stretchiness  would overcome my sewing shortcomings, and being synthetic the material insulates.

I had a lot of trouble cutting a pattern out of the stuff. Instead I just folded the fabric over a piece of cardboard, then clipped the pattern to the front and back (mirror image) patterns, carefully slid out the cardboard. Then I sewed right through the paper, cut out the pattern through the paper, then picked the paper off the fingerless mitts.  Less than ten minutes, and they look like whoever made them knew what he was doing.  I’ve modified the pattern (the third image) so the side opposite the thumb doesn’t need a stitch, it’s just a fold. You probably don’t need any more pattern on that side.

Anyone who’s seen my sewing would say, ‘clearly this is idiot proof.’  My hands are average sized, about 8.5 inches around the palm, so scale up or down as needed.  The way I use them is I just pull back the ‘sleeve’ to free up only as much of my fingers as I need. For writing with a pen, my left hand isn’t used, so I let the sleeve drape over the ends of my fingers. Works better than fingerless gloves, is more comfortable and a lot more versatile.  They definitely look more like evening wear than outdoor gear. And it is just a bit odd typing with them, but they don’t get in the way. I’m not sure if they’d be good for any outdoor gear use, I intend to use them for photography.

(The patterns below: 9.154″ the long positioning line top to bottom, or whole sheet is 8.5 x 11″  I couldn’t upload a pdf so I’m not sure if they’ll open on other computers the correct size.)

Hope this is of some use to others.

Will

x

[Paul McLaughlin]

Take a pair of gloves you like and cut off as much of as many fingers as you prefer. Alternatively, take a pair of nice warm socks and cut off the toes, then poke hole in the heel for your thumb. I have done both and both ways work.  I did not do anything to the cut edges in either case and no issues with unraveling. For the sock version i use old worn out socks; works fine since socks are usually worn out at the toes (which you cut off), and the heels – where you cut the hole for the thumb.

[Nick Gatel]

I have never understood (or used) fingerless gloves. When my hands get cold, my finger tips get the coldest… and quickly. What am I missing?

@will-n-too, nice to see someone using a fountain pen in this digital age. Is the one in the picture a Lamy Vista?

 

[Elliott Wolin]

Years ago we used heavy wool knit Millar Mitts in the winter and for climbing in colder weather

Alone they kept your hands warm but allowed you to use your fingers for climbing, cooking, whatever.  And you could wear them under big mittens.  Sometimes we wore thin nylon liner gloves under mittens so we could take our hands out to do something and not freeze immediately or get stuck to cold metal.

I still have a pair someplace.

[Matt Dirksen]

“I have never understood (or used) fingerless gloves. When my hands get cold, my finger tips get the coldest… and quickly. What am I missing?”

Nick,

I can only speculate that the experience of frozen fingertips is actually the symptom of having generally cold hands first and foremost. Like cold foot = frozen toes.

I’ve been using the OR Chroma Sun Glove for a good number of years, and I never thought I’d like them as much as I do. While I habitually use them in the spring/summer, I have definitely noticed on shoulder season trips that I tend to use them pretty often frequently, and “hold off” on glove liners an/or mitts.

I believe that my fingertips seem to be alright with this, because my hands and 75% of my fingers remain insulated – (at least in relation to not wearing anything.)

Other fingerless glove users have any additional thoughts/experiences on this?

 

 

[Todd Stough]

I agree with you guys.  Although I’m not sure there is a need for fingerless.  I have a wool pair I wear fishing in the winter, even if they get wet they will keep my hands pretty warm and I’m able to work the reel and line.  Unless the wind is really blowing, then they just don’t cut it.  I suppose the same thing would apply for camping, they do pretty well at keeping hands warm especially under a pair of big mitts.  You are able to then use your fingers without taking the whole glove off.

[Paul McLaughlin]

I haven’t ever used my fingerless gloves or mitts on a backpacking or ski trip – I use them for typing/mousing in an unheated office and for carpentry, for both of which I need fingertips exposed but also need had insulation. Having most of your hand insulated is better than having nothing on the hands, but only valuable when you must have exposed fingeritps for one reason or another.

[Ryan “Rudy” Oury]

My main pair is the Fox River wool fingerless gloves from REI. They’re pretty inexpensive (~$15?). They’re pretty warm but have no wind resistance and are pilling  fairly bad after not a lot of use. I used to have a pair w/ the fold over “mittens” also but lost those.

As someone noted above though, I also have a pair of lightweight Smartwool running socks that I modified to be fingerless gloves. These were worn at toe & heel so I cutoff the toe and cut a hole in heel for the thumb. I did take the step of sewing the cut edges to help reduce fraying. Haven’t used these much but they’ve felt surprisingly warm when I did.

 

if you want to research other manufactured options and cost isn’t a big concern, check out fishing (esp fly fishing) vendors like Simms, Patagonia, and Orvis. They have a LOT of fingerless options for cold weather fishing that still allow you to tie on a fly.

[William N]

Good points. Fingerless gloves and fingerless mittens are always a compromise. Fingers don’t have much muscle or blood supply, so they get cold. Some people (you and me) have colder fingers than other people.

I’m going to shift my fingerless mittens how to over to MYOG.

I went outside with them yesterday, the wind went through them pretty easily, so with the thing spandex (lycra, elastane) material (it’s 4 way stretch, I don’t know if there’s a weight) is not good enough for outdoors. However, compared to all the other options, they are the most comfortable, least encumbering…. a possible upgrade might be different material (medium weight capoline?) or heavier material for the hand area and the thinner material for over fingers and thumb, but this adds a lot of complexity.

I whipped up another slightly larger pair yesterday. Basically diagram #1 (or 2) I added a bit more length for the fingers. And I used only one sheet of the pattern, worked just as good. So one pattern. I still can run the spandex through my sewing machine (walking foot) without it jamming up. With the paper? idiot proof.  And I’ve been typing and writing with them on no problems.

There’s a range of needs for gloves, mittens, fingerless… for the fingerless options, just how much dexterity do you need in your fingers. If you just need to pull a trigger… well that’s one finger. If you need to type, that’s all ten.

[Rick M]

Montbell has several different styles. I use their Windstopper trekking mittens with folding flaps covering the thumb and fingers that expose your tips. If you need more warmth you can slide a chemical warmer inside.

https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=25061&p_id=1118294&gen_cd=1

[Rex Sanders]

For many years I used fingerless gloves while whitewater rafting. Sun protection, blister protection from paddles and oars, damage protection from sandy ropes and straps, and warmth in and out of cold water.

Most had bodies of thin neoprene, some with lycra backs, with synthetic leather palms and fingers. Not exactly UL, but they worked well in a wide range of temperatures. My favorites kept going out of stock, sometimes I bought similar gloves and cut off the finger tips.

My finger tips never got too cold, and I could operate cameras and similar devices much better than with full gloves.

Maybe I should take a pair backpacking for cold wet weather.

— Rex

[John S.]

Rex..which brand did you like.

[Rex Sanders]

My preferred brand was Thunderwear. A quick search finds that they stopped importing gloves about five years ago :-(

Guess I need to take good care of the pair I have!

Synthetic leather on one side, thin neoprene on the other, velcro closure, large enough for my extra-large hands.

Try rafting, windsurfing, or sailing sources like NRS or West Marine for similar gloves.

— Rex

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Fingerless gloves, or rather the fingerless mitten-style gloves, are a must if you play the fiddle or mandolin outside in the cold like I do.

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