Ski gloves should fit snuggly, and you should have about 2cm of room at the top of your fingers when your hands are outstretched and inside of them. You also want to make sure that your entire palm, and ideally your entire wrist, is covered.
I’ve been skiing for nearly my entire life, and I’ve used just about every type of ski clothing and equipment you can imagine. I’ve learned through first-hand experience how to get a properly fitting ski glove.
This post will tell you how ski gloves should fit. My goal is to help you find a pair that will keep you warm and comfortable while you’re out on the slopes. Properly fitting gloves are essential for every skier.
Keep reading to find out more.
Contents
The Proper Fit
To get a properly fitting ski glove, you’re going to need to try them on. This is the only way to know precisely how they fit on your hand. If you are familiar with a specific brand, you might know their sizes, but trying them on before you buy is always recommended.
The general rule is that you want a little extra room in the fingers when you have the gloves on and your hands are completely outstretched. I think that about 1/4 inch is the ideal amount of excess room for a proper fit.
So the first step is to put your hands into the ski gloves.
After they are over your hands, open your hand up completely. Pinch the area above your fingers to see how much excess material there is. If it seems to be about 1/4 inch, you have a properly fitting set of gloves.
That’s not the only step to getting a good fit. You also want to make sure the bottom of the glove goes all the way over your palm. This makes sure your entire hand is protected from the cold and snow. If they go over your entire wrist, that’s even better.
After that, you want to pay attention to the tightness of your gloves. This is somewhat of a personal preference, but you want to ensure they aren’t too tight or too loose. They should stay on your hands without slipping off as you move them.
If the gloves are too tight, this can restrict blood flow, which will cause discomfort and can result in your hands getting cold easily. If the gloves are too loose, they can let in snow and wind, which is no good. They also might fall off pretty easily if you take a bad fall.
Measuring Your Hands
If you can’t try the gloves on in real life, like when ordering them online, you can still make an informed choice on the proper size by measuring your hand.
To do this, you’ll need to measure from the bottom of your palm to the tip of your longest finger. Once you have this measurement, you can compare it to the specifications listed by the manufacturer and get a size that should work best.
Once you have the gloves in hand, you still want to try them on and do the pinch test I mentioned above. This is just to double-check that they are actually the proper size. If they aren’t, you’ll want to return them to the manufacturer and get another pair.
Make sure that the manufacturer has a return policy for the gloves with that in mind.
Ski Glove Sizes
Ski gloves typically come in standard sizes such as small, medium, large, etc. Once you know your proper size, this can help you get a good-fitting glove whenever it’s time for a new pair.
Each glove manufacturer can have slightly different sizes, and that’s why it’s important always to try gloves on to make sure the listed size corresponds to the actual size of your hands.
FAQs
Here are a few quick answers to some commonly asked questions about how ski gloves should fit.
How do you determine ski glove size?
Ski glove size is based on the size of your hand. The easiest way to determine your proper size is to try gloves on and make sure you have the appropriate fit, as described in this post. You can also measure your hand from the bottom of the palm to the top of your longest finger.
How tight should liner gloves be?
You want liner gloves to be tight enough not to slip off easily but not so tight to cut off blood flow. If they are too tight and restrict blood flow, this can cause your hands to get cold. If they are too loose, they can bunch up and be ineffective.
Do ski gloves go over or under jacket?
This depends on the style of gloves you have and your personal preferences. I like gloves with a cuff that goes outside of the jacket and comes with a wrist cinch-cord. But some options go under the jacket, which is equally as effective.
Conclusion
Ski gloves should fit snuggly on your hand, with about 2cm of excess material in the fingers when you have your hand completely outstretched. They should also cover your entire palm and not be too tight or too loose.
The proper fit of your gloves might not seem like a big deal, but I promise you it’s crucial. Good fitting gloves will keep you warm and comfortable so you can enjoy your time in the snow.