The best running gloves of 2023, including gloves from The North Face, Nike, Black Diamond, REI, Outdoor Research, DexShell, and more.
Gloves can provide extra warmth during early morning mountain runs. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi Flannel Blanket
Cold-weather running can be fun or miserable, depending on whether you have running gloves that keep your hands warm and dry. Wear the best running gloves for your needs and the conditions, ahem, at hand, and you won’t even notice the frost forming on the tips of your eyelashes. In reality, most of us need only a pair or two of everyday gloves that work for the majority of conditions in which we run. After that, depending on the weather extremes you experience, you’ll want another pair or two of burlier gloves to stand up to that weather.
Our team of testers took out a variety of different styles and types of gloves running in all sorts of weather conditions to determine which performed best in terms of warmth, wind resistance, durability, and comfort. We took them through mountains and deserts on mildly chilly mornings and through winter blizzards and rated them based on an array of factors so that we could recommend the best running gloves for any conditions.
Below are our favorite running gloves, from light- and medium-weight everyday running gloves to those that’ll get you through whatever weather comes your way. For more background information, see our buying advice, testing methodology, and frequently asked questions below the picks. Scroll down to read our review of each winning glove.
Best Everyday Running Gloves: The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves and The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves
Best Everyday Running Gloves – Runner-Up: Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves
Best Lightweight Running Gloves: Oiselle Lux Watch Window Gloves
Best Medium-Weight Running Gloves – Runner-Up: Marmot Power Stretch Connect Gloves
Best Convertible Running Gloves: Ultimate Direction Ultra Flip Glove
Best Convertible Running Gloves – Runner-Up: Craft Adv Lumen Hybrid Glove
Best Running Gloves for Bad Weather: DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft
Best Running Gloves for Cold Weather: Trailheads Men’s Convertible Zip Mitts and Trailheads Women’s Convertible Zip Mitts
Best Reflective Running Gloves: ReflecToes High Visibility Reflective Running Gloves
Best Budget Running Gloves: Nike Accelerate Gloves
Best Budget Running Gloves – Runner-Up: REI Co-op Liner Gloves 2.0
The right gloves can make winter running safe and comfortable. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
In the age of smartphones, touchscreen capability is an essential feature when choosing between the best running gloves, and among those leading the charge are The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves and The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves. While almost every company making running gloves has a model with touchscreen capability, some companies do it better than others. We’ve worn versions of The North Face gloves containing this technology for several years and have observed marked functional improvements. In our opinion, these running gloves are the best for functional touchscreen use — when correctly sized.
These gloves have the look and feel of your standard lightweight fleece gloves. We appreciate the soft feel of the recycled polyester. The silicone gripper dots on the thumbs, first two fingers, and part of the palm allow us to hold dog leashes and water bottles without slippage easily. The glove-keeper clip for storing the gloves clipped together is a nice final touch.
Material: Most of the glove is 93% recycled polyester and 7% elastane lightweight fleece
Shop The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves Shop The North Face Women's Etip Recycled Gloves
Named after the famous ultramarathon that circles the Mont Blanc massif in Europe, the Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves are designed for activities with high aerobic outputs, including running, ridgeline rambling, and cross-country skiing. They also work well as an everyday glove, mainly because their silicone grippers are the best in class. These gloves excel when you’re generating a lot of body heat by breathing well while still holding in heat, but they feel decidedly less warm for just wearing around otherwise. The glove is polyester on the inside with a softshell overlay on the outside, making them some of the warmest everyday running gloves we’ve tested.
We’re not sure we’d regularly use them to scramble up rocky peaks or outcroppings, but they’re durable enough to do so occasionally. When sized correctly, the touchscreen capability works okay. One last detail is the glove-keeper clip, which allows you to store the gloves clipped together.
Material: Polyester softshell exterior, polyester tricot lining, silicone grippers on palm and inner fingers, and touchscreen-compatible material on inner thumb- and index-finger tips
Shoulder season marathon workouts call for the Oiselle Lux Watch Window Gloves. These super-soft, thin gloves are perfect for those days when you’re unsure whether you need gloves, but you’ll likely be glad you put them on. The watch window feature means that you can slide them over top of your running watch and still enjoy plenty of coverage over your wrist and lower forearm while still being able to keep track of the time or run data. We love them for workouts and races when we’re glancing at our watch more frequently, especially in conditions that call for a t-shirt, shorts, and gloves. They’re stretchy, comfy, and incredibly soft.
While they’re excellent for high-output days in brisk weather, they’re not thick enough for easy midwinter runs. While they’re breathable, they won’t block wind or rain, so they’ll only keep you so warm. Finally, they have touchscreen capability on the pointer finger and thumb that performs decently well, but it’s not a standout feature.
Material: Oiselle’s Lux fabric, which is a polyester and spandex blend
The Marmot Power Stretch Connect Gloves are a great pair of medium-weight running gloves made with Polartec fleece. These gloves are an excellent year-round choice when the temperatures or the wind chill dips below freezing. If sized correctly, they are snug yet stretchy enough to provide enough dexterity for tearing open a gel or fiddling with your headlamp. The touchscreen fabric on the fingertips and thumb is pretty reliable as long as neither the gloves nor your phone is damp. And speaking of dampness, these gloves will lose their warmth once wet, so while they’re great for cold and windy conditions, you’ll want more protection in the rain.
Like our other favorites on this list, these gloves are impressively durable. We’re not easy on our gloves, and to be honest, these probably weren’t designed with some of our activities in mind — such as scrambling on volcanic rock. Yet, these have held up impressively well, while other medium-weight and even softshell gloves have ended up in tatters within months. And finally, their reliable glove-keeper clip has ensured that we’ve held onto them through many dark, cold days of running.
Material: Polartec Power Stretch fabric, which is 84% recycled polyester and 16% elastane
Testing the touchscreen capability of the Marmot Power Stretch Connect glove. Photo: iRunFar/Alli Hartz
Several years back, Ultimate Direction made one of the first running-specific convertible gloves with their Ultimate Direction Ultra Flip Glove. The iRunFar team has been using them ever since. These gloves have evolved through the years to be warmer, more durable, and better at warding off the weather. In the current iteration, we have a grid fleece glove, which is soft on the inside. The tips of the thumbs and index fingers have a faux-suede patch meant to provide touchscreen capability, but it doesn’t work for us. The gloves extend a fair distance down the wrist for protection.
The over-mitt stows atop the wrist and can be deployed over the glove to add protection. We’ve found the waterproof claim of the mitten cover to be true, even in robust weather conditions. However, note that the over-mitt doesn’t fully cover the inner glove, so your hands won’t stay totally dry if you’re in foul weather.
We’ve found the inner gloves less durable than gloves with silicone grippers on their palms and fingers, as the silicone takes on some of the friction created when grabbing things. But that’s a minor complaint for a wickedly awesome, versatile convertible running glove. One of our testers took these gloves while setting an unsupported FKT on the 100-mile high-altitude Nolan’s 14 line in Colorado and noted that while they looked a little worse for the wear after plenty of scrambling over rocks, there was no visible damage.
Check out our in-depth Ultimate Direction Apparel review to learn more about these gloves.
Material: The inner glove is grid fleece, over-mitt is silicone-coated Cordura ripstop, and there are faux-suede patches on the thumb and index-finger tips of the inner glove for touchscreen capability
The Craft Adv Lumen Hybrid Glove is a medium-weight glove that’s cozy yet breathable and comfortable to wear. The liner and the outer mitt have a ton of reflectivity, which is not necessary for trail running, but it’s nice to have if you’re looking for your gloves in the dark before a pre-dawn run or wearing them overnight for an ultra. They’re also a great option if you frequently run on roads with traffic. The liner is incredibly soft jersey knit fabric, and its touchscreen capability works better than most.
There’s a key pocket in the palm, but it’s not very large or practical since it doesn’t close securely. However, it could be helpful in a pinch. Finally, the outer mitt feels burly and is protective against the wind, but it’s not the softest material if you brush your hair out of your face. The seam, in particular, feels a bit stiff. Nonetheless, these are minor gripes with a quality-constructed glove that performs great.
May we present to you the best bad-weather running gloves the iRunFar team has ever tried? We learned about the DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft in 2019. These gloves allow you to run in almost any weather, from totally sideways rain to a blizzard, and in frigid temperatures and gale-force wind.
Though these are really thick gloves, their flexibility, and articulated fingers allow you to hold water bottles, phones, dog leashes, and more. A variety of plastic materials on the palm side of the gloves keep them nonslip on all surfaces. They have a super long cuff to go over your jacket and seal in your wrists, and a Velcro adjuster on each cuff allows for further fit customization. Finally, a glove-keeper clip enables you to stow the gloves clipped together. These gloves are among the warmest running gloves available and should last a lifetime of running.
Be sure to read our in-depth DexShell Waterproof Breathability Accessory review.
Material: The back of the hand is stretch polyester, the palm is several plastics, the inner cuff has some neoprene, the waterproof membrane is Porelle Ski-Dri, the insulation is PrimaLoft Gold with CrossCore technology, and the lining is a thin fleece
We only discovered the Trailheads Men’s Convertible Zip Mitts and Trailheads Women’s Convertible Zip Mitts in recent years, yet they’ve quickly become a favorite for the coldest winter days. Sometimes, feeling cozy in our gear is the only motivation we need to get out the door, and these mitts do the trick. They contain Primaloft recycled polyester insulation, extended cuffs, and wrist straps to seal in warmth. Of course, the mitt design does sacrifice some dexterity. However, the zip top can free up your fingers if you need to use your hands, and it also lets you dump heat if your hands get too warm.
If you live in an area where temperatures regularly drop into the single digits Fahrenheit or colder, then these mittens are a worthwhile investment. However, they’re probably overkill if you’re in a place where winter is milder; in this case, one of the convertible mitts listed above would suffice. We’ve found their temperature sweet spot to be from -15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
One of the tradeoffs for supreme warmth is that these mitts are a bit heavy, and they’re not very packable if you get too warm and want to stash them.
Material: The shell is 92% recycled polyester and 8% spandex, the lining is 100% polyester, and the insulation is 70% recycled polyester and 30% polyester
Shop the Trailheads Men's Convertible Zip Mitts Shop the Trailheads Women's Convertible Zip Mitts
The ReflecToes High Visibility Reflective Running Gloves are among our top picks for the Best Reflective Running Gear guide. Like many of our favorites on this list, these gloves have a grippy silicone material on the palm that helps hold onto trekking poles, a dog leash, or a post-run cup of coffee. They also have touchscreen capability, which works like any other touchscreen gloves as long as they fit properly. And they’re easy to slide on and off, even with sweaty hands midway through a run. The gloves’ bright, fluorescent day-glow color provides visibility in daylight or low-light conditions, and the reflective material across the top of the hands really pops when it catches light from a car headlight or headlamp.
Although they’re lined with soft fleece that holds in warmth on brisk days, these gloves are inadequate for running in sub-freezing temperatures. However, they’re perfect for shoulder season when the window of daylight is getting much shorter, but the weather hasn’t fully turned yet. And if you’re running on streets with car traffic where visibility is paramount, these gloves can help you stay seen — and hopefully safe.
Material: Polyester fabric with silicone grips and aluminum sputter-coated glass spherical reflective beads
Members of the iRunFar team have worn lightweight Nike running gloves for over two decades, and we love the Nike Accelerate Gloves as a lightweight option. They achieve excellent functionality through simplicity. For most of our runs in mild to brisk weather conditions, we don’t need much more than gloves that keep our hands moderately insulated from the chill, and these do just that.
The Drifit material is quite thin, meaning it’s best worn in mild weather or when you’re running hard and generating lots of heat. Their touchscreen capability, located at the top of the index finger via embedded silicone, works okay, but the glove must fit snugly for this to work.
Material: Nike’s Drifit material, which is 88% polyester and 12% spandex, with a bit of silicone embedded in the inner index finger for touchscreen use
Shop the Men's Nike Accelerate Gloves Shop the Women's Nike Accelerate Gloves
If you’re looking for an everyday running glove with a technical feature or two that won’t break the budget, we recommend the REI Co-op Liner Gloves 2.0. This glove is stretchy, with soft fabric on the inside, and tightly woven material on the outside. This combination creates a glove that feels nice against the hand, allows you to open gels and bar wrappers, and blocks wind in the process.
Their low profile also makes them an excellent option for pairing with a second layer. They have a glove-keeper clip that allows you to stow the gloves clipped together, but the ribbons you attach are tiny and not awesome for use in the field. REI Co-op says these have touchscreen capability in the palms and fingers, but we’ve found this feature still needs work.
Choosing the best running gloves, in the end, is a matter of personal preference, but it begins with correctly fitting gloves. Getting the right size gloves can be tricky, as the shapes and sizes of our hands vary, as do the sizing guides of different brands. The best way to get the right fit is to try them on and purchase from a local retailer. If you buy online, be sure to use a specific brand’s glove sizing guide.
What else yields a comfortable glove? One that provides your hands the right amount of insulation for the temperatures in which you’re running breathes well to wick away sweat generated by your hands as you run, and protects you from the weather. We found that the Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves do a great job of regulating hand temperature and named them the runner-up for the best overall glove.
Generally speaking, runners start wearing gloves when temperatures are in the 40s Fahrenheit and down to some frigid temperatures. Choose a glove that provides enough insulation for the temperatures in which you’re running. Many brands offer a temperature rating or range for their gloves. If provided, it should be your first point of reference for choosing the right glove for the conditions in which you’ll run. That said, we all experience cold differently, so apply your real-life experience to the suggested temperature ratings. For example, if your hands get colder sooner than your running partner’s, you might need warmer gloves than them. If you’re regularly running in sub-freezing temperatures and want to be able to get out regardless of how cold it is outside, it’s a good idea to get a heavy pair of gloves like the Trailheads Men’s Convertible Zip Mitts or the Trailheads Women’s Convertible Zip Mitts, which we named our best cold-weather gloves.
A pair of insulated mittens will keep your hands happy while you run on the coldest winter mornings. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Like many areas of our body, our hands have sweat glands that produce moisture as we run. While we all differ in how much we sweat, keeping our hands dry, warm, and comfortable means choosing moisture-wicking gloves. Use breathable running gloves that wick sweat away from your hands to the outer layers of the gloves and into the air beyond. Some gloves do this better than others, and it’s usually based on a combination of the glove’s materials and thickness. If you’re worried about temperature regulation and your hands getting too sweaty during a cold-weather run, consider getting a pair of convertible gloves like the Ultimate Direction Ultra Flip Glove.
Waterproof gloves are created using fabrics or fabric coatings that prevent water from transferring into the inner layer of the glove. Creating a windproof glove is about using materials and technologies that prevent air from moving outside of it to the inside. A running glove that is waterproof or water-resistant will also be windproof. Other non-watertight fabrics protect from the wind, depending on how tightly the fabric fibers are woven together. The DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft are fully waterproof, and we named them our best bad-weather gloves for their ability to protect our hands against the elements.
No one wants to drop their phone when taking that summit selfie. You might consider running gloves that confidently grip things like your phone, keys, water bottle, dog leash, and trekking poles. Most companies use silicone overlays on their gloves’ palm and inner fingers to achieve a good grip. The downside to silicone grippers is that they make gloves heavier and can wear off with use. Our team found the grip on the Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves to be grippier than other gloves we tested.
Wow, the grip on the Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves is the best in class! Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
We live in a connected world; sometimes, we want to answer a call, reply to a text message, or take a photo on the run. Enter running gloves with touchscreen capability. Buyer beware: this technology is relatively new and often imperfect. The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves and The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves are the best gloves we found for people who want to easily control their devices while keeping their gloves on. Many companies claim their running gloves have touchscreen capability when the functionality is marginal. Our best advice for now is to stay skeptical and read real-life reviews before buying if touchscreen capability is a priority for you. Oh, and stay tuned because this technology advances each year.
The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves have the best touchscreen capability we’ve tested. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Convertible gloves contain an inner glove and an over-mitt stored on the glove that can be deployed when conditions warrant. Convertible gloves have long been a tool for mountaineers, arctic explorers, and climbers. More recently, this style has been co-opted into running gloves, and we are stoked. We love these running glove and running mitten combinations for their versatility and how you can easily adapt your hand protection on the move. Our testing team was impressed with the performance of the Ultimate Direction Ultra Flip Glove and the Craft Adv Lumen Hybrid Glove.
Fingerless gloves are used in several work and recreation scenarios where dexterity is desired. They come in various setups, such as an inner glove that lacks the tops of the gloves’ fingers with a protective mitt that can go over the fingers or a glove where the tops of the fingers are gone altogether. The greatest benefit is unparalleled dexterity. But, wearing fingerless gloves can be a problem when the weather is bad because their construction may make them less insulating and protective. Choosing a lightweight glove, like our favorite, the Oiselle Lux Watch Window Gloves can give you just that little bit of warmth you need on a chilly run without compromising much on dexterity.
As you can see in this article, the best running gloves vary in price from just a few dollars to more than $50. It’s totally possible to use a low-cost glove, like the Nike Accelerate Gloves or the REI Co-op Liner Gloves 2.0, for the majority of your everyday running, especially if you live in a mild winter environment. If and when conditions get bad, you’ll need a burlier set of gloves containing more protective materials and technologies, which usually comes at an increased cost. Sometimes, you can get away with layering two pairs of inexpensive gloves to protect your hands, but some weather warrants heavy-duty gloves to stay safe.
Good news! Most running gloves are highly durable when used for just running and when laundered correctly. Many members of the iRunFar team run in the same gloves today they got five to 10 years ago! Some running gloves will wear out faster if you use them for other purposes besides running, such as holding trekking poles or grabbing rocks and trees in technical terrain.
The DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft will ward off the worst weather. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
The iRunFar team comprises road runners, trail runners, and ultrarunners with collectively 150-plus years of running experience. We began this running gloves buyer’s guide by polling our team’s extensive knowledge to pare down to our favorites and those we see other runners frequently wearing.
Authors Meghan Hicks and Alli Hartz took that shorter list of potential best running gloves into the field and tested them in all kinds of conditions where they live and travel. From raging snowstorms in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains to super-windy days in the Alps, we tested lightweight, mid-weight, and heavy-duty gloves in various challenging conditions. We chose what you find here by considering durability, warmth, breathability, wicking ability, and comfort.
Please note that product models are routinely discontinued in the running world, while new ones frequently come to market. At the same time, we here at iRunFar often use our top picks in our daily running … they’re our top picks, after all! Sometimes, that continued use results in uncovering product failures. With all this — product discontinuations, product introductions, and product failures — in mind, we routinely update our buyer’s guides based on past and ongoing testing and research by our authors and editorial team. While these updates can appear to be us pushing the newest product, it’s anything but that. When we update any buyer’s guide, most products will likely remain the same. That matches our goal: to get you in the best gear you’ll use for a long time.
What are the best running gloves?
Most runners say there is one kind of running glove that meets their personal needs for most of the conditions in which they run. We call these everyday running gloves, and we think The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves and The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves are the best on the market right now. They are great for moderately cold conditions.
Some of us venture into more extreme conditions when we run, be it in winter early mornings or during summer thunderstorms in the mountains. When you need more insulation to stay warm or waterproof and windproof materials to keep the elements off your hands, check out our best bad-weather running gloves, the DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft, and our best cold-weather running gloves, the Trailheads Men’s Convertible Zip Mitts and Trailheads Women’s Convertible Zip Mitts.
The best running gloves don’t have to cost a fortune! Our favorite budget running gloves, the Nike Accelerate Gloves, serve their purpose without breaking the bank.
Warm gloves are important for chilly mornings on fastpacking trips. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
What should I look for when choosing running gloves?
First, consider the conditions in which you regularly run, including temperature, precipitation, and wind. This will help you determine the basic kind of glove you need to stay warm. Next, consider your thermal comfort level. Do your hands seem to get hot sooner than others, or do your hands always seem a little cold? Take your individual needs into consideration. Once you’ve found the right glove for you, be sure to size them correctly according to the company’s sizing guide. Gloves that are too big or too small won’t work as well. For most of their chilly weather runs, many runners can use a single pair of high-quality gloves, such as The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves or The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves.
How do convertible running gloves work?
Convertible running gloves are among the best running gloves offered today! They are made of inner gloves and stowable running mittens in a lightweight and sleek package. When conditions are relatively benign, you’ll need just the inner glove to feel comfortable. But when the weather breaks bad, deploy the over-mitt to add a second layer of warmth and protection from the elements. Check out our pick for the best convertible running gloves, the Ultimate Direction Ultra Flip Glove.
What are the best waterproof and windproof running gloves?
When it’s wet and windy, you’ll want a pair of gloves made with materials and technologies that keep moisture and wind away from your hands. Be sure to check out the DexShell Waterproof Ultra Weather Gloves Primaloft, which are the best for warding off terrible weather.
The iRunFar team loves convertible gloves for running, which allow you to deploy an over-mitt when conditions are particularly cold or wet while stowing it when conditions are more benign. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Fingerless gloves versus full-finger gloves, which is better?
Fingerless gloves have some benefits and drawbacks. While they might let you type that text message quickly, you may have to trade cold fingers with a less protective running glove. Choosing a glove-like The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves or The North Face Women’s Etip Recycled Gloves with touchscreen capabilities can let you keep your fingers warm and still use your phone. It’s up to you to decide what’s right for you in the conditions in which you run.
It’s time for you to weigh in on your favorite running gloves! Leave a comment to share what gloves you love to run in, and be sure to tell us in what conditions they perform best for you.
Meghan Hicks is the Editor in Chief of iRunFar. She’s been running since she was 13 years old, and writing and editing about the sport for around 15 years. She served as iRunFar’s Managing Editor from 2013 through mid-2023, when she stepped into the role of Editor in Chief. Aside from iRunFar, Meghan has worked in communications and education in several of America’s national parks, was a contributing editor for Trail Runner magazine, and served as a columnist at Marathon & Beyond. She’s the co-author of Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running with Bryon Powell. She won the 2013 Marathon des Sables, finished on the podium of the Hardrock 100 Mile in 2021, and has previously set fastest known times on the Nolan’s 14 mountain running route in 2016 and 2020. Based part-time in Moab, Utah and Silverton, Colorado, Meghan also enjoys reading, biking, backpacking, and watching sunsets.
Custom Logo Beanie Alli Hartz is a member of the gear review team at iRunFar. She’s been writing about outdoor gear, outdoor adventure, and adventure travel for 10 years. Aside from iRunFar, Alli contributes gear reviews and adventure stories to Switchback Travel, Travel Oregon, and other outlets. She also works as a ski guide during the winter season and has dabbled in run-skiing on the Cascade volcanoes. Alli is based in Bend, Oregon, where she loves to run from her front door up into the Three Sisters Wilderness.