The right glove keeps your hands functional at mile 80 in the dark. The wrong one cuts circulation, traps sweat, or fails when wet. Five picks for different conditions.
The picks
Black Diamond
Black Diamond LightWeight Screentap Gloves
The mountain-ultra glove standard. Light, touchscreen-compatible, dries fast. The right glove for cool-but-not-cold race conditions and the high-pass crossings of UTMB / Hardrock.
- Lightweight stretch fleece
- Touchscreen index + thumb
- Dries fast
- Sub-1.5-oz weight
Outdoor Research
Outdoor Research Sun Sleeves & Gloves
Sun-protective UPF 50 gloves for desert and canyon races. Wet them at aid stations for evaporative cooling. Western States and Badwater wear.
- UPF 50 sun protection
- Touchscreen-compatible
- Wet for cooling effect
- Light fingerless option available
Buff
Buff ThermoNet Glove
Thicker than the Black Diamond; thinner than a true winter glove. Right for 30-50°F race conditions where Mountain Light gloves aren't enough.
- Polartec Power Stretch
- Touchscreen
- Mid-weight insulation
- Long cuff for vest layering
Black Diamond
Black Diamond MidWeight Wooltech Gloves
Wool-blend mid-weight for cold + wet conditions. Hardrock or UTMB-grade. Pricier than competitors but performance is real.
- Wool-poly blend
- Best wet performance
- Suede grip palm
- For sub-30°F + rain
goodr
goodr Faraday's Field of Frosty Bourbon Gloves
$25 lightweight gloves with goodr's signature humor. Won't outlast Black Diamond, but at half the price you can throw them in every drop bag and not cry when they get lost.
- $25 — replace freely
- Lightweight stretch
- Touchscreen-compatible
- goodr lifetime warranty
Layer by temperature
- Above 75°F: sun gloves only (OR Sun Sleeves) — UPF protection, evaporative cooling.
- 50–75°F: no gloves typically; light gloves for early-morning starts.
- 30–50°F: BD LightWeight or Buff ThermoNet.
- Below 30°F + wet: BD MidWeight Wooltech.
- Below 20°F or storm conditions: add a waterproof shell mitten over the glove (Outdoor Research Helium overmitt).
The wet-glove problem
Standard fleece gloves stop working when soaked. For wet races (Cascade Crest, UTMB, anything in the Pacific Northwest), wool-blend gloves (BD MidWeight Wooltech) or the bring-a-shell-mitten strategy is the answer. Pure-fleece in rain is hypothermia gear.