Our testers have a weakness for sailing all year, and the Chesapeake Bay makes a reasonable testing ground. We get a good 3-4 months of wintery weather, without so much ice that boats must be pulled. This was a multi-year project. We wore them cutting wood, riding bikes, climbing ice and in some cases, industrial settings. We even took them swimming in 32F water, to see how they will work elbow-deep in frigid bilge water, diving to clear a prop, or even in an overboard situation.

1. The Winter Hawk is warm and waterproof, but the linter gets sticky when wet, making it harder to don and doff.

2. Freezer gloves are good for handling docklines, but get soaked easily and don’t block the wind.

3. The fingers on Musto gloves were stiff initially, but eventually broke in and became our winter favorites.