SKD has taken so much of my money for gloves. But I will keep letting them.
Personally I have shit hands, long ago when the Oakley Factory Pilots (carbon knuckle bad boys) were all the rage I spent a couple of hours holding a bare metal handguard in the winter and just ignored the growing numbness thinking I could just mentally overcome it; the pain once the feeling came back after I realised that couldn’t happen wasn’t great to be honest. Now I know I always need a glove with good insulation and if I can’t fit plastic covers over a metal forend of any kind, it gets wrapped in tape.
Of course like everything, winter gloves are a sliding scale of insulation vs dexterity that’s difficult to cheat. These PIG Cold Weather Gloves are slightly on the lighter side of a winter glove, but the fleece they use combined with a softshell-type outer layer works wonders frankly. The best part though perhaps is that they work around freezing temperature yet you barely notice any dexterity loss when it comes to reloading, accessing zipped and buckled pouches, pressing buttons etc etc.
The efficient materials keep the construction fairly thin, but combined with the excellent way all PIG gloves are stitched you can actually make use of your fingertips. Plus of course they block all wind, are decently rain resistant, are grippy in the palms and work with touchscreens.
There are certainly cheaper gloves around if you shop surplus, there are warmer/heavier duty issued gloves, but the PIG CWGs are the best balance on that insulation vs dexterity scale I have worn personally. I know a lot of people will get away with a thinner glove in cold weather, but if any of you have the same issue I do and you want to still easily be able to fasten a helmet, grab a mag or use a multi-tool; check these out.
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