What are the best gloves for ice skating? Well there are plenty of gloves out there. The right pair of gloves will keep your hand warm, help with grip, protect you a little when falling and look great. I have been trying out different pairs for years and doing a fair bit of research.
You need gloves that not only suit the sport, but also suit the area of the sport of figure skating that you are doing. For free single skaters, warmth and and a close profile are the basics, on top of that, a little water resistance could be good if you are practicing jumps and falling frequently. As for pairs and ice dance, well you are going to need a very close fit with good grip. There are also other features like breathability, fall protection pads and even heated gloves to consider. We have hopefully saved you a lot of time by compiling a list of the all time best gloves for figure skating.
Yes, here at Ice Twizzle, we have been out on the hunt for the perfect women’s figure skating gloves. At the risk of looking rather dodgy, we have been trying gloves on for fit and feel and warmth in stores and taking pictures of what they look like on the hands, doing all the leg work for you. Here are our top picks for the best women’s figure skating training gloves.
Outdoor Research Women’s PL Base Sensor Gloves
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#1 for touchscreen compatible gloves
Here we have the offering from Outdoor Research. I have included this glove in the list because of the amount of people buying it. I researched it and found out the reasons why. Now I like to test all of the gloves on this site personally, I have not had chance to test this one yet, but will be shortly and when I do, you will have the full break down.
#1 for touchscreen compatibility. Now I have read reviews for many touchscreen compatible gloves and the reviews are normally a mixed bag of good and bad, but not for these gloves. Of all the reviews I have read, almost everyone is saying how well the glove works with touchscreen devices. This is ideal if you are using phones or tablets whilst at the rink or in any cold conditions, which brings me to the next point, how warm are they.
Warmth – As I wrote earlier, I have yet to try these gloves personally, but what I can tell you is they are a glove liner. Glove liners are designed to go under a waterproof outer glove in very cold temperatures. Most liners are fairly warm in moderate cold, to cold conditions. So if your rink is cool to moderate cold, these gloves should serve you well. However, if you train at a very cold or outdoor rink, then you may want to continue your search.
Most gloves that are designed as liners, usually have a comfy close fit, as they are designed to go under other gloves. This close fit helps with the warmth. The fabric of the glove also matters when it comes to warmth. The PL Base Sensor gloves are made from Radiant Fleece™, which is designed to keep you warm. This brings me to the the fabric, what they are made of.
What they are made of – They are 63% Radiant Fleece™, 23% polyester, 14% Spandex™ – 50 weight – touch-screen synthetic fleece thumb and index fingertip.
These gloves are proving to be a favorite for many, to check out an up to date price for these gloves, click here for viewers in the U.S.A. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
Sealskinz women’s stretch fleece nano
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#1 for water resistance
These are our top pick for all of you that asked for a water resistant glove. It was surprisingly hard to find a water resistant figure skating glove, but this is a great find. SealSkinz are renowned for their water repellent gloves.
The sealskinz nanosealz technology, means these gloves have a water resistant layer, yet are breathable and soft.
When we tried them on, they were a soft well fitted glove, with slender fingers. A good fit for my ice dance partner who has a medium sized woman’s hand. The seams inside the glove didn’t feel too obvious and they were a warm glove. Sealskinz rate them as thermal rating 2, for colder weather.
As you can see, they are a great fit and have a soft smooth soft finish.
The rubberized silicone, well that’s what it feels like, provides grip. There isn’t acres of it as you can see, but there’s enough there to be functional.
As a nice added feature, the thumb and forefinger are touch screen compatible, so you should be able to use mobile devices whilst wearing the gloves.
When all is considered, they are a pretty robust all round training glove, with good warmth properties. If you are practicing jumps and are spending a little more time than you would like on your hands whilst trying to perfect that first aerial rotation and need to keep your hands dry, this could be the glove for you.
These gloves are reasonably priced in terms of a technical glove, to check out the current price click here to view for users in the U.S.A. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
The North Face women’s Etip glove
So, here we have The North Face offering. I have seen many female skaters wear this glove, so I thought I would take a look. To be fair, it’s not a bad glove. It fits the hand well and has a comfortable feel.
As you can see from the thermal rating scale in the picture, these gloves are rated mild. They may not be the gloves of choice for cold winter mornings at the rink. These are more like spring/summer gloves.
This remains, however, a very popular and comfortable glove, the reviews on Amazon speak for themselves, with 69% giving them a 5 star rating.
Prices of this product do fluctuate on line, so check to check the current price click here to view in the U.S.A. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
Rab Power Stretch Women’s Gloves
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Well, if the men’s power stretch glove is anything to go on, this glove should be a winner. This pro glove is not the contact model (which comes with grips on the palms), it is the standard without the grips. This however is still a good choice for single skaters, as the power stretch material is also polar fleece, so they will be warm. Check out the current availability of these gloves. Click here to view prices and availability in the USA. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
Men’s Gloves
The Rab Power Stretch Pro Contact Glove
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Sounds impressive right. Well to be honest, it is pretty impressive. I personally have used this glove for years and it actually is that good. Initially designed as an outdoor mountaineering product, this is a solid, reliable glove.
The great thing about the ‘Rab Power Stretch’ glove is that it is stretchy and if you can forgive the pun, it fits like a glove.
O.K this one looks a bit worn. That’s because it is loved. I have worn this glove until I literally wore the fingers out of of it. I love these gloves and will be getting a replacement pair as soon as possible. The grip on these gloves is great.
As you can see the entire palm and fingers are covered with the grippy silicone stuff. This makes them great for ice dancers and pairs skaters that require grip to stay in hold whilst skating. After a couple of years you will find that the ‘grippy’ stuff on the gloves has become ‘grippy’, but by then you will have adjusted to the gloves and will be loathed to part with them. I would like the ‘grippy stuff’ to last forever, but it lasts a couple of years, it probably didn’t help that I have washed them a zillion times in any old washing detergent at any temperature.
The power stretch glove does what it says on the tin, it stretches, so a good fit is easy to come by. You may want to consider its stretch nature when you come to order, in terms of size. All in all this is a great glove. The one shown above is an older model than the one available now. The new ones have a touch screen friendly index finger and thumb, so they are even better now. To check out the latest prices on the Rab Power Stretch Pro contact glove click here for users in the U.S.A. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
Trekmates Ogwen stretch fit glove
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#1 Most affordable polar stretch glove
Best affordable polar stretch glove
This welcome addition from Trekmates comes in at the more affordable side of the market. With a four way stretch fabric, this glove promises to be a good fit. Though we haven’t tried this one on, it ticks a great deal of boxes. For a start it is made from a 240g polar fleece material. Fleeced on the inside, they promise to wick away moisture whilst remaining breathable. Although these gloves have no measure of water resistance, so may not be suitable for those figure skaters falling often, they do have some other useful features. The close fit of the glove combined with a silicone grip system on the palm should make it suitable for figure skaters needing the grip in holds, like ice dancers. All in all, this glove has some great features for a budget glove. Of course prices do vary, so check out the most recent prices, click here for users in the U.S.A. (Link to Amazon – Commissions earned)
