Hestra Ergo Grip Active

The Hestra Ergo Grip Active is a windproof, lightly insulated leather-palm glove built for hands that are working: ski touring, cross-country, winter hiking. Hestra's spec sheet states the trade-off. Warmth 3/8, Mobility 7/8, Waterproof: No. It is a glove for moving, not for sitting still in wet snow.

Fabric and construction

The palm is impregnated goat leather, or "water-resistant goat leather" in Hestra's words, and it earns the glove 6/8 for durability, a band Hestra calls "Rugged." The backhand pairs Hestra's Ventus stretch fabric with GORE-TEX INFINIUM WINDSTOPPER Breeze, listed by Hestra as windproof and breathable. The lining is brushed polyester: thin, because a brushed surface holds air instead of bulk.

Ergo Grip is patented: the seams are placed to free the hand's movement rather than fight it, which is where the 7/8 mobility rating comes from. Hestra calls that band "Precision." Official features: Ergo Grip, a neoprene cuff with Velcro closure, attachments for handcuffs.

Warmth and weather

Hestra rates the glove 3 out of 8 for warmth, a band they label "Warm" and define as "light insulation for crisp days and shoulder-season wear." A skin track will feel right. A cold chairlift will not.

Wind is handled: the WINDSTOPPER backhand blocks it, which is why a glove this thin works in cold air. Water is not. Hestra is direct: "The glove does not include a waterproof membrane. It may offer water resistance from its outer material but is not designed to keep hands dry in sustained wet conditions." The resistance comes from the outer material, so sustained wet snow or rain soaks through. Thinness and dexterity cost you water protection: physics, not opinion.

Fit and sizing

Hestra sizes by hand circumference, "measured around the widest part of the palm," and calls the recommended size an indication, not a rule.

PTO stocks sizes 8, 9 and 10 in all three colourways — Black & Black, Dark forest & Natural brown, Navy & Natural brown — so the colour you want does not cost you a size. Hestra's own run is 6 to 11, with size 12 in Black & Black only; the rest is not in this buy.

Who it is for, and who should not buy it

Buy it if your hands make their own heat and you still need your fingers. Hestra files it under Outdoor: ski touring, hiking and cross-country.

Do not buy it for resort laps in cold, wet weather: warmth 3/8 is a shoulder-season number, and there is no membrane. For that, look at the CZone Mountain, which has the membrane this glove lacks: Hestra rates it Waterproof: Yes, Warmth 6/8 ("Insulated"). That is the lift-day glove; this is the touring one.