Children’s gloves and mittens are essential garments during the winter season and we hope to further your understanding of some of the key factors associated with selecting a pair for your son or daughter. The first question that arises is whether you should select gloves or mittens to protect your child’s hands. Each design has pros and cons, but in the right setting, each will bring warmth to little hands!
Gloves are best if your child is going to be involved in activities that require a good amount of manual dexterity and fine motor skills that require grasping and manipulating smaller objects. The fact that the thumb and fingers are separated by their own sections of the glove usually makes them slightly cooler than when wearing mittens.
Mittens are great if warmth is the top priority and there is no need for extensive handling of objects, handles, knobs, etc. with hands and fingers. The fact that fingers and thumbs can rub against each other to produce body heat is the main reason that mittens are generally considered to provide more warmth than gloves. As you can see, it’s a tradeoff of warmth versus manual dexterity.
Children’s gloves are usually made from wool or some other natural fiber and these materials are well suited for this purpose, but today, the best designs are made from synthetic materials such as Ventia, GoreTex or Thinsulate. All of these materials are designed to be waterproof and most are insulated. Additionally, there are many high-quality winter gloves on the market that are made from fleece, microfleece, and synthetic materials such as Primaloft, which has excellent insulating characteristics.
Most brands of children’s gloves share these same characteristics, and most manufacturers produce both designs in a variety of weights, colors, and insulation ratings. As mentioned above, the main factors when choosing gloves or mittens for your child depend on the type of weather he will be exposed to and the type of outdoor activities he will be doing.
Some of the top brands for kids’ mittens and gloves include REI, Patagonia, Cannondale, Land’s End, Spyder, and Dakine. You can buy products from any of these companies and feel secure in the fact that they have been producing quality cold weather clothing for many years. A typical pair of winter gloves and mittens will cost between $20 and $50, with some higher-end designs costing considerably more.
You can purchase these items at many local department stores and stores that sell outerwear. The best place to shop, in our opinion, is online, where there are many merchants offering quality clothing at bargain prices. We wish you luck in your search for a great pair of kids mittens or gloves for your child!