Hands are the first thing to go cold and the first thing you need working. What you want depends less on the temperature than on what you have to do with them.
For the rifle, a thin glove that lets you feel the trigger — the Härkila Pro Shooter with its windproof membrane, or the Deer Stalker camo mesh for warm-weather concealment. For driven and walked-up days, fingerless mitts such as the Bisley and Jack Pyke Thinsulate patterns or the Jack Pyke suede-palm shooters mitt keep the back of the hand warm and leave the fingers free to load. For wet weather, a waterproof glove like the Sealskinz Broome or the Hoggs of Fife Kincraig. For standing about — beating, picking up, the peg between drives — a knitted Thinsulate-lined glove such as the SwedTeam Crest.
The common mistake is buying one pair to do all of it. A glove thick enough to keep you warm standing still will cost you the trigger, and a shooting glove will not keep you warm at the back of a drive in January. A working pair, a warm pair and a thin liner cover far more ground than one expensive pair. Sizing runs small across most hunting brands, and a glove that is tight across the palm will be cold whatever it is made of.
Related: base layers, hats and caps, socks, vests and waistcoats.
