Gloves vs Mittens

There are some obvious difference between regular Winter gloves and mittens. But did you know that each of them have unique benefits of their own? Grand Sierra put these two common Winter accessories to the test to find out which is the winner!

It's important to first mention that there's a big difference between gloves and Winter gloves. When we say "Winter" gloves, it's usually referring to the type of glove worn for Winter weather activities like snowboarding and skiing. While gloves can be made from just about any type of textile material, Winter gloves are usually made from material with waterproofing ability, extra heat retention, sports technology like moisture wicking properties, and a sleeker more sporty look in general. Soft wool gloves may be comfortable and keep you warm, but they're the last thing you'd want to wear when you hit the slopes!

Likewise, mittens can come in a variety of different materials as well, ranging from the sporty and sleek types to the cozy casual. The chief difference between a glove and a mitten is, obviously, the fingers. Gloves offer a level of dexterity that mittens just can't match, but that dexterity can be offset by the heat leakage from the air that moves between your fingers. When you're wearing a mitten, your fingers have less air between them and they share more warmth with each other, keeping them warmer for longer. One key type of mitten that is often overlooked is the finger lined mitten, essentially a glove that is sewn into a mitten. Finger lined mittens are packed with extra warmth and wear with the form fitting clutch of a glove but the extra warmth of a mitten, making them a great choice for those always cold people in your life. It's always a personal preference as to which elements of Winter accessories are most important to each customer, but as a small retail business owner, it's vital that you're able to sift out the specific needs of your customers.

Why Does the Difference Matter?

A good example is selling in a small resort town in Colorado versus selling in a small rural community in Montana. Colorado customers are more likely visiting the area for tourism, and potentially less used to the cold. Comfort, warmth, and convenience would be at the top of their needs, making a Winter mitten a safe choice for your inventory. On the other hand, (pun intended) a small town customer purchasing gloves from a local general store is more likely to utilize their gloves in day-to-day activities like clearing snow from the driveway or raking leaves in the frigid weather. The rural customer almost always will opt for maneuverability and utility over comfort and style, although we think that all of our gloves and mittens at Grand Sierra are comfortable and utilitarian. 

Finally, for the customers who want the best of both worlds, there's the ever-popular glomitt. A glomitt is a combination of a glove and a mitten. The hand of the glomitt is typically a fingerless glove with a removeable mitten top that can be fastened to the back of the hand when not in use. Hunters and outdoor sportsmen often find excellent utility in glomitts, which is why we offer some of the most comfortable and warm wholesale glove and mitten combo glomitts in the industry for unbeatable low prices. For even more protection, try glomitts with full glove linings!