Dealing with ever changing temperatures is a big challenge ice anglers face. The weather shouldn’t deter you from doing what you love, so it is important to keep your hands warm when out fishing in cold temps- after all, your hands are an important asset while fishing! Choosing the right gloves for fishing can be a challenge, so we want to help you find the perfect gloves so you can bait your hook, fiddle with small lures, and deal with your big catch, all at ease. When your hands are numb or your big bulky gloves get in your way it can be difficult to do these things. It is crucial to have a good pair of gloves to keep you warm while still being able to be a great angler.
Here are the 5 best ice fishing gloves on the market today
- Glacier Glove Pro Angler Slit Finger Fishing Gloves – Best Overall Ice Fishing Gloves
- KastKing Mountain Mist Cold Weather Gloves – Our Runner Up
- Palmyth Flexible Fishing Gloves – Best for Light Duty
- Stormr Typhoon Fleece Gloves – Best for Waterproof
- Fish Monkey Yeti Ice Gloves – Warmest Ice Fishing Gloves
A deep dive of the best ice fishing gloves on the market, for performance and comfort
Glacier Glove Pro Angler Slit Finger Fishing Gloves
Our top recommendation is the Glacier Glove Pro Angler. This glove is perfect because of it’s tough blind-stitching design. Not only is it built tough, it is also water-resistant and built of 2MM fleece-lines Techline neoprene, making this glove built for cold weather and harsh jobs.
While these gloves provide comfort and warmth, they are also very functional. The pre-curved fingers make for more comfort, and the slit fingers make for great jigging experiences. The slits are included for your thumb and index finger allowing you to easily jig in comfort and maximum warmth.
These gloves may not be waterproof, but they offer comfort, warmth, and functionality. These gloves run at a very reasonable price and are the perfect fit for cold weather fishing.
KastKing Mountain Must Cold Weather Gloves
KastKing Mountain Gloves are a great match if you are out fishing when the temps aren’t super low. These gloves offer great insulation for you while you’re out whole hopping on the ice. Along with insulation, these gloves offer great functionality to efficiently handle your lures, bait, and all of your other fishing gadgets while keeping warm.
These fleece lined Mountain Mist Gloves also offer a flexible neoprene and microfiber palm with a polymer sharkskin pattern that offers amazing grip so you can stop worrying about dropping things down the hole.
Not only is this glove flexible, but it also offers an adjustable neoprene cuff to ensure it fits perfectly to you. It is important to have touchscreen capabilities when using your smartphone or fish finder out on the ice. These Mountain Mist Gloves offer slit fingertips so you can stop having to take off your bulking gloves every few minutes while fishing. All you have to do is slip open the fingers and secure them to the hook and you’re ready to tackle fishing while keeping warm.
Palmyth Flexible Fishing Gloves
The Palmyth Glove may not be totally convenient in cold temps, but they are a great option for light duty ice fishing gloves. The Palmyth is an extremely breathable, water-resistant shell, windproof, and offers great insulation with fleece backing. We know how important it is to stay warm fishing in cold temps, but we also know how important it is to have functional gloves. The synthetic leather on the Palmyth offers great grip.
You can simply expose your thumb, pointer, and middle finger by flipping back the material and secure using the metal clip. These gloves offer maximum comfort with their adjustable wrist straps and neoprene cuffs to ensure a warm, comfortable fit.
While these aren’t great for temps below 36 degrees Fahrenheit, the Palmyth is water-repellent technology for light water exposure. They offer great attributes for light duty fishing to keep your fishing trip warm, comfortable, and functional.
Stormr Typhoon Fleece Gloves
If you’re an avid fisherman who gets their hands wet while out on the ice, these waterproof Stormr Typhoon gloves are for you. Their 3MM microfleece neoprene blind-stiched seams offer waterproof technology to keep your fishing day exciting and dry.
The Stormr gloves are built tough for any heavy-duty job. The index and thumb are reinforced with Kevlar, a synthetic material that is highly impact resistant. If you use braided line, bait casters, or even for wrangling, you will greatly appreciate the Kevlar design to ensure extra tough fingertips during your cold-weather adventures on the ice.
Not only are the Stormr gloves built tough, they also offer an abrasion-resistant, fish-scale textured palm surface that maximizes your grip.
Fish Monkey Yeti Ice Gloves
When it comes to ice fishing in the most frigid weather, these Fish Monkey Yeti gloves are the warmest fishing gloves. These warm Yeti gloves offer a cold-resistant design. These gloves are 350g Thinsulate insulation in the backing of the glove, while the palm offers 150g Thinsulate insulation. Not only are these gloves Thinsulate, they are also thermal conductive fleece lined that keeps heat in and redistributes it making sure no heat escapes.
The Fish Monkey Yeti offers a waterproof, windproof, weather-tight fit. For easy use and maximum comfort these gloves offer adjustable wrist and cuffs.
Although these gloves are on the bulky side, they are the perfect options for subzero temps.
Now some of you may be thinking, “Well why can’t I just wear my normal gloves I already have?” Well, ice fishing gloves have their benefits and here they are:
Things to consider in a high end pair of ice fishing gloves
Ice fishing gloves provide crucial protection for your hands, while offering more effective angling. Some of the basic benefits and key components to your ice fishing outerwear are:
- Water Resistance– I think it is pretty obvious your hands will be getting wet when you’re out ice fishing. Winter raises a high risk of cold hands, which leads to numb and stiff fingers which degrades your ability to properly fish. When you add in wet and cold hands, the effects worsen. It is so important to keep your hands warm and dry to catch fish!
- Keeps Hands Warm– This one is pretty obvious. Wearing regular gloves, cheap gloves, or poorly insulated gloves will result in discomfort, frostbite, and bad fishing. With a good pair of gloves that keeps your hands warm, you’re able to spend more time on the ice doing what you love while being safe and staying warm. This is why it is important to make sure your pick includes maximum warmth that you need in your temperature range.
- Maintain Full Hand Mobility– Good ice fishing gloves that provide you with warmth, comfort, and functionality will improve your hand mobility. Fishing is a very fine motor activity because you work with small items, when tying knots and baiting hooks. You need your hands and full mobility to efficiently do these tasks while on the ice. Keeping your hands warm and dry with high tech glove designs will ensure you can maintain that mobility for the best fishing to keep you on the ice longer with more fish in your bucket.
- Detect Bites– We talked a lot about baiting hooks and using your fine motor skills to work with small hooks, but most importantly, you need to know when you have a bite. Hands that are in gloves that are not made for fishing makes it easier to miss subtle bites, tugs, and vibrations. Cold and numb hands can alternatively do the same, and you will more than likely miss a catch. Ice fishing gloves that are designed for weather and dexterity will allow you to never miss those subtle bites while making sure your hands are warm and dry.
Conclusion
We hope our guide has been helpful to you in choosing what glove is best for you while you are doing what you love. There are different benefits and functionalities to all different types of gloves, which is why we wanted to narrow down our top favorites to help you make your decision when picking your ice fishing gloves. While these are our personal preferences, keep in mind your personal preferences and your specific needs to ensure you pick the best fit glove for you. Your preferences and needs will alter what glove is best for you and may involve some trial and error, similar to many things in life. We hope you catch some big fish while staying warm, comfortable, and dry.