SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
Sealskinz Waterproof All Weather Ultra-Grip Knitted Gloves are waterproof/breathable knitted gloves with a silicone grip that are great for keeping your hands dry while snowshoeing or hiking in the rain in three-season conditions.
Sealskinz Waterproof All-Weather Ultra-Grip Knitted Gloves
Waterproof
Breathability
Easily Layered
Adjustability
Fit
Specs at a Glance
- Palm material: Nylon with gripper print
- Fabric: 96.5% nylon, 3.5% elastane
- Lining fabric: 84% merino wool, 14% nylon, 2% elastane
- Waterproof: Yes, 3L Stretchdry waterproof breathable laminate
- Touch Screen Compatible: Yes
- Weight: 3.3 oz
- Gender: Unisex
- Glove Type: Full Finger
For Winter Use
For winter use, these Sealskinz Gloves are good down to about 25 degrees if you’re actively winter hiking or snowshoeing and provide a great alternative to fleece gloves because they won’t get soaked if they come in contact with snow. They’re also surprisingly breathable and don’t noticeably accumulate moisture from perspiration during all-day use. They’re not designed for full immersion or cold weather water sports like kayaking, however, because the wrist cuffs absorb water and can be slow to dry.
The gloves are touchscreen compatible with fabric patches over the index finger and thumb. They work astonishingly well as long as your fingers are pulled snuggly up into the fingertips. For example, I can use the Gaia Navigation, ViewRanger, and Guthook apps on my iPhone X while wearing them, even though my phone has a clear screen protector glued on top of the glass screen. That’s pretty cool.
In the Rain
These SealSkinz gloves are also a good alternative to rain mitts in warmer three-season weather because they preserve your dexterity while keeping your hands dry. I have used rain mitts from a variety of different manufacturers including Mountain Laurel Designs (eVent Rain Mitts) or REI Minimalist GTX Rain Mitts (and the eVent version that preceded the GTX version) but I far prefer wearing these gloves over mittens for hiking in the rain because you don’t have to take them off to perform the simplest tasks.
For instance, I can zip up a rain jacket while wearing the Sealskinz gloves or adjust my pit-zips without having to take them off, something I could never do while wearing a rain mitten. You also don’t need to seam-seal these Sealskinz gloves, something that’s pretty common amongst rain mitts from cottage manufacturers and a messy pain in the ass.
Potential Limitations
If there’s a downside to these SealSkinz Gloves it’s that they can take a while to dry with your body heat alone if you accidentally get them soaked. In addition, they can feel cold in winter when you stop moving, although that’s much less of an issue for warmer weather use. The fit of the fingers also feels a little on the long side, although this will be highly variable across individuals. I find I have to pull them onto my hand a bit tighter when I want to use a touchscreen to get the pads positioned properly on my fingertips.
Recommendation: But I have to say I’m pretty impressed by these Sealskinz Waterproof Ultra-Grip Knitted Gloves and plan to use them more for winter hiking and into next spring when I’m hiking in Scotland where it rains a lot.
Disclosure: Sealskinz provided the author with a pair of gloves for this review.
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Since you had to pull them down to use a touchscreen, do you think the sizing is true? Or if you got them again would you size down? I have had this happen with liners and found that going down from a L to a M was the solution.
Interesting you use them in place of rain mitts.
They’re otherwise true to size although I found the fingers a bit long. I don’t have terribly big hands though and they are comfortably form fitting for me in a size large. Some people wear thin wool liners under them for added warmth, so you’d want to size up to accommodate those. If in doubt, buy both sizes and return the ones that don’t work (Amazon or REI). They also sell a version that has a very long wrist gauntlet that looks interesting.
I was motivated to try these because I’m really not a huge fan of rain mitts. It’s just too difficult to do anything that requires dexterity when wearing them.
How much do they weigh?
Weighed them last night but forgot to add it – 3.3 oz. In the specs now.
I have a pair and found the fingers a bit long for me as well. I also bought one size smaller of a different SealSkinz glove and, although the finger length on the smaller glove is fine, the gloves are a bit tight.
I don’t know if my fingers are a bit short for my hand size but I find most gloves that fit my hands comfortably have fingers just a little long.
…although the finger length on the smaller glove is fine, the gloves are a bit tight.
Ditto. Who are they using for models of all these gloves? Concert pianists?
Nosferatu.
If it’s a little too big or a little too small then it fits like a glove
Your review was just on time. I saw these yesterday in the hunting shoes section of Bass Pro looking at the boots for my daughter. I have long fingers and they fit my fingers but were really snug. I did not realize they were touch screen. They also had socks which is what I saw first. Thanks for letting me know how good they were and that for warmth I would have to wear a liner
Quite large fitting & advice to go a size smaller is probably correct to get a snug fit – although the finger length was fine. Cheap shiny siicone palm/finger grip is disappointing & unnecessary – by definition, knitted gloves are not suitable for extreme wet weather conditions but rather for warmth & comfort in general walking, hiking etc use. How can something that is ‘slow to dry out’ be 100% waterproof?
Your hands sweat inside them.