David Lintern is impressed with a pair of pairs from this Swedish brand – the Hestra Ergo Grip Active Wool Terry 5-finger glove and the Hestra Army Leather Blizzard.
Swedish company Hestra is well known for its high-quality mountaineering and skiing gloves. I tested two pairs: the Hestra Ergo Grip Active Wool Terry I’m focusing on here, and the beefier Hestra Army Leather Blizzard which I’ll comment on for comparison. The headline is that both are excellent but designed for different work and different weather.
David Lintern Highly Recommends
These are the first Hestras I’ve owned, and I’m impressed. They are well-designed and well-made, and if looked after they will last years.- Versatile
- dextrous
- hard wearing
- breathable
- none
| Quick Specs |
|---|
| RRP: $150 / £100 (available from Hestra Gloves) Weight: 139g (pair, size 9) Materials: Neoprene, wool terry, goat leather, Ventrus 3- layer Polyester/Nylon/Polyurethane 4 way stretch fabric Features: Velcro and neoprene cuff, wool terry liner, pre shaped goatleather palm, weatherproof and breathable fabric on back of hand Sizes: 6-11 (Hestra size guide) Unisex hestragloves.uk |
First, sizing and fitting: should you not have the opportunity to try in the flesh, the website tool is surprising simple and accurate, even for someone, like myself, who struggles to find size large gloves with shorter fingers. The Ergo Grip come pre-shaped in the fingers and further moulded to my own hands after only a couple of outings. I think the range of sizes on offer, and the goat leather palm both contribute to a close-fitting and dextrous glove. Now they are broken in a little I can even get a thin liner glove underneath; still, I’d say that online fitting guide is true to size.
The Velcro and neoprene cuff is easily adjustable and sits deftly under a shell jacket, keeping wind, snow and drizzle at bay. There’s a small clip inside each cuff to allow the gloves to be looped together for safekeeping. The leather palm and fingers become more supple with each outing, and the seams are carefully positioned so as not to get in the way of fiddly tasks – adjusting a zip, or handling a camera or a map and compass. I generally found I needed to take these off a lot less that normal… although don’t expect to be able to operate a phone screen with these on!
The terry wool liner stays in place when taking on and off, and is soft and comfortable and quite thin. That, plus the stretchy softshell style backing fabric, means this model works best for higher-energy activity where the hands might sweat too much in a thicker glove. That said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by just how weather-resistant and multi-purpose the Ergo Grips are. They are as comfortable holding an axe or two as they are a pair of bike bars, walking poles or a bulky full frame camera.
Hestra doesn’t claim waterproofness, but I spent a full day in wintry showers practising navigation legs and the Ergo Grips kept my hands warm and dry throughout. At higher altitudes and in colder winds, I was glad to have the second pair of Hestras to hand.
So, how do they compare to the Hestra Army Leather Blizzard? Those are definitely the next level up in terms of warmth and weatherproofness. It’s a gauntlet-style glove, with large bucket cuffs that pull easily over a shell and can be closed off at the cuff and at the wrist. The all-important wrist loops are included to stop them blowing away. The palm and the back of the hand are similar to the Ergo Grip: leather and a softshell-style fabric respectively. For such a warm, chunky glove they are still very dextrous, with seams kept away from finger pads.
The genius stroke here is the completely removable, G-loft liner. It goes in and comes out easily, Velcroes in place, and means that drying times are hugely improved over other models with stitched-through systems. Replaceable liners are part of the brand’s sustainability programme, along with a repair service.
These are the first Hestras I’ve owned, and I’m impressed. They are well-designed and well-made, and if looked after they will last years.
How we tested
David wore the gloves on day hikes in the Cairngorms during the first snows of winter 2025, in 35mph, -12 deg wind chill, medium-heavy rain showers and while mountain biking. He has large palms but shorter fingers.
