Neoprene gloves protect your hands from cold and moisture and prevent your fingers from getting clammy quickly. They also improve your grip and protect against friction, so you don't have to stop your session early because your hands hurt.
Depending on the sport for which you use your neoprene gloves, they must meet different requirements, in terms of shape, material and thickness.
Which neoprene thickness is the right one?
- Cold winter, water temperature below 5 degrees: over 4 mm (depending on the sport)
- Transitional season, water temperature 6 to 16 degrees: 3 to 4 mm
- Summer, water temperature 17 to 22 degrees: 2 mm or less
As with wetsuits, neoprene gloves come in different thicknesses (from 1mm to 7mm), expressed in mm. The thicker the gloves, the warmer they tend to be, but also less flexible. This results in the disadvantage of needing more force, which causes the forearms to cramp earlier, which in turn leads to even colder hands. Our experience from practice is that very thick gloves no longer bring any advantage. We use even in the deepest winter only 3mm or maximum 4mm for kitesurfing, windsurfing or waving. For surfing in winter we also recommend gloves up to 7mm, because you don't have a bar or a boom in your hand.
5 Finger Neoprene Gloves
The classic neoprene glove, with this you have the wing, bar, SUP paddle or boom firmly in hand. You do easier when setting up the material. Unfortunately, the fingers here can not warm each other, so your fingers in these gloves do not stay warm for so long.
Neoprene mittens
These are the optimal neoprene gloves for winter. The fingers can warm each other, however, one does rather more difficult in the construction of the material.
Lobster and 3 finger neoprene gloves
The shape of these neoprene gloves is reminiscent of the scissors of a lobster. The advantage to pure mittens is the mobility. The index finger remains mobile, while the rest of the glove is closed and retains heat similarly well as a mitten.
Open palm neoprene gloves
The inside of the palms is open, so you have a direct feel on the bar or boom. However, the outside still gives good protection against the cold. A great glove for the transitional period.
Pre-curved neoprene gloves
When wringing, kitesurfing, windsurfing or stand up paddling, the hands have to grip all the time and the thicker the material, the more strength you need in the forearms. From a thickness of 3 mm we recommend to use preformed neoprene gloves, because you need less force to grip. This form of gloves does not bring any advantages when surfing.
Full-finger gloves, half-finger gloves and fingerless gloves
Full-finger gloves provide the most warmth and protection, while fingerless gloves allow more flexibility, freedom of movement as well as sensitivity, but provide little thermal protection and are therefore mostly used only in summer.
How should a neoprene glove fit?
A well-fitting neoprene glove should not be too wide, so that no cold water can get in. It should also not be too tight, because otherwise it would constrict the hand, which would cause the fingers to cool down even faster.
Which brands do we recommend?
All brands in our online store are among the best in the surf and kite sector.
The main differences between the brands are:
- Fit: each brand tailors differently
- Construction and neoprene used
- Number of fingers
- Brand image
We carry among others the brands: Prolimit, XCEL and Neilpryde. On request we can also provide neoprene gloves of other brands, which we do not have listed online. We are happy to advise you personally and individually, contact us for this by phone or email.
