In my years of snowboarding and even working as a snowboard instructor, I can tell you it’s important to have a good pair of kids snowboarding gloves. The reason is because your fingers are usually the first part of their body to get cold. You need a pair of kids snowboarding gloves that will keep their hands warm and dry. There are a few things you’ll want to consider before purchasing a pair of snowboard gloves or mittens for children, which we’ll discuss throughout this article.
The Ultimate Kids Snowboarding Gloves Guide
What’s the Difference Between Gloves and Mittens
Recommended Gloves & Mittens for Toddlers and Kids
Getting the Right Size and Fit
Kids Snowboarding Gloves Sizing Chart
Materials and Construction
The Anatomy of Snowboard Gloves
Additional Gear and Features
Where to Buy Kids Snowboard Gloves
What’s the Difference Between Kids Snowboarding Gloves and Mittens?
It’s very easy to tell kids snowboard gloves apart from mittens because they look different.
Gloves offer individual finger pockets, while mitts wrap around the entirety of your hand.
When it comes to warmth, mittens are the superior option. This is because all your fingers are grouped together and therefore can radiate and maintain internal heat better. With gloves, your fingers are separated and have to individually heat themselves.
But when it comes to dexterity, gloves are the better option. If you need to adjust straps, or maybe unzip your jacket to get something out of a pocket, you’ll have a much harder time while wearing mitts.
So that’s the trade-off, gloves provide more dexterity but mittens are warmer.
Back to top.
What Kind of Snowboarding Gloves Should You Get for Toddlers and Kids?
As a general rule, I recommend parents consider buying mittens for toddlers. If you have a young child that you’re introducing to snowboarding, chances are you’ll be helping them strap in their bindings and carrying their snowboard around the bunny hills. It’s going to be more important that you child’s fingers stay warm over having the dexterity of gloves.
However, as your child get’s older, when they can load and unload from the chairlift themselves and buckle their own bindings, switching to gloves may become more desirable.
Snowboarding Gloves & Mittens for Toddlers
If you’re looking to buy your children their first pair of snowboarding gloves, then take a look at the Toddlers’ Burton Warmest Mittens.
They have a gauntlet design that makes them easier to get on little hands. These mittens also have lightweight and breathable insulation along with Burton’s DRYRIDE membrane that uses DWR (durable water repellent) for waterproofing. This will keep toddlers’ hands dry and warm in a thin low-profile design that increases dexterity. These will cost about $50 CAD.
As your child gets older and you want to introduce them to gloves, I recommend looking at the Kids’ Burton Vent Gloves.
This is another entry-level glove that provides reliable amounts of insulation and waterproofing. The tips of the fingers have Screen Grab® tech, which lets kids use a phone or tablet device without removing their gloves. It also has an over-the-cuffs gauntlet design to make it easier to get on your child’s hands. Lastly, there’s a hand-warmer slot that doubles as a vent you can open on milder days. These will cost about $60 CAD.
Snowboarding Gloves & Mitten for Kids
If you have a child ready to ride all day long, you can step it up and go with a Gore-tex glove or mitt. GORE-TEX® is a patented fabric that is specifically woven so tight it’s waterproof, yet still porous enough to allow moisture to wick away. It is considered superior to DWR.
Look into the Kids’ Burton GORE-TEX Gloves or Mittens.
You can feel confident that with gore-text your child’s hands will keep sealed from the weather and will stay dry and warm throughout the day. These pairs are going for around $70 CAD.
If you’re planning a snowboarding trip for the family this season and you want to spoil your child with a great pair of mittens that you can count on providing all-day warmth and comfort, look at the Kids’ Burton Treeline Leather Mittens. These will cost about $90 CAD but you’re getting the insulated warmth and durability of goatskin leather.
The goatskin leather is naturally water-resistant and more durable than the previous nylon-based gloves and mitts. These are treated with DWR, which creates a membrane that makes them waterproof, windproof and generally warmer than nylon based gloves.
Back to top.
How to Get the Right Size & Fit?
Kids snowboard gloves will come in extra small, small, medium, large and extra large. The sizing is based on the circumference of your hand measured just below your knuckles. Some brands also use the length of your hand from the base of your palm to the tip of your middle finger.
If you don’t know the size of your hand you can use a tape measure. This will help if you want to buy kids snowboard gloves online.
Otherwise, it’s usually best to go into a snowboard shop and try on different snowboarding gloves to see what fits best. The fit you’re looking for is something snug where their whole hand feels wrapped in the glove’s material.
Back to top.
How to Fit Snowboarding Gloves for Kids
Have the child try different snowboarding gloves sizes. Ask them to pay attention to how the fit changes depending on the size of glove. If the child is letting you know that their finger tips feel curled or crammed, then you know the glove is too tight. When you get the child to put a glove on, have them make a fist, if they feel tight squeezing in the hand, that’s probably just a little too tight and small in size. The glove should feel comfortable with their hand open and closed in a fist.
The glove is too big if the child has open spaces above the tips of their fingers or thumb. You’ll want to avoid this because the open space can cause cold air to form which will make their fingers cold.
Here is a helpful kids snowboard gloves size chart if you have to buy gloves online:
| Age | Size | Measurement (CM) | Measurement (IN) |
| 1 to 2 yrs | Toddler S | 12.5 CM | 5” |
| 3 to 4 yrs | Toddler M | 14 CM | 5.5” |
| 5 to 6 yrs | Toddler L | 15 CM | 6” |
| 7 yrs | Kids’ XS | 16.5 CM | 6” |
| 8 yrs | Kids’ S | 18 CM | 6.5” |
| 10 yrs | Kids M | 18.5 CM | 7” |
| 12 yrs | Kids’ L | 19 CM | 7.5” |
| 14-16 yrs | Kids’ XL | 20.5 CM | 8” |
Back to top.
Materials and Construction of Kids Snowboarding Gloves
Gloves and mittens are constructed with either two primary materials: synthetics or leather.
The synthetic material is usually a nylon based fabric. This fabric is usually coated with ePTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), PU (Polyurethane), DWR (durable water repellent) or GORE-TEX®. These coatings allow for varying degrees of waterproofing and breathability.
Leather based gloves normally use cowhide or goatskin. These are naturally water-resistant and more durable than nylon. The leather can also be treated, which creates a membrane that makes them waterproof, windproof and generally warmer than nylon based gloves.
Back to top.
The Anatomy of Kids Snowboarding Gloves
There are four main portions of a glove that needs to be considered. These four areas will determine if a glove is going to suit your child’s needs throughout the winter.
The Membrane
A glove’s membrane is placed in between the shell and the insulation. It serves two functions. One is to provide waterproofing so your hands don’t get wet from outside snow or rain. The other is breathability, which allows the internal heat from your hand to escape the glove to prevent sweating and keep your hands dry.
It’s important that your hands stay dry, because if they sweat and get wet the outside air can cool your sweat which will cause your hands to get cold.
The Insulation
Insulation sits in between the membrane and the inner lining, or the inner material, of the glove. Insulation is meant to retain warmth inside the glove. A common insulation used in outerwear is called Thinsulate™. It looks like a very thin film of plastic wrap.
Another common insulation material is called Down. It’s a bit thicker than Thinsulate™ and can usually be found in gloves that are designed to withstand colder temperatures. It’s a material made up of down plumules and feathers. Down is best for cold dry air conditions. However, when down gets wet it can be slower to dry.
The Lining
The lining is the most internal material in a mens snowboard glove or mitten. It’s what your skin will be in direct contact with. The material is usually synthetic fleece or wool based because they have better moisture wicking qualities than cotton. The moisture wicking will pull sweet away from your hand and pass it through to the membrane.
The Palm
Snowboarding gloves and mitts typically have grips or reinforced materials around the palms, fingertips and thumbs. Sometimes the palm grips are made of silicon which help you grab and grip your board. Other times they can be made with leather or vinyl, which will last longer than silicon.
Back to top.
Additional Gear and Features in Kids Snowboard Gloves
Cuff Length
The length of a kids snowboard glove or mitten can be either short or long. Short cuffs are gloves that fit to the bottom of your wrist. Long cuffs extend down to your forearm. Generally, when wearing short cuff gloves you’ll pull your jackets sleeve over the glove. With long cuff gloves, sometimes called gauntlets, the material will be worn over the sleeves of your jacket. These pictures are a good example:
Wrist Cinches
The cinches can either be a buckle strap or a velcro strap that you pull snug to secure the fit of your gloves to your hand.
Thumb Wipes
Some kids snowboard gloves and mittens are designed with soft material on the sides of the thumb. This is for gently wiping your nose and get can get drippy outside in the cold.
Leashes and Wrist Cords
A lot of gloves and mitts will have elastic cords which you can use to secure around your wrist. This way if you ever need to take your gloves off on the chairlift to get something from your pockets you don’t have to worry about dropping and potentially loosing a glove.
Back to top.
Where to Buy Kids Snowboarding Gloves
With the product knowledge I’ve shared in this article, you should be ready to buy a pair of kids snowboarding gloves.
I believe it’s best to visit your local snowboarding shop. I recommend Corbett’s in Oakville, ON, or the Burton Flagship store in Ossington, Toronto, ON. When you’re in-store, you can get your child to try on a few different pairs and see how they fit before you make a purchase.
If it’s not possible to go to a store, you can buy kids snowboarding gloves online through Burton. You’ll have to purchase a pair and have them delivered to you before you can do a fitting with your child. Burton has a reliable return policy, but be sure to check the policies for other online retailers to make sure you’ll be safe to return anything or exchange it for something else.
Related Articles:
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboards Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Boots Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Bindings Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Goggles Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Helmet Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Base Layer Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Jackets Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Pants Guide
- The Ultimate Kids Snowboard Socks Guide