These touchscreen gloves handle rain and cold – and fix my biggest issue with winter hikes

Cross Point Gear Sports gloves

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Cross Point’s sports gloves are available now for $55.
• They’re warm, waterproof, and comfortable, with a knit design that fits better than most waterproof gloves.
• They’re not cheap, but they’re worth the price.

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I have a love/hate relationship with outdoor gloves. I have secondary Raynaud’s syndrome affecting the blood flow into my extremities (thanks a bunch, Lyme disease), so if my hands and feet are exposed to cold temperatures, it increases my risk of injury. This means warm socks and gloves have become an essential component of my everyday gear. 

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Socks are easy, but gloves — less so. Finding waterproof gloves that have touchscreen capability and that fit me well has been quite an odyssey. I’m not sure if it’s just me and my non-standard hands (big hands with short fingers: my middle fingers are a ring size US 18 — as big as they get), but I find that most of the time, if I can get my hands into a glove, the fingers always seem to be about an inch or so too long. 

Not only does this look weird, but it makes operating touchscreens fiddly at best.  

Imagine my joy when I found outdoor gloves that ticked all the boxes — waterproof, warm, touchscreen compatible, and which fitted well. These Cross Point Gear Sports gloves have become a standard part of my kit.

The Sports gloves have a triple-layer construction. On the outside is a wind- and wear-resistant knitted nylon/spandex/lycra layer, and on the inside is a soft, moisture-wicking acrylic/polyester layer. Lastly, a waterproof and breathable Artex membrane is sandwiched between, keeping your hands dry no matter what. 

This creates a thin yet warm glove that’s ideal for milder winters. I’ve worn these down to about 23°F in hail and winds hitting 50 miles per hour, and my hands were warm enough. Not bad for gloves that are so thin and lightweight.

On top of being waterproof, these gloves dry fast too, which is a real bonus, because, let me tell you, there’s nothing more miserable than putting on wet gloves in the morning. 

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For hiking, they pack down small for stuffing into a pocket or bag when not needed. This was a huge difference compared to my previous waterproof gloves which were just huge and literally filled a pocket. They also have a grippy palm so you don’t drop your smartphone down a mountain.

The touchscreen capability is also accurate and precise, thanks to the close-fitting nature of the gloves. I did have to size up, but the fit is far better than the Sealskinz gloves I took with me on the Camino Frances last year. 

Not only did those fit badly (tight at the wrists, long fingers), but as it turned out, they weren’t anywhere near as waterproof as I’d been led to believe. By contrast, I can actually type with these gloves, which is quite a surprise as all the ones I’ve tried previously have been too cumbersome and only good enough for basic actions like firing up apps and scrolling around on maps. 

Something else that I’ve noticed after a few weeks of use is that these gloves do a really good job of resisting odor. Now I’m not saying that you can get away with not washing them, but they’re certainly good for a long expedition or numerous smaller hikes. 

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ZDNET’s buying advice

Cross Point Gear Sports gloves aren’t cheap at $55, but they’re well worth the price. I’ve tried many gloves over the years, from companies such as Sealskinz and Tactical 5.11, and these are one of the very few gloves that I’ve actually really enjoyed using and that I recommended. They’ve been built to do a job, and they do it well.