Thinsulate Gloves Explained: What the Grams Mean and How to Choose
Almost every pair of serious winter gloves you'll pick up this season — ski gloves, Thinsulate mittens, walking gloves, work gloves — carries the same small promise on the label: "Thinsulate™ insulation". And almost nobody buying them can say what the "60g" or "100g" next to it means, or why two gloves that look identical can behave completely differently on the mountain.
Here's the short version of this guide: the gram number is the warmth rating, your sport decides the number, and the shell decides everything the insulation can't do. The rest is detail — but the detail is what separates gloves you replace after one winter from gloves you wear for five.
Table of Contents
What Is Thinsulate?
Thinsulate brand gloves are insulated with a synthetic microfibre developed by 3M. The engineering idea, in the company's own words: more fibres per given thickness than other insulations, meaning more — and smaller — air pockets. And because those pockets are too small for air to circulate freely inside them, the convection currents that would otherwise carry heat away can't get started. Read the technology explained on the Thinsulate brand site.
Two consequences matter to you as a buyer. First, the insulation is thin for its warmth — a 100g Thinsulate glove is slimmer than a fleece glove of similar warmth, which keeps dexterity and pole/lift grip. Second, it's synthetic: it keeps insulating when damp and dries fast, where down quits the moment it gets wet.
What the Gram Ratings Actually Mean
The rating — 40g, 60g, 80g, 100g, 200g — is the weight of insulation fabric per square metre. More grams, more trapped air, more warmth. 3M publishes measured thermal resistance for each grade in its technical data sheets, and the ratings climb in clean steps: roughly doubling the weight moves a glove from "autumn walking" to "January lift queue". See the thermal resistance values in 3M's technical data sheet.
| Rating | Feel on the hand | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| 40 g/m² | Light, high dexterity | Running, autumn cycling, ski touring on the up |
| 60–80 g/m² | Medium, still slim | Spring skiing, everyday winter, active walking |
| 100–150 g/m² | Properly warm | Resort skiing, cold-weather hiking, dog walking in February |
| 200 g/m²+ | Expedition-grade, bulky | Deep cold, standing still, ice fishing, sled days |
One rule of thumb the table hides: activity cancels grams. A moving body warms a light glove impressively; a stationary one drains even a 200g glove on a chairlift. Buy for the coldest, stillest hour of your day, not the warmest.
Thinsulate vs Fleece vs Down
| Thinsulate | Fleece | Down | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warmth for thickness | Excellent — thin but dense | Moderate — needs bulk | Best of all — when dry |
| Performance when damp | Keeps insulating | Reasonable | Poor — clumps and quits |
| Drying speed | Fast | Fast | Very slow |
| Price | Moderate | Low | High |
| Best use | Winter sport gloves | Liners, autumn, budget | Dry-cold expeditions |
For snow sports the choice is almost automatic: wet is a certainty, so synthetic wins. Down earns its place in dry, still, severe cold — think Nordic February, not a slushy March piste.
Matching Grams to Your Winter Sport
- Skiing and snowboarding: 100–150g insulated glove, or a lighter glove with a removable liner system for touring.
- Winter walking and hiking: 60–100g — you generate real heat; prioritise a windproof, water-resistant shell.
- Running and winter cycling: 40g or less, with a wind-blocking front panel. Sweat is the enemy here, not the air temperature.
- Standing around at cold events, spectating, photography: 200g, or mittens — dexterity matters less than survival.
Gloves, Mittens, Shells and Layers
Insulation is one layer of a system, not the system itself:
- Shells carry the weather. Insulation has no waterproofing of its own — a membrane or coating in the shell is what keeps the grams dry and working. "Insulated but not waterproof" is a dry-resort glove.
- Liners add a gear system, not just warmth. A merino or thin synthetic liner under a 100g glove buys serious extra warmth — and liners alone cover milder days. Our merino accessories guide covers the base-layer logic that starts with hats.
- Mittens beat gloves at every equal weight. Fingers sharing one air pocket simply run warmer — which is why children's kit leans heavily on mittens. See our children's ski mittens guide for the small-hands version of this argument.
Caring for Insulated Gloves
- Machine wash cool on a gentle cycle when the label allows; otherwise hand-wash in lukewarm water.
- Dry slowly at room temperature, opening the cuffs wide — never on a radiator or in a tumble dryer, which clumps the fibres and delaminates membranes.
- Never wring; press water out in a towel.
- Storage: dry, uncompressed. A glove crushed at the bottom of a boot bag for a summer loses loft it won't fully recover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Thinsulate waterproof?
No — it's insulation only. Any waterproofing in a Thinsulate glove comes from the shell's membrane or coating, which is why two "Thinsulate gloves" can behave completely differently in rain.
Do insulated gloves lose warmth over time?
Slowly, with compression and washing — a well-cared-for pair holds most of its performance for several seasons of regular use. Heat-drying is what kills them young.
What's the difference between Thinsulate and other synthetic insulations?
Brand, fibre engineering and density per thickness. Thinsulate's pitch is warmth-per-millimetre — slimmer gloves at the same warmth. Functionally, all quality synthetic insulations share the key property for snow sports: they keep working damp.
Shop Ski Accessories
Gloves and mittens are where winter comfort is won — pair them with thermal socks and a proper hat, and the cold stops being the topic of your holiday.
Browse ski accessories at Desvips, or read more in our Ski & Snowboard articles.
