Top Driving Gloves Reviewed for Warmth, Style, and Track Safety

Driving gloves once served a vital purpose by protecting hands from the kickback and discomfort of wooden steering wheels, though modern power steering has made that practical use rare. Normal driving gloves today mostly add style and help a driver feel a better connection with the vehicle. Car and Driver experts updated their favorite picks for cold weather, classic styling, and track safety.

Cold Weather Picks

For freezing winter mornings, Hot Shot offers old-school wool pop-top mittens with leather palm padding and touchscreen compatibility. Alepo provides affordable polyurethane leather and wool hand warmers with full touchscreen fingers. Elma constructs flexible, durable hairsheep leather gloves with either cashmere or fleece interiors. Battery-heated gloves feature a rechargeable 3000mAh battery lasting up to eight hours with three heating levels and touchscreen index fingers. Hestra utilizes a Primaloft Gold lining and hairsheep leather shell for wet weather performance and durability.

Classic And Street Styles

Pratt and Hart offers minimal, ventilated driving gloves with snap closures and elasticized wrists. Riparo makes handmade, reverse-stitched genuine leather mitts in multiple colors. Opinari provides Peccary leather gloves with optional fingerless designs. Autodromo replicates 1950s and 1960s style with genuine sheep leather and cotton crochet backs in a stringback design. Café Leather crafts Triton racing-style gloves from carefully selected leather that develops a unique patina over time. Dents produces the Silverstone, an English driving glove featuring touchscreen-compatible leather treatment.

Track Safety Gear

Certified racing gloves are mandatory for proper track racing, and Hearst Autos staff recommend several compliant options. Sparco's entry-level Land gloves earn FIA and SFI approval while featuring suede anti-slip palm grips and reinforced stitching. Alpinestars offers SFI and FIA approved entry-level track gloves with silicon printed grips, heat-transfer logos, and an aramidic-fiber main shell meeting FIA 8856-2018 standards. OMP provides premium racing gloves also approved to the FIA 8856-2018 safety benchmark.

Context

Car and Driver tests products through its Gear Team using hands-on evaluations and maintains strict editorial independence without accepting payment for product placement. Driving gloves bridge historical motorsport heritage with modern convenience features like smartphone touchscreen compatibility.