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Gear Review - Hestra Ergo Active 5-Finger ski touring gloves

Henry
3 days ago
4 min read

A new pair of gloves for mild lift days and on spring tour tracks - can they live up to Hestra's industry-leading reputation?

I had been umm-ing and ahh-ing over a new pair of gloves for some time before biting the bullet on the Hestra Ergo Active 5-Finger; a positive review from a colleague skiing in them in warmer conditions, combined with a desire to do more ski touring where they would utilised more, swung the balance in their favour.

I had been looking for a pair of gloves to use whilst touring, as I always found the extra layer between me and the snow a comfort in case anything went wrong; it would be a relief not to have to worry about cold and damp fingers when transitioning between uphill and downhill. This all being said, I was completely sold on the Active 5-Finger's colour ways - white and navy, with a scarlet flash on the cuff - and dove in.

With over twenty days skiing last year in some of the mildest conditions I had yet known, I really did push them to the test. This is my review of the Hestra Ergo Active 5-Finger

The Brand

Hestra was founded in the small town of Hestra, in the heart of South Sweden, nearly 80 years ago by the Magnusson family. Still based there, and still owned by the fourth generation of Magnussons, Hestra produce over 2 million pairs of gloves a year and remain the last word in quality glove manufacturing for all kinds of outdoor activities.

The family are still actively involved in the business, choosing materials including wool, leather and fabric, and remaining active in the manufacturing process. The ability to control the quality of their manufacturing ensure the high quality of the end product.

Hestra gloves are widely known and widely used across a wide range of winter activities. Whilst the Ergo Active is more of a “working glove” - suitable for cross country skiing, biathlon, or ski touring - the Army Leather series has been the go-to for ski instructors and mountain guides the world over.

The Gear

The Ergo Active 5-Finger is simple in its design, but super effective in its construction. The palm and entire lower part of the glove are made from leather, which readers of this blog will know I am a huge fan of; it is tough, waterproof, windproof, and, whilst not exactly warm, does a fairly good job keeping the cold out considering there is no added insulation.

The top of the glove is made from a very breathable synthetic neoprene, that moves and flexes and, yes, breathes, making it perfect for high intensity activities like skiing and ski touring.

Add in a nice, crisp, clean colourway, and that is pretty much that. To call the colourway crisp and clean is far too much of an understatement; it is seriously good. My pair feature a white leather palm and navy blue upper, with a flash of red on the cuff. Not only is this my absolute favourite colour combination that matches my ski fit, it just looks so good too.

The Hestra Ergo Active 5-Finger in action in winter 2024/25 in the powder, on piste, and on the skin track.

This year’s colourways are a little … different. The white leather has give way in places to a tan option instead in places; white reserved for light and pastel blues and pinks, tan for darker blues, blacks and browns. They’re not bad, per se, just different.

There’s a couple of really nice additions to the gloves that really show off that Hestra know what they are on about. First of all, the leather is tailored to perfection, each finger pre-shaped to more perfectly match the grip of your hand. There’s also an extra padding of leather on the outside of the index finger – exactly where you are trying to buckle up icey boots in bitterly cold conditions, clip iced-over pins into ski, or change your boots back from walk to ski mode. The thought and placement that has gone into this tiny strip of additional material is truly impressive, and demonstrates a brand and a product that really knows what it is made for.

When out touring the leather did its job brilliantly, meaning I no longer had to worry about cold and damp fingers when transitioning, and for the next half hour afterwards, too! They kept the cold and the snow out really well and genuinely improved the quality of my ski touring days as a result.

The neoprene is also fantastic. At first through it is an odd choice, but again it fulfils its role perfectly. Breathable, stretchy, and comfortable, this comes in to its own during mild lift days or the springiest of spring ski tours, helping regulate temperature and wick sweat away really really well.

This material combination worked really well in powder, too, where the leather kept off the worst of the cold and damp blowing powder, but the neoprene made sure that things stayed cool and non-sweaty even on the mildest, hardest working tree laps!

Drawbacks

I'm really trying to think of some drawback to these gloves, but struggling. The only thing I can think of is that there is not much insulation - on the coldest of cold days they will struggle to keep up. But ... that's not what these are designed for? These are touring gloves, designed for spring touring days or mild alpine days. And they do that so, so well.

Final Thoughts

These really are brilliant bits of kit. Every little piece of design has very clearly been thought out for the role these gloves are supposed to play, the care and attention to detail from the Magnusson family glowing through. I cannot recommend these enough for ski touring work gloves or milder alpine lift-access days.