What material is best for durable, waterproof, gloves in many temperatures and weather conditions?

Question

I have a problem with one hand that has bad circulation, this means that if my hand gets cold and wet for extended times I get chilblains which are more than a nuisance.

The problem is that I have an outdoor job that causes a lot of wear and tear on the hands, as I am basically lifting a metal pole for hours on end. Every glove I buy becomes torn between the index finger and middle finger, and along the length of the index finger. This happens after only three days of work. I have bought gloves made for work, skiing, climbing, etc.

Instead of trying gloves made for different activities and wasting my money I thought I would ask here:

What is a good waterproof material for gloves that will be used outdoors in cold and wet conditions, and that will suffer a lot of abuse?

Answer 1

The variety used by pipe fitters working the oil fields in the Great White North:

You sound like you're working on the oil rigs, which explains why the pointer finger on your gloves keeps blowing out. Ski gloves and climbing gloves aren't going to take the abuse of turning pipe all day, what you need is a sturdy pair of leather gloves with a reinforced forefinger, or rather, a couple pairs with warn liners.

Check out this Canadian line of winter work gloves for working the oil fields up North.

I grew up in a mining town in the Canadian Rockies, one of my first jobs was working with my hands outside in the coal pits at -30°C. My solution was to wear waterproof gauntlet gloves layered with wool liners. I currently live in Alberta, Canada, where working outside in the extreme cold is a way of life. I know tonnes of people that are working, or have worked the oil fields up north, where temperatures regularly drop to -40°C. Bombproof winter work gloves are one thing that every work wear store stocks a lot of in this part of the world.