We buy all the products we test — no freebies from companies. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission, which helps support our testing.
The Arc'teryx Fission SV is an impressive glove for the discerning skier. Across the board, these gloves excelled in almost every testing metric. They are warmer than most other products in our review, except for the battery-powered heated options. They are also some of the most water-resistant gloves in our review, thanks to a great design and Gore-Tex membrane. They are amazingly dexterous for the warmth, and few other gloves provide as much dexterity with the same amount of insulation. That makes the Fission SV a versatile glove for a variety of conditions and activities, from skiing to sledding, shoveling, urban use, and more. These gloves also stand out for their durability, which we found to be among the best on the market. If you are looking for a warm, protective glove for cold resort skiing, or any other activity for that matter, the Fission SV is one of the best.
REASONS TO BUY
Warm
Water resistant
Durable
Dexterous
Lightweight and packable
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Lacks some features
Funky fit
The Fission SV runs large, so consider choosing one size smaller than you usually would. It's a unisex glove, yet we feel that the sizing doesn't accommodate wearers with very small hands (usually women). While our lady shredders with larger hands chose it as one of their favorites overall, those with smaller hands found even the extra small was still too big. There were some scoring discrepancies in the warmth tests done by our male and female testers, and we suspect the fit is the reason why. Long story short, be sure you take the time to try on a pair for size before making a final selection.
Top-tier performance, coupled with exceptional versatility across a wide range of conditions
The best glove on the market, these gloves are the complete package
Boasting a toasty level of warmth, this mitt protects your hands well at a fair price
A warm and comfortable mitten at an excellent value
This solid ski glove provides warmth and weather protection at a budget-friendly price
Rating Categories
Arc'teryx Fission SV
Rab Khroma Freeride...
Black Diamond Mercu...
The North Face Mont...
Gordini GTX Storm
Warmth(25%)
8.0
8.0
9.0
8.0
5.0
Dexterity(25%)
8.0
9.0
2.0
2.0
5.0
Water Resistance(25%)
9.0
8.0
8.5
7.0
6.0
Construction Quality(15%)
8.0
8.0
8.0
7.0
7.0
Features(10%)
5.0
7.0
7.0
8.0
6.0
Specifications
Arc'teryx Fission SV
Rab Khroma Freeride...
Black Diamond Mercu...
The North Face Mont...
Gordini GTX Storm
Double or Single Glove
Single
Single
Double
Single
Single
Gauntlet or Cuff
Gauntlet
Gauntlet
Gauntlet
Gauntlet
Gauntlet
Palm Material
Leather
Pittards Armor-Tan® Goat leather
Goat leather
Synthetic leather
Polyurethane
Inner Glove Material
Octa Loft
Pile
Recycled fleece
Raschel fleece
Polyester
Waterproof Material
Gore-Tex Active
Gore-Tex Plus Warm
BD.dry
DryVent
Gore-Tex
Insulation Type
133 g Primaloft Gold, 200 g Primaloft Silver
100 g Mapped Primaloft Gold (main). 133 g Primaloft Gold (back of hand), 133 g Primaloft Gold grip control (palm)
340 g PrimaLoft Gold, high-loft fleece
250 g Heatseeker Eco (back of hand). 160 g Heatseeker Eco (palm)
Megaloft
Special Features
Carabiner clip, removeable wrist leash
Removeable wrist leash
None
Removeable wrist leashes
Handwarmer pocket, removeable wrist leash
Nose Wipe
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Our Analysis and Test Results
Arc'teryx consistently makes some of the highest-performance winter gear on the market, and the Fission SV is an all-around masterpiece. We loved its warmth, weather resistance, and durability. It is also lightweight and stylish.
Performance Comparison
Shredding cold, shady chutes in the Fission SV during the cold Wyoming winter.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Warmth
The Fission SV is a warm glove that is best used during cold days at the ski area, below about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is warmer than that, or you are skiing bumps or hiking for turns, this glove might be too warm. Its warmth is especially impressive given that the insulation doesn't detract from the dexterity of the product. This glove is not as warm as the electronically heated options, but it isn't too far behind, either. As our lead tester and IFMGA Mountain Guide Jeff Dobronyi notes, “These gloves are super warm, and I pack them in the bottom of my backpack during winter ski missions just in case I need to get my hands warm quickly.” These gloves are like a puffy jacket for your hand.
Soft, puffy synthetic insulation makes these gloves one of the warmest in the review, as well as one of the most comfortable.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Dexterity
The Fission SV proved to be one of the most dexterous contenders in our review. We were blown away by how well we were able to use our fingers without needing to take our gloves off. The fingers are fully insulated and stay warm on the coldest days, yet they also provide more dexterity than most others that we tested. The glove, on the whole, features a snug fit from the fingers through the wrist, excellent tailoring, and soft leather. We also like that the stretchy softshell exterior fabric allows for a tight fit that also stretches when you bend your fingers. However, remember that dexterity also depends heavily on fit, and we recommend sizing down by at least one size compared to other gloves since these ones run quite large. As noted above, finding the correct size may be an issue for those with smaller hands, especially women, and this may affect the dexterity of the glove.
The Fission SV features excellent finger tailoring and a tight but stretchy exterior softshell fabric. They excelled in the dexterity metric.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Water Resistance
The Fission SV is one of the most water-resistant gloves we have ever tested. A Gore-Tex membrane ensures that no water penetrates into the interior of the glove, and the softshell exterior fabric is also tremendously water-resistant, meaning that the fabric outside of the waterproof membrane doesn't absorb much water either. All of the seams on the leather palms and fingers are watertight, and the gauntlet cuff is well-tailored and effective, worn inside the jacket or out. And, if the interior of the gloves does get wet, they are quick to dry out after a storm.
Tough leather and waterproof softshell exterior fabric kept all water out of the Fission SV's interior chamber.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Durability
Most gloves in our review feature a leather palm, and the Fission SV does as well, but this model stands out for its durability. The leather is soft and supple straight out of the box, but it resists wear and tear. The stitching is tight, the construction is solid, and the other materials are strong as well. There are leather reinforcement patches on high-use areas of the palm, fingers, and knuckles, but even after using these gloves for technical ski tours including plenty of rope work like rappelling and lowering, the leather palm showed no signs of wear. The glove's weather resistance has not been affected by use, either.
Strong materials and tight seams contribute to the Fission SV's excellent durability.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Features
The Fission SV has a decent amount of features that are useful for both resort skiing and backcountry skiing, although not as many as other gloves on the market. In the end, we found that this model has exactly what we needed. It features an elastic wrist gasket, a storm gauntlet with an elastic pull cord, and a clip to keep the gloves together when traveling or to hang when drying. It also features a small loop on the ring finger for hanging the gloves cuff-side down and low-profile elastic wrist leashes that work well. This glove is missing some of the bells and whistles of other ski gloves, but our testers didn't think this lack of features in the Fission SV was a deal-breaker.
Hang loops on the ring fingers of each glove are useful for hanging and quickly drying the glove, whether at home at the end of the day or on a harness during a day of ice climbing or ski mountaineering.
Credit: Jeff Dobronyi
Should You Buy the Arc'teryx Fission SV?
Arc'teryx is known for its quality products and the high prices that usually come along with them. Lucky for your hands, in this instance, the price is only a bit higher than other gloves on the market, and it is significantly cheaper than the heated models. If you are looking for a top-notch ski glove for cold, wet weather that will also last a long time, this is a great choice. That said, we would consider it a great value but not necessarily a great deal. For the occasional resort skier, these gloves are probably not worth the price, as you can get a glove suitable for your needs at a much lower price. However, the fantastic Arc'teryx warranty program makes these a good choice for those who wear their gloves on a near-daily basis in the winter and want to invest in a pair that will last them years.
The Arc'teryx Fission SV is a great choice for touring or resort skiing.
Credit: Rachel Croft
What other Ski Gloves Should You Consider?
If you need a glove that provides similar all-around performance but you want to save a few bucks, the Rab Khroma Freeride is our overall favorite, although you will miss out on a smidge of water resistance. For users who are shopping on a tight budget, we recommend the Gordini GTX Storm. If you want even more warmth, the Black Diamond Guide is the warmest glove on the market that doesn't have a battery-powered heater. And if you want the absolute warmest glove possible, the Outdoor Research Prevail Heated is the best electrically-heated glove.
The Fission SV in action. This is one of our favorite ski and snowboard gloves on the market.
