Ninjas that Fight Ice: The Best Gloves for Handling Icy Water

In cold weather fishing, the hands are the first body part to suffer, and boy do they suffer. Last time I was in Northern Ontario, spring was late and by the end of the trip, my hands looked like raw hamburger. I’d have walked across Canada for a pair of Ninja Ice gloves by MCR Safety.

The company makes two different models of nitrile-coated thermal-insulated gloves and both are super cheap. I have found that the best fishing supplies often do not come from a sporting goods store. This is certainly one of those times. Not only are the gloves affordable, but they overflow in hand-saving features.

The shell construction is a combination of nylon and polyester that works like a wetsuit, so you can soak these in icy water and still stay warm. Inside is a brushed polyester micro terry cloth liner.

I sat near the lake staring at the proprietary HPT (Hydropellent Technology) coating like a kid on Christmas, marveling at how it repelled water and retained a slip-free grip on wet surfaces. Along with keeping hands dry, the HPT is also snag-resistant and protects your hands from the unavoidable battle damage of fishing or any other job that involves manual labor in cold and wet conditions. The best thing about these gloves is that they allow for a full range of finger motion, so you can still tie on lures, adjust wiring, type on a keypad, etc.

One thing to be sure to note when ordering is that the fully coated HPT coverage model (FC N9690FC) stretches less than the model that has HPT only on the palm side (N9690). Case in point: I needed a full size larger for the total coverage gloves. Knowing that discrepancy will help when ordering. Now all you need to worry about is where the fish are.