REASONS TO BUY
Great features
Good dexterity
Weather-proof
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Not that warm
Hestra Army Leather Heli Review
This stylish and heavily featured glove is a good choice for everyday use
Credit: Hestra
RELATED: Best Ski Gloves of 2024
Our Verdict
The Hestra Army Leather Heli is a well-built and high-performance glove that is suitable for most days at the ski hill, a popular workhorse for our testers. They perform well across the board without excelling in any particular area, so the gloves don't stand out from the pack. However, they provide enough warmth and weather resistance for most resort days, enough dexterity for most fine motor tasks, and are durable. If you are looking for gloves that are built to withstand the demands of skiing day-in and day-out, and only want one pair for every day of the winter, these are a good choice.
Editor's note: We updated the Army Leather Heli review with comparative information and other product recommendations on December 1, 2022.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Hestra Army Leather Heli | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | | | |
| Price | Check Price at Backcountry Compare at 4 sellers | $200 List Check Price at REI | $75 List $63.67 at Amazon | $83.93 at REI Compare at 4 sellers | $65 List $45.50 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | These gloves perform well across the board, but they don't stand out from the pack | Top-tier performance, coupled with exceptional versatility across a wide range of conditions | This excellent ski glove provides warmth and weather resistance at a budget-acknowledging price | 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 |
| Rating Categories | Hestra Army Leather... | Arc'teryx Fission SV | Gordini GTX Storm T... | Black Diamond Mercu... | The North Face Mont... |
| Warmth (25%) | |||||
| Dexterity (25%) | |||||
| Water Resistance (25%) | |||||
| Durability (15%) | |||||
| Features (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Hestra Army Leather... | Arc'teryx Fission SV | Gordini GTX Storm T... | Black Diamond Mercu... | The North Face Mont... |
| Double or Single Glove | Double | Single | Single | Double | Single |
| Gaunlet or Cuff? | Gauntlet | Gauntlet | Gauntlet | Gauntlet | Gauntlet |
| Palm Material | Goat leather | Leather | Polyurethane | Goat leather | Synthetic leather |
| Waterproof Material | Impregnated leather, polyamide | Gore-Tex | Gore-Tex | BD.dry | DryVent |
| Insulation Type | G-Loft Polyester | 133g Primaloft Gold Eco and 200g Primaloft Silver Eco | Megaloft | 340 g PrimaLoft Gold, high-loft fleece | Back of hand: 250g Heatseeker Eco Palm: 160g Heatseeker Eco |
| Nose Wipe? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Hestra Army Leather Heli gloves don't stand out in any one performance metric, but they don't fall short in any, either.
Performance Comparison
The Hestra Heli in action, packing up pockets for a full day of skiing ahead.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Warmth
The Army Leather Heli is warm enough for most days, but it doesn't have enough insulation for the coldest days of winter. The thick, removable fleece liner provides all of the glove's warmth, and we found that our hands got cold on days below about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. They are great on days when you ride a gondola or heated chairlift, and although we haven't had a chance to test them in their namesake activity of heliskiing, we imagine they would excel in this alternatively hot and cold activity.
A fleece liner provides good, but not great, warmth.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Dexterity
Hestra gloves are known for their dexterity, and although these gloves have good sensitivity, they could be better. Nonetheless, they are plenty capable of performing tasks like buckling boots, zipping jackets, and manipulating helmets. The finger tailoring isn't as good as other high-end products, but it's good enough, considering the price.
The finger tailoring provides enough dexterity for most tasks, though there are more dexterous gloves out there for the same warmth.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Water Resistance
These gloves feature a Gore-Tex membrane that keeps water and wind out of the inside of the glove. They also feature large, long wrist gauntlets that easily fit over the cuffs of large puffy jackets, making it easy to seal out stormy weather. During our test period, we were unable to get water to penetrate the inside of these gloves, but in our long experience with Hestra gloves, the palm leather eventually wears down and becomes more absorbent. Hestra includes a leather treatment wax with these gloves, anticipating this eventuality. Overall, these gloves offer great weather resistance for the average skier and a good lifetime of weather resistance for guides and ski mountaineers who need excellent protection.
Large gauntlet cuffs and a waterproof membrane provide lots of weather resistance.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Durability
The supple leather palm is similar to that of other Hestra gloves we've tested in the past, and that experience tells us that these should last about 125 days of use. For the average skier, that's 3-5 years of use, which is great. But for professionals like ski guides and patrollers, that is just over one season. Realistically, few gloves exceed that lifespan, but there are a few on the market that can.
A supple leather palm is great for comfort and dexterity, but it wears thin over time, resulting in holes. In our experience, it takes many seasons for the average skier to wear out these gloves.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Features
These gloves are loaded with useful features. They have wrist straps that tighten the glove in place, gauntlet cuffs that fit over jackets to seal out bad weather and cold temps, and wrist leashes so that you don't lose your gloves when you take them off on windy days or chairlift rides. They also come with a carabiner to keep the pair together, and a small loop of fabric on the back of the index finger that facilitates hanging from a harness when alpine climbing or mountaineering. Finally, the liner is removable and can be used during fall hiking or spring skiing.
A removable fleece liner makes the gloves easy to dry out, rounding out the set of features on the Hestra Heli.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
Should You Buy the Hestra Army Leather Heli?
While not cheap, these gloves deliver good performance across the board. If you are looking for a solidly-constructed glove that will last a reasonably long time and deliver good performance across a range of metrics, these are a great choice and a good value.
What Other Ski Gloves Should You Consider?
If you like the all-around performance that these gloves deliver, check out the Rab Khroma Freeride, which costs just a little more and offers a higher performance. The Arc'teryx Fission SV is a little more expensive but offers the best performance on the market. If you are on a budget and looking for a quality glove that won't break the bank, the Gordini GTX Storm Trooper II is a clear choice.
The Hestra Heli at work on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies.
Credit: Jackie Kearney
—
Jeff Dobronyi
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