I had never heard of Manzella gloves before they showed up in a goody bag I got at a trade show party in mid-January, but I’ve been wearing this pair of Sprint Reflect ones on the left ever since.

If you’re bopping around Southeast Asia or Central America for months on end, you don’t need to worry about gloves, but if you’re going to somewhere in the northern hemisphere in the cold months, you’d better be packing a pair. You don’t want some bulky pair of ski gloves that you’ll probably lose halfway through your trip, however. The ideal pair for travel is something stretchy that you can stuff into any corner of your bag, in your purse, in your daypack, or in a pocket.

Manzella makes some bulky ones too, but this Sprint model and the sleek Vapor ones with the yellow pictured at the top list for $15 and $20 respectively. For that price, they’re not all that technical, with one main layer of synthetic material. The big extra feature would be the grippy pads on the palm, which are great for bike handlebars or just holding onto what you’re carrying on a blustery day. They’re reflective too, so drivers can see you when you’re on the move or they’ll give you an edge when you’re hailing a taxi at night in New York or London.

These gloves are quite stretchy and fit snug against your hands, to the point where you almost forget they’re there—like a second skin. They come in identical models sized for men and women. Manzella makes other models where you can pop off the finger part to tie your shoes or shoot photos. Different models are designated as warm, warmer, and warmest. See the whole line at Manzella.com.

Manzella Sprint Gloves for Women or for Men at REI.com

Get the Vapor gloves at Amazon

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