Originally Posted by
Leinster
Each to their own, but my experience growing up in Irish winters was that at the first hint of rain, wool knit gloves offered absolutely no wind protection any more. They just turned into heavy sodden lumps on the ends of your arms. You’d need a pair of rubber gloves over them to get any positive insulation.
Not that the Target gloves I mentioned are so completely weather proof as to keep your fingers toasty through the worst, but they offer that bit more water repelling, and what they do absorb they keep warmish.
As I said, for damp, light rain, and mist, wool works fine; soaking rain is another matter. There is also variability in the type of wool, like worsted vs. woollen, and how the fabric was processed, e.g. washed and dyed, things which affect the behavior of the fibers, and in particular, how much lanolin is in it, which may be the prime determinant of water repellency.