Wool gloves and mittens

I just returned from another trip where my wool mittens saved someone's hands whose synthetic gloves had gotten soaked and useless. I love synthetic materials for long underwear; capilene, polypropylene, thermax etc really do keep insulating after they're wet and they dry quickly. I am a little less sold on their reported ability to "wick" moisture away because my skin still feels damp - but the point is that even if I feel damp but I'm not cold, unlike the times I've worn cotton in cold weather.

Synthetic gloves, however, are a different issue. They may be able to handle dampness that comes from your hand sweating. But if your gloves get wet because you are hiking in the rain or whitewater rafting and temperatures are cool or cold (and why else would you be wearing gloves?), they are worse than useless. Really, bare hands are better.

But better still? Wool. Outdoorspeople used wools for years as their major insulating layer. But wool is bulkier, heavier, and takes longer to dry. So for long underwear, synthetic materials have been a major improvement (although newer forms of wool have been making a comeback in this area). For mittens and gloves however, in any situation where your hands are likely to get wet, wool wins hands down.