Specialist photography gloves may look like an overpriced luxury, when you can buy a pair of nice gloves on the high street for a fraction of the price. But if you shoot a lot in cold weather, they can make a huge amount of difference to how easily and comfortably you can operate your camera. OTEX is an Australian company that’s new to this market, with its first offering, the OTEX XT-801, promising a compelling set of features at a keen price.

　　At a glance: £43 (£54 including shipping) Two-layer waterproof shell Insulated, fleece-lined inners Fold-back index finger and thumb tips Touchscreen compatible Available in four sizes otexoutdoors.com.au So what, exactly, do these gloves have to offer for photographers? Fundamentally, they aim to tick off everything you might need from a pair of gloves when out shooting in wintery weather.

　　They’re designed to be warm, waterproof, and windproof, while incorporating fold-back tips for your index finger and thumb, so you can easily operate your camera’s controls. Those fingertips are coated to work with touchscreens, too, while the palm and fingers are covered with a ridged rubber grip.

　　To achieve all this, the gloves employ a layered design. The outer shell is made of waterproof and windproof ripstop nylon, and there’s a second waterproof liner too. Inside, you get insulation courtesy of 3M Thinsulate, rounded off by a fleece inner lining. A Velcro cuff secures them snugly on your hands.  

　　The Otex XT-801 gloves come in four sizes – S, M, L, and XL. A guide on OTEX’s website helps you work out which one to order, based on the length and circumference of your hand. Based on this, I chose the M size and found it fitted my hands nice and snugly.

　　Otex XT-801 key features: Grippy palms: The entire palm and inside of the fingers is covered with grippy rubber material Fold-back tips: Both the index finger and thumb have fold-back tips, which are secured by strong magnets Clip: A small clip allows you to keep the gloves together as a pair Cuff: A Velcro fastening allows you to secure the gloves for maximum warmth In practice, these gloves deliver on their promises with very few drawbacks. I used them while out walking and shooting for a couple of hours in freezing temperatures of 0°C, and they kept my hands nice and warm. It’s easy to fold the tips back when needed, and crucially they don’t expose too much of your fingers to the chill.

　　OTEX rates the gloves for temperatures down to -10° C. However in sub-zero conditions, I’d be tempted to add a pair of thin liner gloves, if only to keep my fingertips from freezing.

　　To test the waterproofing, I placed the gloves under a running tap, and they simply shrugged the water off, without any wetting at all. The touchscreen tips work, too, although they’re inevitably a little imprecise. But they’re fine for simple operations such as changing settings in your camera’s onscreen quick menu – the key is to use the tip of the glove, not your own fingertip.

　　As for downsides, I’m not so sure there are any. I’d prefer the OTEX logo on the little finger to be more subtle, but that’s about all. If you want a pocket on the back of the glove for memory cards, then you won’t find one here, but I never use them.

　　Otex XT-801: Our Verdict I’ve tried various kinds of photography gloves over the years, and I have to say that these OTEX XT-801s are probably the best I’ve yet used. They’re every bit as good as the trusty Vallerret Markhof Pro V2s that I’ve been wearing for the past few years, and better in a few key respects, notably waterproofing and touchscreen operation.

　　Overall, they do pretty much everything you could ask, and they’re very attractively priced, too.