Hestra is a Swedish family owned business that started in 1936 and is situated in the small town Hestra, in Småland – Sweden. It’s now run by the third and forth generations of the family, and the brand is known for it’s great quality.

I read about Hestra work glove in a bushcraft blog, and decided to get a pair. It was almost two years since I bought my pair, and they’ve seen a fair share of hard use and abuse during those years, and I use them on every trip.

They have been cut, burned and forgotten a few times but they still serve their purpose without issues.

The gloves are made out of deer skin, and after enough use they will form to fit your hands perfectly.

During the warmer season I use them as they are, and when it gets colder I use a thin merino wool liner glove underneath the work gloves. This will keep me warm down to a few degrees below freezing.

When taken care of, these gloves will put up with quite a bit of abuse. After every trip I saturate them in leather balm, and occasionally I wax them too. I just put the gloves on, grab some leather balm with the fingers and work it in. Just like washing your hands. When the gloves have enough leather balm and / or wax, they are waterproof. I can stick my hand in an ice cold mountain lake to fill up my water bottle without getting wet or cold.

I use them when I carve, and I have cut a few holes in them. But better the gloves than the fingers.

I definitely recommend these gloves. When they are too worn to use any more I will buy a new pair of the same model if they’re still for sale by then. I don’t know if they’re made anymore though. I can’t find them on Hestras web page, and the only place I could find them now are on Naturkompaniet.