Mustang survival traction uv open finger gloves

First of all, let’s get this out of the way… I have fragile hands. It’s sad to say, but it’s true. The Yukon 1000 left me with stress fractures in the proximal phalanges of my left and right index fingers and I’ve always struggled with blisters for any paddle longer than 1-1.5 hours regardless of how much I build up calluses. During long, grueling races the calluses I develop always form blisters underneath or just flat out rip off. To deal with my hand fragility, I’m pretty sure I’ve tested nearly every paddling glove on the market and even many that are not specifically designed for paddling. The Mustang Survival Traction UV Open Finger Gloves (not a paid affiliate link) have been a game changer for me. They are lightweight, provide sun protection all day (don’t have to waste time re-applying sunscreen), moisture wicking, and have the absolute best padding for hot spots for long paddles. I’ve used these gloves in ultra endurance races like the Yukon 1000, Alabama 650, Last Paddler Standing, and California River Quest in addition to nearly every time I’m on the water. I bought my only pair on November 17th, 2023 and they are still going strong as of this post on 5/31/26 after logging thousands of miles and enduring training in the desert heat of Phoenix, Arizona (even when storing them in my trunk everyday on hot summer days). The stitching has just started to come out a bit near the wrists, but they are still fully functional and comfortable after racing in the CRQ just 7 days ago. I probably will go the rest of the year with these pair before I will break down and buy a new set. One of the things I love most about these gloves is the longer finger protection while still having open fingertips. I commonly get blisters on the pads of my intermediate phalanges with the typical NRS paddling gloves which do not extend the length of the intermediate phalanges, so the design of the MS UV Tractions gloves is perfect for me. If I were to redesign these gloves, the only modification I would make would be to add a bit more padding on the inside of the thumb pads (my most bothersome hot spot), but again these are the best all-around paddling gloves I’ve found to date. For multi-day races like the Alabama 650 and the Yukon 1000 I will typically add another layer of protection underneath these gloves (Copper Fit Unisex Hand Compression Gloves - Amazon Affiliate link #ad) which really help me with the thumb hot spot previously mentioned when paddling all day for days. Long story short, these are the best paddling gloves I’ve found to date.