Freehands

What Freehands does

Freehands is a privately held, family-owned consumer apparel company founded in 2007 by Josh Rubin (a New York-based interface designer and founder of Cool Hunting) and his father Stanley Rubin, whose family has multi-generational roots in glove manufacturing in Gloversville, NY. The company designs and sells touch-screen-compatible gloves — its single product category — through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model at freehands.com, with regional storefronts for the EU (freehandseu.com) and South Korea (freehands.co.kr). The defining innovation is a magnetically-secured flip-back fingertip cap system (with patents pending) that lets users operate smartphones, tablets, and cameras without removing their gloves; select styles instead use silver conductive thread knitted into the fingertips. The product portfolio spans Men's, Women's, and Unisex lines across materials (acrylic, fleece, ragg wool, Polartec, leather, soft shell, cashmere, microfur) and use cases (everyday wear, photography, ski/snowboard, running with LED illumination), priced roughly $5–$80.

The company monetizes primarily through one-time DTC unit sales via BigCommerce, supplemented by a corporate branding channel offering custom logo embroidery or heat transfer for bulk orders, and digital gift certificates. Distribution is largely direct, with limited presence in specialty photo retailers. Marketing has been earned-media-led, with coverage in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS Sunday Morning, the TODAY Show, NY1, and AOL Switched, plus an endorsement from CBS tech reviewer David Pogue. The brand operates with a small team (11–50 employees), no external institutional capital, and no disclosed M&A, partnerships, or enterprise customers. Operations are U.S.-anchored (Westport, CT mailing address; New York design base) with shipping to the U.S., Canada, and internationally to EU and Korean markets via the regional sites.

Name

Freehands

Legal name

Freehands

Website

https://freehands.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Freehands is a privately held, family-owned apparel company that designs and sells touch-screen-compatible gloves directly to consumers worldwide, using a proprietary magnet-secured flip-back fingertip cap and conductive thread technology across men's, women's, and unisex collections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cold-weather touchscreen-compatible gloves

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159)

akta.pro primary industry

Gloves & Mittens (CRAAAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports & Outdoor Accessories Manufacturing (Performance Gloves/Headwear) (IMAOAFAI)

Keywords

• Touchscreen compatible gloves
• Winter hand gloves
• Photography gloves
• Ski snowboard gloves
• Glove liners

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales (E-commerce): Online retail sales of touch-screen compatible gloves through freehands.com. Products are sold at various price points ($5-$80) with standard retail transaction model. Domestic shipping is free via USPS First Class.
2. Corporate Branding / Bulk Orders: Corporate branding services where logos are added to select glove styles using embroidery or heat transfer for bulk orders.
3. Gift Certificates: Digital gift certificates sold in denominations from $1 to $1,000, delivered via email to recipients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Freehands designs, manufactures, and sells touch-screen-compatible gloves for men, women, and unisex use, with collections spanning acrylic knits, fleece, wool, cashmere, leather, soft shell, microfur, Polartec, and photography/ski/running-specific styles. Its signature feature is the magnetically-secured flip-back fingertip caps (or, on certain Freefingers styles, silver conductive thread) that let users operate smartphones, tablets, and cameras without removing the gloves. The company sells through its own e-commerce sites in the US, EU, and Korea, plus corporate-branded bulk orders and select retailers.

Product overview

Freehands is a single-product-line glove company whose core offering is touch-screen-compatible gloves. The product line features a portfolio of gloves for Men, Women, and Unisex segments, differentiated by material (Leather, Fleece, Wool, Cashmere, Soft Shell, Acrylic Knit, Microfur, Polartec) and use case (Photography, Ski/Snowboard, Running). The defining technology across all gloves is the magnetically-secured flip-back fingertip caps (index finger and thumb) and/or conductive thread knitted into fingertips, allowing users to operate touch screen devices without removing gloves. Some gloves also feature conductive tips for tablet/smartphone use. The company also offers glove liners (Power Stretch series) and sport-specific gloves with lighting features. Collections are organized by material type and intended use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Freefingers: A sub-brand/category of Freehands gloves featuring finger-specific designs with conductive thread for touchscreen compatibility, including Five Fingers and Two Finger acrylic knit styles.

Products and services

• Fleece, Mens Unlined fleece glove for cool weather, featuring a full digital grip palm, elastic wrist cinch, plastic hook to hold the pair together, improved flap overlap, and magnets that hold the index finger and thumb tips out of the way when folded back. Designed for everyday winter smartphone use.
• Stretch, Mens Marketed as 'the number 1 outdoor photography glove,' featuring a windproof/waterproof barrier on the back, full Thinsulate lining, reinforced finger-cap edges, a digital palm patch, and magnetically secured fold-back index-finger and thumb tips for operating cameras and phones.
• Ragg-Wool, Mens 50% wool shell glove with Thinsulate interlining, palm dots for secure grip, and magnets that keep the index-finger and thumb caps folded back when needed for touchscreen use.
• Cashmere, Mens Luxury 85% cashmere, 15% wool glove with a genuine leather palm, cuff for wrist warmth, and magnets to keep finger caps back for touchscreen use.
• Leather, Mens Supple all-leather sporty glove with leather palm patch, elastic wrist, snap closure, soft knit lining (15% cashmere, 82% wool, 3% nylon), and magnets that hold back the index-finger and thumb caps.
• Soft Shell Ski/Snowboard, Mens Soft-shell outer with soft velour lining, full digital grip palm, storage pocket over the knuckles, adjustable web strap, cord lock, suede thumb, water-repellent/breathable construction, and magnets that hold down the index-finger and thumb caps.
• Mens Softshell Photography Glove Soft-shell photographer's glove with a zipper pocket on the back of the left hand for memory cards, fleece lining, flip-back index-finger and thumb caps held by magnets, and a digital palm patch for grip.
• Insulated Knit Glove, Mens Vintage-look knit glove with palm dots for grip, flip-back index-finger and thumb caps held by magnets, and warm insulation.
• Polartec Fleece Unlined, Mens High-quality unlined fleece glove using Polartec 200 fabric, lightweight, pill-resistant, fast-drying, durable, breathable, with magnet-held index-finger and thumb caps.
• Finger Mitten, Mens Mitten with a separate index finger and thumb for photography, both finger and thumb with flip-back caps held by magnets, a velcro pocket on the back of the hand for memory card or hand warmer, adjustable web-strap wrist closure, and full digital grip palm.
• Snowflake Ragg-Wool, Mens Snowflake back-design ragg-wool glove with 50% wool shell, Thinsulate interlining, ribbed cuff, palm dots for grip, and magnets keeping finger caps out of the way when folded back.
• Solid Wool Knit, Womens 55% wool, 45% acrylic knit glove with silver conductive thread knitted into the index finger and thumb to conduct electrostatic energy to touch-screen devices, plus palm dots for grip.
• Two Finger, Acrylic Knit, Womens Acrylic-knit glove with conductive thread in the index finger and thumb for touch-screen compatibility, palm dots for grip, and one-size-fits-all fit.
• Five Fingers, Acrylic Knit, Womens Acrylic-knit glove with conductive thread added to all five fingers and thumb for full touch-screen compatibility, palm dots for grip, and one-size-fits-all fit.
• Fleece, Womens Unlined fleece glove for cool weather with full digital grip palm, elastic wrist cinch, plastic hook for keeping the pair together, improved flap overlap, and magnets that hold fingertip caps out of the way when folded back.
• Stretch, Womens Number 1 photography glove (women's fit) with windproof/waterproof back and full Thinsulate lining, reinforced finger-cap edges, thumb stretch, digital palm patch, and magnetically secured fold-back fingertips for calls or texting.
• Stripe Wool Knit, Womens 55% wool, 45% acrylic knit glove with palm dots for grip, styled with colors and stripes, and magnets that hold tips out of the way when folded back.
• Hearts and Stripes Wool Knit, Womens Hearts and stripes knit design in 55% wool, 45% acrylic, palm dots for grip, and magnets to keep index-finger and thumb caps out of the way when folded back.
• Leather, Womens Supple all-leather dress glove of mid length with soft knit lining (15% cashmere, 82% wool, 3% nylon) and index-finger and thumb caps held back with magnets.
• Soft Shell, Womens Soft-shell ski and snowboarding glove for women with waterproof outer shell, insulation, full digital palm for gripping, magnetically secured fold-back fingertips, and an adjustable velcro wrist strap.
• Cashmere, Womens Luxury 50% cashmere, 50% wool glove with a genuine leather palm, cuff for wrist warmth, and magnets to keep the finger caps back for touchscreen use.
• Microfur, Womens Velour outside with faux fur inside, two-layer fabric, full digital palm grip, magnet-secured flip-back index-finger and thumb caps, and a cuff that can be rolled to show contrast color inside.
• Multi Color Fingers Wool Knit, Womens 55% wool, 45% acrylic knit unlined glove with different-color fingers, palm dots for grip, cuff for wrist warmth, and small magnets holding tips out of the way when folded back.
• Light up Running Gloves, Red Light Light-up running glove (new for 2022) with 3-finger touch-screen capability, rapid blink, slow blink, or steady red light modes, 2 CR2016 batteries included, stretch fabric for a tight fit with a cuff to keep out cold, in 3 unisex sizes.
• Light up Running Gloves, White Light Light-up running glove (new for 2022) with 3-finger touch-screen capability, rapid blink, slow blink, or steady white light modes, 2 CR2016 batteries included, stretch fabric for tight fit with cuff to keep out cold, in 3 unisex sizes.
• Power Stretch 5 Finger Liner, Unisex Lightweight glove for cool weather, usable alone or as a liner under stretch or ski gloves, made with Polartec power stretch material with wind-resistant outer, moisture-wicking inner, 4-way stretch, black silicon-screened palm for grip, and silver-plated polyamide tips on all fingers for touchscreen conductivity.
• Power Stretch 2 Finger Liner, Unisex Lightweight glove for cool weather or as a liner under stretch or ski gloves, made with Polartec power stretch material, wind-resistant, moisture-wicking, breathable, 4-way stretch, with black or silver silicon-screened palm for grip and silver-plated polyamide index-finger and thumb tips for touchscreen conductivity.
• Freehands Corporate Branding / Bulk Embroidery Service B2B service that adds corporate logos to select Freehands glove styles via embroidery or heat transfer for bulk orders, with custom pricing quoted via [email protected] or +1-203-557-3999.
• Freehands Gift Certificates Digital gift certificates sold in denominations from $1 to $1,000 and delivered via email to recipients for use on the Freehands e-commerce store.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Under Armour: Performance apparel brand whose ColdGear and running gloves — including touchscreen-equipped models — compete with Freehands' Light-Up Running gloves and unisex power stretch liners in sporting-goods channels.
• UGG: Lifestyle cold-weather brand with a glove category that overlaps Freehands' women's cashmere and leather glove line in department-store and lifestyle retail, where UGG's brand scale and pricing power are far larger.
• Isotoner: Heritage mass-market glove and slipper brand now offering smarTouch touchscreen gloves. Competes with Freehands on the lower end of the touchscreen category and in department-store distribution where Freehands is under-represented.
• The North Face: Large outdoor brand whose Etip touchscreen glove line competes head-on with Freehands' ski/snowboard and fleece gloves in outdoor specialty retail and at much higher marketing scale.
• Hestra: Swedish performance glove maker (skiing, outdoor, work). Overlaps with Freehands' Soft Shell Ski/Snowboard and Stretch photography gloves in premium outdoor specialty retail, though Hestra operates at significantly larger scale and broader category depth.
• Canada Goose: Premium cold-weather outerwear brand with leather and tech-touch glove collections. Comparable positioning to Freehands' premium ($50-$80) leather and cashmere lines in luxury department stores and brand-driven DTC channels.

Emerging players

• Smartwool: Merino-wool performance apparel brand with touchscreen-compatible knit gloves and liners that overlap with Freehands' Ragg Wool and Power Stretch Liner SKUs in outdoor and running retail channels.

Direct peers

• Agloves: U.S. brand specializing in touchscreen-compatible knit gloves using silver-coated nylon fibers. Directly comparable technology approach (conductive thread) to Freehands' Freefingers line, targeting the same urban commuter / cold-weather smartphone user.
• Moshi Digits: Moshi's touchscreen glove line, made from Japanese Mizuno fabric with conductive leather, targets the same premium touchscreen-glove shopper as Freehands and competes in the same $25-$40 price band through consumer electronics channels.
• Mujjo: Dutch direct-to-consumer brand best known for its touchscreen-compatible gloves using conductive leather/silver-treated fingertips. Closest functional peer to Freehands' Freefingers line, with a similar premium-design positioning and global online distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freehands
• Facebookfacebook.com/freehandsgloves

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freehands