Hand protection and covering

A hand covering configured to enclose a user's hand, the hand covering having a dorsal side and a palm side and comprising:

• a wrist portion for encompassing at least a portion of a wrist of a user;
• a hand portion comprising a digit receptacle and a thumb receptacle, wherein the thumb receptacle is located on a palm side at or near a thumb side of the hand covering;
• an arcuate opening formed on the dorsal side and extending from at or near a lateral side to the thumb receptacle and across substantially an entire width of the thumb receptacle, wherein the lateral side comprises a side of the hand covering opposite the thumb side;
• and
• a closure fastener operably attached to the arcuate opening and configured to open and close the arcuate opening, wherein, in an open configuration, the user can remove a thumb and one or more digits from the hand portion without moving the wrist portion from a wrist of the user;
• wherein a material neighboring the arcuate opening is configured to enable the user to open and close the arcuate opening without substantially altering a curvature of the arcuate opening.

A method of enclosing a user's hand while providing selective access to objects by a user's bare digits and thumb, the method comprising:

• enclosing the user's hand with a hand covering, the hand covering having a dorsal side and a palm side and including a wrist portion and a hand portion;
• opening a closure device operably attached to an arcuate opening formed in the dorsal side of the hand covering between the hand portion and the wrist portion;
• parting the hand covering at the opening to expose the fingers and thumb of the user while maintaining coverage of a dorsal portion of the user's hand;
• wherein the arcuate opening extends from a lateral portion of the hand covering across the dorsal side of the hand covering and to a thumb receptacle formed in the hand portion;
• and
• wherein the hand covering further comprises an additional padding at the arcuate opening configured to enable the user to selectively open and close the arcuate opening without substantially altering a curvature of the arcuate opening.