Summary: Very warm, low in weight, runs a little big While not their intended use (alpine climbing), I got these primarily for skiing when it’s really cold (<10°F) and my gloves aren’t cutting it. The back is a thin lightweight nylon fabric that’s durable for what it is, but if your boarding/skiing style frequently involves stuff like knuckle dragging, deflecting tree branches, or punching the snow/ice, these probably aren’t for you. If you’re just cruising, floating in powder nirvana, and/or the back of your hands won’t be touching anything rough, they should hold up fine for snowsports. Fit: According to the sizing chart, I’m between Small/Medium, slightly more towards the Small, but decided to go with a Medium since I’d mostly be wearing these with mid-weight liners. I probably should’ve gone with a Small. The thumb fits fine, but the finger section is a bit long for my short-ish fingers, and the main finger section is voluminous enough to make a fist in (including thumb) and then some. The cuffs are super long, and practically go to my elbow if fully extended, but since the insulation stops about an inch above the wrist strap, the remaining ~5” of thin uninsulated cuff is easy to bunch up if you don’t want that look/function. Dexterity of course isn’t great, but enough to hold poles/etc and only slightly fumble with zippers. Design: - The stitching at the web of the thumb (pic) could be better placed for both the exterior leather and the liner underneath. With the way it fits my hand (YMMV), it’s right on my second thumb joint, where my grip puts pressure when holding a tool/pole/handle. It’s not horrible, the seam feels as small and flat as it could be, and the insulation helps spread the pressure around, but it’s still a little irritating, especially for this price point. - Interior lining is a high pile fleece (pic). This feels amazingly warm, soft, and cozy when new, but I’ve had other gloves with a similar liner material that after a few seasons of gripping ski poles, packed down considerably and lost a lot of its heat retention ability. There’s no way to tell from short use, but I’m a bit skeptical of the fleece’s palm-side functional longevity if you’re frequently holding things. The uncompressed back side should stay nice and toasty. - It’d be nice if the wrist strap had some way to keep the slack from flapping around in windy conditions - Leather is very supple. They’re not as tough as work gloves but not as delicate as golf/driving gloves either. - Thumb backings are sueded leather - Retention straps are a good not-too-long, not-too-short length. Not sure why there’s a rubber bit on it though, aside from maybe keeping the straps tidy (stitching them together would do the same and save a gram), or as a backup in case the main wrist leash broke off. Made in Vietnam. No discernable issues with build quality - seams are tight, no down leaking, stitching is good all around.
