Winter warriors turn to gloves made from the most dependable materials. Why? Because gloves can make or break your season, or at least your day. Fall/Winter 2016 offerings get down and dirty using different animal leathers, alpine and functional style cues, spidey-grip technologies and uber insulations.
Outdoor Research Project Gloves
Outdoor Research will introduce new 3DFit technology, available in two new glove models: the ice climbing-focused Project Glove and the Shuksan Mitt. 3DFit will also revamp best sellers Lodestar Sensor Glove and Alti Glove, but the real buzz is around the new Project Gloves, $135. Designed for technical winter adventures, the Project Glove is constructed with three-dimensional pattering (versus traditional two-dimensional). Three-dimensions means the glove is modeled on how a hand is actually shaped, resulting in better fit and dexterity. Plus, its waterproof Gore-Tex Grip liner removes excess bulk. England’s own Pittards Oil Tac leather (originally created for football receiver gloves) dominates the grip game and gives Project Gloves great hold power. No-slip PrimaLoft Grip insulation rounds out the features of this Boreas. Also keep an eye out for Outdoor Research’s Capstone Heated Gloves – twice the heat of Lucent Heated Gloves and four times that of many competitors.
Outdoor Research Project Gloves
Helly Hansen Tap HT Trigger
A true hybrid classic, Helly Hansen’s Tap HT Trigger, $120, rocks a leather palm for durability and nylon backhand for enhanced function and breathability. Warming power comes from its PrimaLoft 113g insulation. But the real innovation comes in the nitty gritty…a premium water repellent goat skin leather coats the shell and palm, while Helly Tech Performance – a 2.5 ply sandwich system made up of an outer fabric, waterproof breathable barrier and abrasion resistant print that is either ceramic or carbon particle based – acts as the insert. The Tap HT Trigger is lined with anti-piling polyester micro fleece, and has a useful buff thumb nose/goggle wipe. Its fitted cuff is also made of leather and has an ergo leather pulltab.
Helly Hansen Vor Glove
Helly Hansen Vor Glove
New for Fall/Winter 2016/17 is the Helly Hansen Vor Glove, $95. The company made a conscious decision to go for the goat – leather that is – which gives their new offerings a unique edge. The Vor (and Tap HT Trigger) uses Grade A goat skin leather in a western rodeo styling that harkens to the classic work glove. This leather is water repellent and notoriously softer and more flexible than cowhide. Goatskin also tends to age well, compared to others, which means the gloves look better the more wear and tear they get. The lining is anti-piling polyester micro fleece and the glove closes off with a sock cuff and cinch strap.
Leki Griffin Pro S Speed System Glove
Leki
, famous for ski and hiking poles, brought all-day, every day gloves, The Griffin Pro S Gloves, $179, to the 2015/16 season, and updated it with new styling and fabric treatment for next year. Griffin Pro S Gloves were also revamped to be compatible with Leki’s next-season Trigger S Verticle grip system – an alpine-approved touring innovation for 2016/17. Centered around the Flexband, an elastic band enabling different grips without the need to click in, the Trigger S Verticle grip improves power transmission at the top of the ski pole for controlled touring and skinning.
The updated Griffin Pro S gloves are still a first for the company, as the only non-race pair to feature the company’s Speed System Trigger connection. If you already know what that means, try to contain yourself. The system allows highly customizable grip and flexibility at the connection point. After all, it was made for pro skiers. A natural, close fit is courtesy of the full-leather Pro-Fit design, with EVA knuckle and finger pads for protection. Pre-curved fingers and nash silicone digital palm are huge advancements in the glove category, and yield exceptional dexterity when gripping poles. Hyperloft insulation with a waterproof breathable liner makes you forget about being below zero. Men’s and Women’s styles and sizing are available.
Seirus SolarSphere “Brink” Glove
Seirus SolarSphere “Brink” Glove
Seirus delved into new insulation for Winter 2016/17 landing an eco-friendly approach they call SolarSphere. Powered by the sun, this insulation absorbs sunlight into the glove or mitt amplifying the temperature up to 10 degrees. SolarSphere insulation converts the rays into warmth, which then transfers to the hand. The new-age insulation is also an animal-friendly alternative to down, being made with lightweight, compressible (yet surprisingly durable) hollow filament balls that are stellar at retaining form. Serius’ new “Brink” Glove, $50, is the kingpin of its SolarSphere offerings, with 5g of this solar-heated insulation and 160g of HeatLock, which has become a claim-to-fame for the tactical glove makers. HeatLock is for cloudy, white-out days, giving the wearer six hours of hot heat by touching the activation button (but remember to recharge the gloves before your next snow day). “Brink” will also come in a mitt style.
Pow Alpha GTX Glove
A glove for Pow’s Cascade Series, the Alpha GTX, $160, is one of the brand’s many new offerings featuring outdoor herculean waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex. The aim of these gloves is to combine the most modernized material technology into one suave contender. The look is smooth yet intricate, with a shell made from Grade A goatskin leather (locally sourced for durability and break-in) and a palm of Pittards Oil Tac Dragon etched leather. Pittards Leather Company has been around since 1826, with its Oil Tac leather becoming a sought after component in the toughest outdoor gloves. Why? Oil Tac’s hairsheep hide is soft, supple and strong. Featured in the palm of the Alpha GTX, Oil Tac adds a stylish James Bond flair, as this leather was classically used in dress gloves. Backed by the Gore-Tex “Guaranteed to keep you dry promise” the Alpha GTX also has a waterproof Fly Vent zipper venting system, to use if the Merino wool lining works too well.
Pow Alpha GTX Glove
Pow HD Glove
The Pow Utility Outdoor Series for 2016/17 brings function-specific shells and high-tech liners to the men and women whose livelihood is the outdoors. Working outside in the snow isn’t easy, but you don’t have to play it cool while your hands freeze. The HD Glove, $60, is the work glove 2.0, made with premium water repellent Grade A leather for both the shell and palm. Natural colors were inspired by snowboarder Manuel Diaz, who rides for Puro Snowboarding, Nike, Slash Snowboards and Monster, to name a few. While Diaz had a hand in influencing the natural colors (tan and black), the HD’s classic work glove look, wrist sinch and sock cuff are old school details that didn’t need changing.
Pow HD Glove
Gordini DT Leather Glove & Mitt
Gordini DT Leather Mitt
The DT Leather Glove and Mitt, $140, both have a full sheepskin leather outer shell. Sheepskin is currently the warmest yet lightest-weight leather in outdoor apparel today because the hide is tanned with its wool fleece still intact. Adding water repellency via a DownTek shield and DownTek 700 fill for insulation, Gordini has pulled from the best. In this design, sheepskin is strategically placed for protection and reinforcement, and DownTek (a repellent treatment) allows the fill to retail insulation and loft when wet. By creating surface tension on each cluster of down, moisture has no choice but to bead up and roll away from the fill. A durable woven nylon fills in the spaces on these heat-trapping champs.
