|
|
 |
Guest - Not logged in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reviews > Clothing > Gloves and Mittens > Kombi Guide Gloves > Test Report by Ryan Lane Christensen
 image courtesy of http://www.kombisnow.com
ACCESS MAIN REPORT SECTIONS VIA THESE LINKS:
INITIAL REPORTJanuary 3, 2012
Product Information:
The information below came from Kombi's website and product tags.
The Kombi Guide is an insulated, waterproof, breathable glove available in men's sizes only. The shell is constructed of a softshell-like fabric. However, the full palm, index finger, finger caps, and knuckle guard is covered in leather. The gloves have short, stretchy, gauntlet cuffs, adjustable nylon webbing wrist straps, and plastic connectors to secure one glove to the other. Additionally, atop each thumb is what appears to be a microfiber-type fabric which Kombi says serves as a nose wipe. The Guide utilizes Kombi's proprietary waterproof / breathable membrane system known as WaterGuard. Like other waterproof/breathable membranes, WaterGuard is designed to allow vapor to pass from inside to the outside of the glove while preventing water from penetrating from outside in.
  The gloves I am testing are completely black in color (as shown in photos above). However, there is a version with black fabric and light tan leather available as well. The gloves each have a double row of elastic stitching around the wrist. On the right glove, just above the wrist strap on the inner edge of the wrist, there is a plastic loop. On the inner edge of the left glove, just above the wrist strap, there is a corresponding plastic clip. The clip and loop are used to secure the gloves to one another. Sewn in the seam of the outer edge of the right glove is a tag with "WaterGuard" on one side and "Waterproof/Breathable" on the other side. In the identical location on the left glove, an identical tag is sewn in the seam. The cuff of the glove extends approximately 2 in (5 cm) beyond the upper elastic. The palm of each glove is covered in leather that wraps up each finger. From the tip of the middle finger to the edge of the cuff, the men's large gloves are approximately 11.5 in (29 cm) in length. Inside, the gloves have Kombi's Accu-Dri lining. Like the shell material, the lining feels smooth to the touch and comfortable next to the skin. There appears to be a modest amount of insulation in these gloves. I am curious to see how well the insulation protects in colder temperatures. Inside each glove, there is also a 2.25 in (5.7 cm) inner cuff (as shown in the photo above right). I presume this is to help keep both snow and cold out of the glove. Sewn in the hem of the exterior cuff of the right glove are two tags. One lists the materials used in the gloves and where they were manufactured (in both English and French). The other cuff, also in English and French, has a warning, outlined in red, which states:
Sewn in the hem of the exterior cuff of the left glove is a product tag with the Kombi name, logo, and glove size stitched in blue thread on both sides of the black tag.
FIELD REPORTMarch 6, 2012
I also went on five overnight ski trips in the Kelly Canyon Nordic Area, which is located 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Idaho Falls, in the Targhee National Forest. The Nordic Area starts at an elevation of approximately 5,900 ft (1,798 m) and reaches elevations of 6,700 ft (2,042 m). On each trip, my buddy and I skied in after work, starting between 7:30 pm and 8:30 p.m. MST. In the mornings, we started skiing out about 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. MST. The temperature ranged from -5 F (-21 C) to the upper 20s (-2 C) on these outings. Winds were generally calm. However there were occasions when winds ranged between 2 and 22 mph (8 - 35 kph). Although limited this year, I had the opportunity to wear the gloves twice to shovel snow during February.
Although I do not have overly large hands, after wearing the gloves for more than fourteen days, I believe I should have requested XL gloves to test. The gloves fit my hands, but donning and doffing seems more difficult than it should be; especially when the gloves are wet inside from perspiration. When wet from sweat, the liner tends to stick to my hands. Taking the gloves off becomes even more difficult with a glove on one hand trying to doff the other, while keeping the lining in its place.
I have not needed to cinch the adjustable wrist straps, as the gloves fit somewhat snugly. The nose wipe material on the thumbs has come in handy to wipe the sweat from my forehead. The leather-lined palms and finger tips have held up nicely; especially with the abrasion from gripping ski poles and the pole straps constantly wrapped around the gloves while skiing, and shoveling snow. The gauntlet cuffs have done a fine job keeping the snow on the outside of the gloves, even when I fell a couple of times in deep powder. There are no loose threads, seams, or other visible issues to note at this time.
LONG TERM REPORTMay 8, 2012
Due to the unusually mild winter we had this year, I only wore the gloves two more times during the final phase of the test. One of the times was on a quick day trip cross-country skiing in the Kelly Canyon Nordic Area. The second was during a rare snowfall in the Snake River valley this year: I wore the gloves to cleared the snow from my drive and walkways.
On the ski trip, I wore the gloves as we began skiing in the morning. I like the grip the leather palm affords me. However, after about thirty minutes or so, the gloves were just too warm for me. The rest of the 5 mi (8 km) trip I went without gloves. The Kombi Guide gloves have performed very well during the entire test series. Unfortunately, due to the mild winter temperatures, many times the gloves were just too warm to wear. On the occasional cold day we had, the gloves kept my hands warm. There was still an issue with them wetting-out inside during highly aerobic activity (cross-country skiing). I still feel the gloves do not allow water vapor to escape to the outside as well as other gloves I own. Like other cold-weather gloves I own, these gloves are a bit bulky making fine motor skill activities such as pulling a zipper, adjusting ski bindings, etc. a bit difficult. Nevertheless, I did not find them any more difficult to maneuver in than other like gloves. I have come to expect such from highly insulative gloves. Although use was limited during this final phase, they did see quite a bit of use over the test series. The gloves remain in great shape. I see no loose threads, seams, or other visible issues to note. They have held up well. All in all, I like the gloves and will wear them on many more cold days in the future. his concludes my Test Series on the Kombi Guide gloves. Thanks to Kombi and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to test these gloves.
Read more gear reviews by Ryan Lane Christensen Reviews > Clothing > Gloves and Mittens > Kombi Guide Gloves > Test Report by Ryan Lane Christensen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
