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Initial Report:
Outdoor Research WS
Gripper
Gloves
12/28/03
Tester:
Pat Christian
Male, 62
Height: 5' 6" (1.52 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Contact: pat@patchristian.com
City, State, Country: Provo, Utah, U.S.
Date: Dec. 27, 2003
Backpacking/outdoor
experience:
I was born in San Francisco and now live near Sundance,
Utah, where I am a
writer & photographer. I'm also an avid 4-season outdoorsman
and some
of my stories and photographs have focused on outdoor recreation.
My
backpack and my curiosity have taken me into Utah’s belly, to the
bottom of
1,165-foot (355 m) deep Neffs Cave. At the other extreme, I’ve
climbed
18,405 feet (5,609 m) to the summit of Mexico’s Pico de Orizaba.
But I’m
as happy just stepping out the door of my mountain foothills home
onto the
seemingly endless trails of the Uinta National Forest or driving 25
minutes to
the jagged Lone Peak Wilderness Area. You might find me on foot
or
cross-country skis, or find me hiking on or kayaking around Utah's
Antelope
Island out in an inland sea saltier than any ocean. I have a diverse backpacking
philosophy--near to naked when mountain
summit
running or day-hiking, ultra-lightweight-to survivalist (may include
cache)
while solo overnighting and then heavier expeditionary when hiking or
climbing
with a team large enough to share the carrying of team equipment.
View some of my stories & photographs on
my web
page at www.patchristian.com.
Product:
Manufacturer: Outdoor Research (http://www.orgear.com)
Weight: 3.5 oz (96 g)
Year of manufacture: 2003:
Color: Black
Guarantee: lifetime*
MSRP: $45
Initial
thoughts:
The black, large gloves
arrived and
appeared to be in good condition. They fit
my
hands well, alone or also when I tried them on while wearing a pair of
thin polypropylene anti-contact glove. Likewise,
they still felt
comfortable when I
placed this multiple-glove system inside a large waterproof overmitt
that I
own. I did carefully cut a loose thread from where the second and
third
finger had been stitched. I noticed that the cuff was soft and
absorbent
enough to wipe my nose that often drips in cold weather. And the
glove
fingers allowed enough dexterity to plug one nostril to shoot "snot
rockets,"
to further clear one's nose. The cuff also was able to slip up
over my
rather thick Timex Ironman Triathlon heart-monitor watch. The
palm, thumb and first two fingers, on the palm side, have a gripping
surface added to the glove for a better grip.
Product
overview:
The
glove is
constructed from W. L. Gore WindStopper Fleece, a membraned polyester
material that
is advertised as being 100 percent windproof and quick drying, and the
fingers
are sewn in an anatomically curved pattern. On the high-wear
areas of the
palm side palm area, thumb and first two fingers is added a second
layer with
Suregrip, a toroidal patterned coating, to reinforce against wear and
add
friction for a better grip. It is a snugly fitting glove that
looks as if
it would resist being invaded by snow via the cuff when I fall ass
over
teakettle into the snow. It comes in blue and black and in small,
medium,
large and extra large sizes. They are not constructed to be
waterproof,
so if it is raining or snowing heavily a user will want to augment
these gloves
with some sort of waterproof shell over them.
 Impressions so far:
The gloves felt comfortably soft and warm as one
of the
first tasks I performed in them was to shovel snow off my driveway and
sidewalks around my mountain home. With all that labor, my hands
did not
tend to feel as if they were overheating as they have in the past with
some of
my heavier ski gloves. I also drove my car wearing them, first
cleaning
snow off the windows. In doing this, the gloves encountered a fair
amount of
snow that coated, melted and was absorbed, yet I still felt the same
warmth,
and I did not feel any dampness. As I drove in the cold car with
the
gloves on, I had enough dexterity to activate the toggle switch to the
rear
wiper and other dashboard controls.
Next, I wore the gloves on a
grim
task. On a journalistic news assignment, I drove past Sundance
Ski Resort up
to around 8,000 (2,438 m) feet to the Aspen Grove area of Provo
Canyon where
about 80
searchers were still trying to locate and recover the bodies of three
missing
snowboarders who had been buried for three days, since the Dec. 26
avalanche. I knew this would be a
cold
assignment as Utah County Sheriff's public affairs representatives had
informed
the press corps that temperatures could be around nine degrees
Fahrenheit (-12 Celsius).
As opposed to working as the rescuers were, with
their
avalanche probes, shovels, and directing search dogs, I would be
mostly
passively standing interviewing a friend of the snowboarders who had
also been
buried Dec. 26 but who had been dug out by other survivors in
time. I
would also be taking photographs. Knowing this, I dressed warmly
for
standing around rather than dressing as I usually do for
activity. I
layered heavily and wore my old leather double lined telemark ski
boots. But on my hands, I wore only the Outdoor
Research
Gripper Gloves, but also brought along my polypropylene glove liners
and
Gortex
overmitts just in case my hands started getting cold for the hour and a
half I
stood near the bottom of the avalanche. But I found that the
Gripper
Gloves alone kept my hands sufficiently warm. There was little or no
wind, so I
will have to test their resistance to wind later. While the
gloves have a
fair amount of dexterity, it was not enough for me to feel comfortable
enough
to operate my camera controls. So while shooting, I wore the
left
glove and used my bare right hand for a while and then put the glove
back on
that hand before it became too cold. After I got all I thought I
needed
at the avalanche, I ran down the mountain trail the one-sixth mile to
my car
and felt no overheating in my hands as I sometimes do with other gloves
I own
when I am on a good uphill climb cross-country skiing in this same area
of
Provo Canyon just below Mt. Timpanogos. Walking uphill the sixth
of a
mile to the avalanche site, carrying a pack laden with a plethora of
camera
equipment and drinking water, I had started to generally overheat in my
torso,
but not my hands.
Field
Testing:
Outdoor
Research
says these gloves will be all the glove you will need much of the time
for road
and mountain biking or snowshoeing or cross country skiing and other
cold-weather sports. So in future testing, I will wear these
gloves on
one-to two-hour road and mountain biking rides and day-long cross
country skiing. I also
plan to
use them for winter outdoor running and winter camping and other uses I
can
think of and plan to give enough exposure to wear and tear to see how
they will
stand up to heavy use. I will use them in an altitude range of
4,200 to 11,000 feet (1280 to 3353 m) and in temperature ranges from 42
to below zero Fahrenheit ( 5 to -17 and below Celsius) I will
also use them in some outdoor winter working conditions such as loading
and unloading trucks and setting up theaters and stages at the Sundance
Film Festival in Park City this January where I sometimes work for
Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians Union (IATSE).
Thank you, Outdoor Research, for allowing me
to test
these gloves.
*
Outdoor
Research Lifetime Guarantee:
"Outdoor
Research products are
guaranteed against defects in materials or construction without any
time limits. Any items that we determine to be defective will be
repaired or replaced depending on what makes the most sense and creates
the least waste. Damage due to misuse or improper care is not covered,
nor is wear and tear, but we will be happy to repair for minimal cost,
any items that are returned to us clean. It is important to keep in
mind that materials may wear out rapidly if they are subjected to
severe use of uses for which they were not intended."
May
readers find
something in my tests that may be useful; now get outside and leave no
trace.
--pat christian--
*.
Read more reviews of Outdoor Research gear
Read more gear reviews by Pat Christian
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