Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Outdoor Research Air Foil Gloves > James Triplett > Field Report

Field Test Report:

Personal Biographical Information:

Backpacking Background:

I grew up car camping all through my childhood.  I later managed to continuously hike the lower 1/3 of the Appalachian Trail, with an external frame Kelty Tioga (loaded to over 50 lb / 23 kg) and some rather massive Vasque boots.  Currently, I spend many weekends backpacking and camping and am out on a daily basis on shorter hikes.  I try and take at least one one-week backpacking trip each year, in addition to several one to three-night weekend trips.

My style can best be described as lightweight, but not at the cost of giving up too much comfort.  I am continually looking at lighter replacement items for gear I own, which is generally not that hard, since a lot of my equipment is rather dated.  I prefer a tent over a tarp, but have not yet tried a hammock.

Manufacturer Information:

Product Information:

Additional Product information:
    (from the Outdoor Research website - under: Home >> OR Gear >> Handtools >> Gloves and Mitts >> Work Gloves >> AirFoil Gloves™)

Features:

• Gore N2S™ WindStopper® fabric
• Anatomical curve
• Pattern Grip palm
• Elasticized wrist

Intended Usage:

• Close-fitting, thin, all-purpose glove
  

• Available in Black
• Sizes S, M, L, XL

As stated in my Initial Report, the size Large AirFoil gloves fit me loosely but they are the proper length.  This was a conscious decision on my part, based on the Outdoor Research size chart, when I specified the size I required.  The gloves are slightly less stretchy than I imagined they would be, and they fit looser than I expected as well.  I would have to say that the fit is not ideal.  As far as comfort goes, they are fine.  There is no lining or insulation in the gloves, so the back of the outer fabric is what rests against my skin.  Despite all the stitching (see the inside-out photo below), the gloves are soft and comfortable.  I have had no skin irritation or other discomfort when wearing the AirFoil gloves.

The gloves are made with an anatomical curve to them.  That is to say that the fingers and palm of the gloves are curved to basically the same extent as my hands are when hanging by my sides.  This provides a nice fit, and when walking or hiking (and not using my hands for anything) there is no bunching of the glove fabric in any one spot.  The glove fabric seems to breath well, and I have had no issues with perspiration while wearing the gloves.

I have used the Outdoor Research AirFoil gloves in basically two ways.  One, is to wear them over some drug-store stretchy gloves (see pictures below) when the temperature is below 25 F (-4 C), or when it just seems cold out.  The other is to wear then directly over my hands, without a liner, when the temperature is warmer.

 

When wearing the gloves directly over my hands (no liners) I have experienced the wind blocking ability of the Gore N2S™ WindStopper® fabric.  It has been very effective, and I have never experienced a wind chill factor through the gloves.  That being said, these gloves are not insulated and I have experienced heat loss in colder temperatures.  Unfortunately I am not able to experience the "Next-to-skin fabric", which Outdoor Research claims eliminates heat loss, because of the fit.  What I am saying here is that the gloves do block the wind, but being uninsulated, I still experience heat lose independent of wind conditions.  For really cold temperatures I decided to use some soft synthetic liners.  With the liners I have hiked comfortably in temperatures down to -12 F (-24 C).  Based on this experience, I feel that the combination of the two gloves is sufficient for Iowa winters, and I really don't need anything warmer.  With the AirFoil gloves alone (without the liners) my fine motor coordination has been fairly good, although with the loose fitting gloves I wouldn't say that it is impressive.  Adding the liners makes the AirFoils fit tighter and my dexterity seems unaffected.  My hands are definitely warmer when using the AirFoils with the liners.  To illustrate the difference with and without the liners, I tied a string around my finger to try and show just how loose the fabric is.  The first photo shows the excess material of the glove without a liner.  In the second photo, hopefully you can see that there is much less excess fabric due to the liners being worn.

 

The AirFoil gloves have been exposed to both rain and snow, and have proven to be nearly waterproof.  I took a two-hour hike in the rain, dressed in my rain suit and the AirFoil gloves, and I remained totally dry throughout the trip.  Other trips in the rain have yielded the same results.  I have also used the gloves in the snow.  My hands have remained dry while packing snowballs and otherwise messing around in the snow.  When I first received the gloves I inadvertently slipped my thumb into some water as I was carrying it in my trail cup.  I was impressed when I found no moisture inside the glove.  However, when I reenacted this event in order to take a picture for this report (see photo below), I did get some get some leakage through the glove.  My thumb was damp, but there was no way to tell whether the moisture came through a seam or through the fabric.



While hiking and backpacking I often adjust my clothing while in route, especially in colder weather when my body temperature changes depending on my exertion level.  While wearing the AirFoil gloves I have found it easy to adjust the Velcro cuffs on my rain jacket, zip and unzip my jacket and my full-zip pants, tighten and loosen cord-locks on my jacket and pants, and adjust the straps on my backpack.  The only thing that I am consistently unable to do is to tie my boots.  The gloves get caught in the laces every time.



The AirFoil gloves work exceptionally well in my adventures with trekking poles.  I use the poles when snow-shoeing, and the non-slip siliconized pattern of the gloves makes for an excellent grasp of the poles.  Although not backpacking related, I have experienced the same impressive grip on an axe handle when splitting firewood.  The textured material, officially called the "Pattern Grip palm" has been outstanding in all my experiences with the AirFoils.

I will be using the Outdoor Research AirFoil gloves on all my day-hike outings and weekend trips throughout the test period when temperatures warrant the use of gloves.   I have simply stopped wearing any other gloves.  Unfortunately the continued testing may only last for another month or so, as by the end of March the temperatures generally stay above 40 F (4.5 C).  The AirFoils have proven their effectiveness, and now I plan on testing their durability through as much heavy usage as possible in the remaining available time.

• Great grip!
• Excellent wind blocking!
• Superior waterproofness!
• Attractive look!

• Loose fitting for long, thin hands.

Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Outdoor Research Air Foil Gloves > James Triplett > Field Report