Personal Information
Name: Chad Fike
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 10” (1.77 m)
Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
Email address: abnersdonkey@hotmail.com
City, State, Country: Oakland, Maryland, USA
Date: February 20, 2006

Backpacking Background
         I have gone camping, usually very close to home, for over 15 years, but only started seriously backpacking about 3 years ago. I do mostly weekend trips and often take day hikes. My backpacking experience has been mostly in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. Each trip has been a learning experience about techniques and equipment. I try to balance weight, durability, and cost with my gear choices.

Product information
Manufacturer - Outdoor Research
Year of manufacture - 2005
Website - www.orgear.com
MSRP - $49.00 US
Average listed weight (size large, per pair) - 2.9 oz (82 g)
Weight as delivered (size medium, using a kitchen scale) - 3oz (85 g)
Lifetime guarantee

Product description
        The hang tag describes the Talon as a “Warm, weather-resistant glove for hiking or skiing in cold weather”. Each glove is all black (the only color available) with the letters “OR” stitched in white on the back of each hand. The Gore Windstopper Soft Shell material has a stretch woven ripstop face. The Suregrip Palm is composed of a somewhat rubbery feeling material that covers the palm, thumb, index and middle finger. The interior of each glove is lined with a very thin layer of fleece.

Field information
        Testing has taken place mostly in the forested terrain of the Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland and West Virginia. The elevation ranged from around 2500 to 4800 ft (762 to 1463 m). The temperatures experienced during testing have ranged from around 0 to 45 F (-18 to 7 C). The gloves have mostly been used for cross-country skiing, some day hikes, and a couple of short runs. In addition to these outdoor activities I have used the gloves for everyday tasks such as shoveling snow and walking to work.
        I have found the gloves fit reasonably well, with a little excess room. I have rather thin hands so gloves often fit somewhat loosely. The circumference and length of my hand falls within the measurements for a medium glove on the Outdoor Research website and I think a smaller size would be too small. There is just enough excess room to allow the use of a thin pair of glove liners. I like the way the tapered wrist fits snugly and slides easily under the cuffs of a jacket. The fit helps eliminate drafts of cold air on the wrists. The cuff extends past the point on my wrist where I wear a watch. The cuff fits tightly around my thinner watches and will not fit over the top of my thick altimeter watch. The interior of the glove seems to have enough room for a thicker hand, but if my hand were much larger it would be hard to force through the small wrist opening. The glove has an anatomical curve which feels very natural. I have found the gloves to allow a sufficient level of dexterity for tasks such as operating zippers and straps on packs and the controls on a digital camera. The rubbery feeling Suregrip material on the thumb and fingers does provide some extra grip.
        The hang tag advertised the gloves as having “boxed construction for maximum warmth” which allows “fleece insulation to freely loft” and proclaims that the “fleece interior insulates hands from cold weather”. After reading this description I expected a somewhat thick fleece lining and a rather warm glove. The interior is fleece, but it is so thin that it does not provide much insulation. My hands get cold easily so while I have found the gloves work well under certain circumstances, I do not associate these gloves with the phrase “maximum warmth”. I have found my comfort level depends much more on the amount of heat my activity is generating than the amount of heat the insulation in the gloves is preserving.
        While cross-country skiing in temperatures ranging from around 25 to 35 F (-4 to 2 C), I found the gloves to work very well, being just warm enough. The gloves seem breathable but in temperatures above 35 F (2 C) I found my hands were a little clammy after a brisk ski or run. When skiing in temperatures between 25 to 15 F (-4 to -9 C) my fingers were cold unless I used a thin poly liner. During one night ski while wearing the gloves with liners in temperatures around 0 F (-18 C), my fingers became so cold after about 20 minutes I had to switch to a pair of heavier insulated gloves. When hiking I found the gloves alone to be sufficient in temperatures around freezing. On a very windy day hike near 25 F ( -4 C), the Gore Windstopper effectively cut the wind but after about an hour my fingers grew cold and I had to put the liners in. I was very pleased to be able to test the gloves at the victory parade for the Super Bowl champion Steelers in downtown Pittsburgh. My hands grew cold after standing still for a few hours in temperatures around freezing.
        I have had no problems with durability. The Suregrip Palm has shown no damage even after several hours of use gripping ski poles. When making a fist the palm material does seem to always wrinkle in the same place. This fold is slightly visible on each glove. While barely noticeable now, in the future I will be watching to see if the gloves wear excessively in this area. I do not see any loose stitching or other flaws. While pulling on the gloves half of one of the interior care instruction labels ripped out. This has been the only visible damage to the gloves so far. I have laundered the gloves once.
        Since the gloves are only advertised as weather resistant and not waterproof I have not used them in the rain. During an early season ski trip snow was sticking to my skis and several times I stopped and rubbed the snow off with my gloved hand. After a few times I could feel the Suregrip material become somewhat damp. After running some water over the gloves in the bathroom sink I found the shell of the glove shed most of the water but the Suregrip material soaked through quickly. Weighing these factors, I believe the gloves are best used in drier conditions and not for handling wet equipment.
        In conclusion, I have been pleased with the gloves so far. They are well made and durable. The advertisements led me to expect a warmer glove, but I have found them to work well as a lightweight shell for high energy activities like cross-country skiing in moderate temperatures. For hiking or activities that do not generate as much heat I do not rely on these gloves alone in temperatures much below freezing. As spring comes I think these gloves would be ideal for cool morning hikes. Even on warmer days I like to be prepared for dropping temperatures and these are light enough to carry in my pack without worrying about too much excess weight. I plan to continue using the gloves as I have so far and hope to try them out on some spring backpacking trips.