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: April 4, 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 took 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 ranged from around 0 to 50 F (-18 to 10 C). The gloves were used for cross country skiing, backpacking, day hikes, a few bike rides, and some jogging. In addition to these outdoor activities I used the gloves for everyday tasks such as shoveling snow and walking to work.
    The temperature has warmed and the snow has melted since completion of the Field Report. I did not get to test the gloves on many more cross-country skiing trips but I did use them for several day hikes and a backpacking trip. I also tried them out on a couple of mountain bike rides. They blocked the wind well but I found gripping the bike’s handgrips caused the seam along the thumb to irritate my palm. I had not been irritated by this seam during any other uses of the glove. I usually wear a specific biking glove and would not usually consider this style of glove for biking.
    The hang tag describes the Talon as a “Warm, weather-resistant glove for hiking or skiing in cold weather”. While cross-country skiing the gloves were warm enough in temperatures ranging from 25 to 35 F (-4 to 2 C). Adding a thin poly liner allowed me to use them in temperatures between 25 to 15 F (-4 to -9C). In lower temperatures my hands were too cold. While the gloves performed well in this range for a high energy activity like cross-country skiing, the advertised warmth seems a little overstated for hiking. When hiking I found the gloves alone to be sufficient in temperatures around freezing. If I stopped for long or my fingers started getting cold, it seemed very hard to get them warm again without adding a liner. There is not much insulation inside to retain warmth or shield the hands from cold objects. I could feel the cold metal of my hiking pole shaft right through the gloves on one winter day hike. On a backpacking trip I wore the gloves in temperatures between 38 to 48 F ( 3 to 9 C). This temperature range, more often found in the fall and spring, is where I think the gloves are best suited.
    The gloves are only advertised as weather resistant and do not claim to be waterproof. The hang tag says the face of the glove “sheds weather” I wore the gloves on a forty five minute hike through a steady rain to test weather resistance. Water beaded up on the ripstop shell for most of the hike, but by the end the material was starting to be inundated with water and no longer beaded up. The Suregrip palm material does not repel water, but slowly absorbs it. I like the way the material feels and aids in grasping objects, but it is always the first part of the glove to become damp. I had this same problem while cleaning snow off of skis. Even packing up a wet rain fly caused the Suregrip material to become slightly damp. The letters “OR” that are stitched into each glove seemed to absorb water more quickly than the rest of the ripstop shell material. The gloves were slightly damp inside by the end of my hike in the rain. The ripstop material does seem to repel some weather, but because of the Suregrip material I feel the glove overall only has moderate weather resistance.
    The Gore WindStopper material was very effective. I took several hikes under very windy conditions and it felt like the wind was blocked completely. The gloves were also reasonably breathable. My hands became clammy only on a few occasions in temperatures approaching the point where I did not need gloves.
    The gloves have proven very durable. I used these gloves as much as I could during the testing time. I did not abuse them but tried to treat them with the same care I would if I had purchased them myself. In addition to using ski poles I used trekking poles during my day hikes and backpacking trip so the gloves did get exposed to a good deal of friction and potential for wear and tear. I used them for carrying and breaking up fire wood for the campfire during my backpacking trip with no ill effects. There are no loose stitches and the ripstop material appears unscathed. At first glance the gloves appear almost new. Upon close inspection the only real sign of wear is that the Suregrip material on the thumb of both gloves seems worn just a little thinner than the rest of the palm and other fingers. During the time of the Field Report I had noticed that the palm material of each glove seemed to wrinkle in the same place. I had wondered if this slightly visible fold would wear excessively but it has not. The gloves have retained their anatomical curve and have not become stretched out of shape. I washed the gloves twice during testing.
    Overall I was very impressed with the quality and durability of the product. I feel the temperature range of the gloves is somewhat overstated, but warmth is subjective and I tend to get cold hands easily. While I liked the dexterity provided by the Suregrip palm material it seems to be a weak point in the way it absorbs moisture. The gloves met all my needs for camp chores, collecting firewood, and hiking on a three day backpacking trip this spring. The gloves are not too bulky and allow enough dexterity to accomplish many tasks. At only 3oz. (85 g) the gloves are lightweight and easily stow in a pack or pocket. Being mindful of the limitations due to temperature and moisture, I plan to continue to use the Talons on spring and fall hikes and occasionally for cross-country skiing next winter.

    Thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Outdoor Research for the opportunity to test these gloves.