Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Outdoor Research Vert Gloves > Amanda Tikkanen > Long Term Report

Long Term Report—Outdoor Research Vert Gloves

Date: July 18, 2006
Name: Amanda Tikkanen
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)
Email address: uberpest at uberpest dot com
Personal website: http://www.uberpest.com
City, State, Country: LaGrange, IN USA

Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking and hiking for five years throughout Michigan and Indiana, covering several hundred miles, always with a dog by my side. Beau has been happily carrying a pack for almost three years. Before Beau I hiked with Lucy, who is now retired.

My style of backpacking is moving from overnights to long distance hiking, including multi-day trips. While I don't necessarily favor ultralight equipment, I do like to go as light as possible while still being comfortable.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.orgear.com

Specifications:

Average weight listed (per pair, size Large): 3.7 oz (103 g)
Weight as tested (size Medium, using a kitchen scale): 4 oz (113 g)
Size: Medium
Color: black with gray palms
MSRP: $49.00 US

A detailed product description can be found in my Initial Report.

Field Experience

I have tested these gloves over the past two months while at work and while on the trail. While at work I handled firewood, used tools such as chainsaws, hammers, splitting mauls, and hatchets. While used on dayhikes and one overnight trip I used these gloves with trekking poles, dog leashes and collars, zippers, keys, flashlights, sleeping pad valves, matches, lighters, firewood, and a canister stove. The gloves have been used in all about 25 days and have been use in temperatures from about 25 to 80 F (-3.9 to 26.7 C). They have been exposed to sun, rain, sleet, snow, dirt, sawdust, dog hair, and chainsaw oil.

Since my field report the use of the Vert gloves has been sporadic due to outdoor temperatures. The gloves are designed for winter use and, now that it is summer here in the upper Midwest, complete with high temperatures, the gloves have not been used as much as they were in colder temperatures. If I were not testing these gloves with respect to long-term durability I would not be using them at all since they make my hands sweat profusely in the heat. While I'm out on hikes using a wooden hiking stick or telescoping trekking poles I use the gloves, or at least attempt to, but my hands get very warm and sweat so badly I need to take the gloves off and put them in my pack within the first mile (1.6 km).

In my field report I reported that the gloves rendered a small cut in the palm of the right glove. I patched this cut with a piece of duct tape and have continued using the gloves sporadically. The patching does not seem to affect the durability or weatherproofness of the cut glove compared to the uncut glove.





I also stated I would continue testing the gloves and see how long it takes them to dry. I washed the gloves with cold water and my favorite all-purpose soap, Kirk's Castile, then hung them up to dry outside in a sunny spot. The leather cleaned up very well, most of the trail grime and chainsaw oil washed out easily. The silver "OR" logo stitching on the backs of the gloves didn't clean up as well, but that is an aesthetic concern, not a functional one. Most of the grime that collected in the inside fingertips rinsed out easily. Total time to dry with outside temperatures in the 90 F (32 C) and 80% humidity range was more than five hours for the leather palms while the black fabric of the body of the glove was about three hours.



The seams in the leather at the fingertips have sprung leaks. This is noticeable when the fingertips are submerged, such as when reaching into a puddle to pick up a dropped multi tool, or in heavy rain. The water then wets out the lining, making them cold and clammy. The gloves are advertised as water-resistant, not waterproof, however and they do an acceptable job of resisting water. After the test series completes I plan to waterproof the leather with a leather-specific leather treament such as Nikwax, however I don't feel this will do much for the leaky seams. On the other hand, the gloves are as windproof as they were on day one. I would like to see OR make a fully waterproof version of this glove.

Finally, the Vert gloves are advertised as work gloves. I feel the manufacturer defines "work" as something different from what I do since the gloves didn't hold up to rigorous trail maintenance or wet weather. I suggest Outdoor Research use a different descriptor for the gloves so as not to disappoint trail maintainers looking for a glove for use in cold, wet weather.

Bottom Line

The Vert gloves are advertised as work gloves, however they perform poorly in that line of service. As trail gloves they are only slightly better. Due to waterproofing and durability issues in addition to poor fit (as commented upon in my field report) I cannot recommend them for field use.

I thank Outdoor Research and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the Vert gloves.

Read more reviews of Outdoor Research gear
Read more gear reviews by Amanda Tikkanen

Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Outdoor Research Vert Gloves > Amanda Tikkanen > Long Term Report