Long Term Report

Outdoor Research Vert Gloves
Long Term Report
July 18, 2006

Personal Biographical Information:

Name: Ken Bigelow
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 9 in/1.8 m
Weight: 205 lb/93 kg
Hand Circumference: 9.5 in/24 cm
Hand Length: 9 in/23 cm
Email Address: krb84108 (at) yahoo (dot) com
City, State, Country: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Backpacking Background:

I was first dragged on a backpacking trip eight years ago and have been addicted to it ever since. My adventures vary in length from a weekend to over two weeks. I am slowly shifting my backpacking style to a lightweight approach. I recently upgraded to a hammock to reduce weight. From spring through fall I typically backpack in the mountains or desert, while in winter I often go snowshoeing. I typically see a wide variety of climates ranging from -5 F (-20 C) with snow to 90 F (32 C) and sunny with just about everything in between.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
Website: http://www.orgear.com/
Size Tested: Large* (L) *(S, M, & XL also available)
Listed Weight: 3.7 oz/103 g (size L, per pair)
Measured Weight: 4 oz/113 g per pair (2 oz/57 g each glove)
Year Manufactured: 2006
Color: Black
MSRP: $49 (US)

Field Conditions:

For the final two months of testing, the Vert Gloves have been used in Yellowstone National Park, the Wasatch Mountains, Grand Gulch Primitive Area and Fish Lake National Forest. The have experienced heavy rain, hail, strong winds and even clear sunny days. The temperatures have ranged from 35 F (2 C) to 95 F (35 C). Elevations have ranged from 4,000 ft (1,200 m) to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). The terrain has included ice/snow covered trails, muddy pathways, slickrock and dirt trails.

Long Term Report:

For a more detailed description of the OR Vert Gloves and their features please see my Initial Report and my Field Report.

In dry, chilly weather the Vert Gloves thrive. They shear harsh wind and keep my hands warm when weather conditions are less than ideal. While in Fish Lake National Forest a strong, chilly wind forced me to break out the Vert Gloves as my hands were freezing to my trekking poles. The wind forced me to put my hat in my pack or lose to the wind as I followed the ridge line for almost a mile (1.6 km) to my summit destination. The gloves kept my hands warm and the wind was unable to penetrate their shell. At the summit I was able to take pictures, sign the register and extend my trekking poles while wearing the gloves without any problems at all.

On a backpacking trip in the Wasatch Mountains I ended up hiking from the first sign of daylight until well after it was dark. When the sun went down the temperature plummeted and once again I was delighted to pull out the Vert Gloves for additional warmth as my trekking poles were sucking all the warmth from my body after an extremely long day of hiking. The gloves warmed up my hands and still left me enough dexterity to operate my headlamp and pump water from a very cold creek as I hiked out.

Hiking at Dusk With the OR Vert Gloves

Warmer temperatures for the last two months of testing have reduced my overall use of the Vert Gloves while on the trail, but they are still useful to have around camp. On all my backpacking trips I have successfully used the gloves as a hot pad when cooking. I find them to work better than bandannas in this capacity as I can grab my mug (with its boiling water) using my entire hand and do not have to worry about burning myself. With this better grip on the pot I am much less likely to spill its contents or burn myself in the transferring the water from the stove to the food. In Yellowstone National Park I wore the gloves while hanging the food bags at night. I was able to tie of the rope off without removing the Vert Gloves. Whether around camp or on the trail my hands have been able to grip items without any fatigue or cramping in my fingers, hands or wrists.

I have found the gloves to be extremely uncomfortable to wear in high humidity and mild temperatures. It rained on me all morning while I was hiking up Mount Olympus in the Wasatch Mountains. It was around room temperature, but with the high humidity I found wearing the gloves to be clammy and uncomfortable. I should note that I live in a dry environment and that I find high humidity very uncomfortable no matter what I wear so I cannot say this is really a fault of the gloves.

The Vert Gloves have held up well over four months of testing. In addition to typical hiking in cold weather with trekking poles, they have been used scrambling over rock, digging in snow, setting up camp, cooking, attaching/removing my snowshoes and as padding for my pillow at some point during testing. I cannot detect any rips, tears or any other damage in the Vert Gloves and they still perform as well as when they first arrived. The leather palms have not worn through, the elasticized wrists are still functioning as good as new and I have not noticed any reduction in the insulating capacity of the gloves throughout the test period. I have washed them twice (easily done I might add) and they show no signs of deterioration what-so-ever.

Summary:

I have been pleased with the performance of the Vert Gloves over the last two months of testing. They do an excellent job of keeping my hands warm in cold temperatures and high winds. They have replaced my bandanna as my cooking hot pad and do not hinder me from doing various camp chores. They are uncomfortable to wear in high humidity and warmer temperatures (just like everything else) and they do wet out (like all soft shells) in heavy precipitation. I would like to see a completely waterproof version of these gloves so I do not have to worry about using them in heavy precipitation.

Things I like:

Provides good insulation for my hands
Does not severe reduce my dexterity when wearing them
Excellent wind protection
Durable

Things I would like to see improved:

Uncomfortable to wear in high humidity and moderate temperatures
They are only water resistant and not waterproof

I would like to thank Outdoor Research and BackpackGearTest for allowing me the opportunity to test the Vert Gloves.

Read more reviews of Outdoor Research gear
Read more gear reviews by Ken Bigelow

Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Outdoor Research Vert Gloves > Ken Bigelow > Long Term Report

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