Reviews > Clothing > Socks > SealSkinz Socks and Gloves > Owner Reviews > SealSkinz Gloves Owner Review by Dave Anderson

I love the rain, always have. In my 25+ years of backpacking I have always planned on getting rained on and have rarely been disappointed. It cuts down on the crowds and helps me fall asleep at night listening to the rain on the tent.

Of course the problem is that sitting around camp in soaking wet clothes is downright miserable. Cold wet hands are just about useless for most camp tasks like lighting your stove to make that hot chocolate.

In Junior High school I discovered that my neoprene dive gloves did an excellent job of keeping my hands warm and dry in the rain and snow and pretty much gave up an any other glove material since then. Since taking up kayaking a few years ago I've started using my neoprene paddle gloves while using my trekking poles since they have a nice curved shape for holding on to the paddle (or poles) for extended periods.

After using the SealSkinz Socks for about a year I decided to go ahead and give the gloves a try. They are made of 3 layers laminated together, inside and outside are knit materials with a waterproof membrane in between. The palm and fingers have little rubber dots to improve grip.

For a change of pace I think I'll tell you what I don't like about them first. They leak in running water, you need liner gloves if the outside layer gets too wet, and they are flat gloves.

The leaking isn't bad in any case, but I discovered it when I dried paddling and I lowered my hands in the water while I was coasting at around 4 knots. When I spread my fingers out to stretch them I felt drops forming at the web between some of my fingers. When I later tried in still water there was no problem. I haven't had any problems with leakage under normal hiking conditions.

In normal rain these gloves are plenty warm and they don't seem to soak up much of the water when you walk with your hands at your side, but if you stuck the glove in a stream or something like that you will lose most of the thermal value to these gloves. I don't really like the idea of liner gloves since I lose dexterity and my hands get too hot if the SealSkinz aren't wet.

When hiking or paddling I've gotten used to using gloves with a curved palm and fingers. These gloves are absolutely flat. The only way you can tell the front from the back is the dots on the palms. When gripping my trekking poles I find that the fabric on the palm and fingers bunches up uncomfortably. I really should mention the way that I tend to use gloves. I wear gloves to keep my hands warm between doing things, I take them off to do anything that requires fine motor skills. I have hot hands and I've never really had any golves that fit me right so I am not all that picky about fit. Your mileage many vary.

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system let me just say that these are my favorite gloves. They are now my gloves of choice for whenever I am wearing gloves and I'm not constantly holding on to something. When I'm hiking I will use my paddle gloves and switch to these when I get to camp.

I guess my favorite thing about these gloves is that compared to neoprene they keep my hands dryer since they remove some of the sweat. They also warm up faster. As anyone who has done any diving or kayaking knows cold wet neoprene is miserable to put on in the morning. If you are wearing liner gloves you probably won't even notice the cold when you put on your SealSkinz gloves.

If these gloves ever wear out I would not hesitate to go out and buy another pair.

David Anderson
squtch.quiet-like-a-panther.org

Reviews > Clothing > Socks > SealSkinz Socks and Gloves > Owner Reviews > SealSkinz Gloves Owner Review by Dave Anderson