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Sunday 7th 23-32F, -5-0C, hard white frost, clear with
sunshine threatened. I walked in blinding sunshine anticlockwise up to
the woods and down by the edges of the fields. Crunchy underfoot but not
frozen to any great depth. Crows and gulls did their best to make the
place untidy. I disturbed a male Kestrel resting on the very top of the
tallest tree on the very top of the hill. A bright moon watched over the
chilly scene as chimney smoke drifted south. The turbines stopped at
one point but regained their strength later.
The
GripGrab 'Nordic' gloves were an excellent choice for this morning's
walk. More flexible than my traditional alternatives but much warmer
than them all. A normal, fingered glove is fitted snugly inside the
lobster claw outer without adding much bulk. I have been delighted with
the warmth of these gloves but there is some unwanted variation in
sizing amongst the XXL [12] which I tried in the shop. One pair I tried
was too small for my hands to go in comfortably!The gloves were easily warm enough to be able to remove them regularly so I could adjust my camera controls. The moment I replaced the gloves my hands were pleasantly toasty again. This is actually a first for me. None of my other gloves feel warm enough for walking despite being adequate for cycling within their optimum temperature band. I know this doesn't make much sense because cycling greatly increases wind chill. Very highly recommended for temperatures below 35F, +2C.
The clumsy and bulky scooterists gloves, which I have worn for several winters, are a poor choice now compared with the Nordics. The "lobster claws" work remarkably well on the trike. Providing a secure grip on the brake hoods with the other fingers tucked comfortably underneath. My scooter gloves used to make my hands ache if I tried the same grip.
GripGrab claim these gloves are best between 0 and -10C. Given today's performance at a steady -5C and a light northerly breeze I don't have any arguments with their assessment. The first time I wore them on the trike my hands were already very cold before I left. Which may explain why I doubted their warmth on the way out but found them fine on the return journey.
Another vitally important aspect is that glove inners must always remain securely in place when one withdraws moist hands. The obscenely overpriced Sealskinz gloves failed abysmally on this test. Soon after I bought them I found myself on my trike over ten miles from home, in sub zero conditions, with no usable gloves. All thanks to the Sealskinz readiness to turn themselves completely inside out after making my hands sweaty due to a severe lack of breathability. Another unforgivable habit in any glove! Once inverted nothing would persuade them to revert to normal. I tried a variety of items on my return including rounded dowels and large, plastic knitting needles. Nothing worked. On that basis I'd call them absolutely suicidal to try and wear them in dangerously cold conditions. A complete and utter waste of money and extremely dangerous to boot. They felt like an inner glove in a floppy sack. With a very poor connection between the inside and out. Leading to reduced ability to manipulate anything fiddly without removing them first. Avoid this garbage like the plague unless you actually want frostbite! Rather than give mine away to an unlucky buyer at a charity shop I cut mine up to find a huge pair of hand-shaped, polythene membranes crammed inside.
Click on any image for an enlargement.
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