I got these gloves as part of the swag bag I received at SIDI Press Camp. I didn’t need them on that trip but I took them home to Alaska and have been trying them out. I didn’t really have high expectations because it’s really cold here and even the most insulated gloves don’t tend to keep me warm, but the Castelli gloves have been a huge surprise. I’ve used them in temps from the low 20s to single digits, and I have completed all those rides without cold hands which has to be a first when it comes to winter biking.

I wore them without overgloves or heaters in the low 20s and stayed perfectly comfortable. I usually get cold when riding bikes so this was pretty amazing. On my single-digit ride I put air-activated heaters at my wrists by tucking them inside the cuff of the gloves, and topped off that arrangement with a big pair of overmittens. I took a chance with this one as I doubted I’d stay warm but although my feet froze (again), my hands were perfectly fine the entire three hour ride. Pretty amazing.

The women’s small size was way too tiny for me and I was barely able to even get them on, so SIDI gave me a pair of men’s small gloves which are too big. I think that’s okay though because a little extra air space can be beneficial in the winter (but only a little; slightly big is okay but baggy doesn’t work). My only beef is the Velcro closure. I don’t know why Velcro is so prevalent in outdoors accessories because it’s just deadly on jerseys and base layers. Elastic would be better.

If you can find these and you’ve got the cold hands issue, give them a try; I think they’re pretty good.

I sent these gloves to petite Irene because they were too small for me. I did hang onto them for a while, hoping that my hands would become magically smaller, because I loved the gloves and wanted to wear them; they looked great for ice climbing. When it was time to send Irene a shipment, though, I gave in and included them since she’ll get more use out of them. Here’s what she reports:

The Mountain Hardwear Epic Glove for Women. The manufacturer says: “Designed for a woman’s smaller hands, a windproof, and waterproof, breathable glove for all backcountry sports. Brushed lining adds warmth and wicks moisture. Durable, high grip, synthetic palm.”

Well, my first response to a woman’s sized S/P glove is to run the other way. Though my hands are small, petite, with long thin fingers, unlike a man’s thicker hand and small stubby fingers, so when I shop for gloves I usually head to the men’s department. Quite a switch for me, shopping in the men’s department is mostly a no for myself. I stray towards more room in finger gloves primarily so my fingers do not get cold from being too constricted, same idea as for fitting shoes/boots: it is generally prudent to have a little more wiggle room, and, never snug.

Surprise! These gloves fit like a… well, “like a glove”, imagine that. Who would have thunk it? Certainly not me. These gloves fit my fingers and hands well, not too tight, comfortable, just right.

In early spring (that’s still cold in these parts) these gloves kept my fingers warm and I had the satisfaction of them also being a nice protective layer while roller blading. These are now my standard glove for my roller blading pack. The area I travel a lot is always windy, and quite often raining, these gloves are wonderful for these conditions. The outer layer is 100% nylon, the inner layer is 100% polyester, and for some reason, known to the manufacturer, they do breathe well. As I think about the winds I face heading home from the Glacier I just came up with a brilliant idea while writing this review. If I start my trek at the Glacier, instead of the beginning of the 8-mile road, I could perhaps skate into the wind going out, and have the wind to my back coming home? But then, this would add an additional 16 miles of driving my rig, darned it, I want it all. Brilliant idea turns into a dilemma, well; at least I have the gloves to suit my needs. Wish I had a second pair for my daypack, and a third pair for my backpack. I find that when I start switching gear from pack to pack, something gets lost in the shuffle, I am spoiled, and that is a good thing. (I do the same – where the HELL is my Down Shirt????) -HG

There is a simple to use clip to keep these gloves together when not being used. Unlike some clips that are a pain to undo, this clip is simple and works well. A small Velcro closure at the opening helps to open the gloves at the writs/arm a little wider making it easy to get the glove on and off. These gloves extend 2 inches above the wrist, easy to wear under a coat. Guess I’ll have to stop and smell the roses a bit more in the women’s glove department, funny how you can be so set in your ways, only to have someone prove you wrong, thank you Mountain Hardwear.

Priced at $59.95 at backcountry.com. Probably some good sales coming up one of these days too.

I realize that I’m probably supposed to share this windfall of gloves with a bunch of other people, and I might indeed part with a pair or two. But I’ll just go ahead and admit that with this package, my dream of a wardrobe of gloves has come true. I have suffered with only one pair of mountain biking gloves for a long time, and this was a problem because gloves get dirty and gross, and if you’re a delicate flower of a girl who can’t touch her face with dirty gloves without paying for it with several weeks’ worth of breakouts (at age 37! Awesome), you understand the critical importance of always having a clean pair of gloves to wear. And now I do! Thanks Answer!

One other cool thing about having all these gloves at my disposal is that I get to try ALL of the sizes. Usually I only get to try one size and I just have to guess what size would work the best. But with the Answer gloves, I can tell you that it’s kind of hard to go wrong because I can make all of the sizes work. The Medium is the best for me, but the Large works fine too, and the Small is tolerable though not as good as the others because of the short-finger issue, but still workable. What’s cool about this is that the gloves are so well designed that it almost doesn’t matter what size you get. They don’t shift or bunch or stretch too much. I thought at first I might not like them because they don’t seem to have tons of padding, but as it turns out I don’t need tons of padding. I like the better “feel” I get with a thinner glove and the Answer gloves grip so well that my hands don’t chafe on the bar and I’ve yet to feel like I was wanting for padding. So, silly me! All this time I never knew.

A great feature of the gloves is the lack of velcro. They just slide on and yeah, sometimes you have to work a little to get into the gloves because they’re cut to be close to the wrists (or rather, base of hands? They don’t really reach the wrists, which I like, because it’s less bulk). No velcro means no accidental snags on jerseys or shorts and one less thing to hassle with while getting ready to ride. I never really have to take the gloves on and off anyway because they allow a pretty good feel for things like, oh, buttoning your pants after a pee break. I know, I know, Answer is a new client and I shouldn’t scare them with reviews that contain discussions of bodily functions. However, I believe in breaking them in quickly, like pulling off a Band-Aid. You want a review, you never really know what you’re going to get around here sometimes…

So the handlebar was a surprise to me. I didn’t know that was coming in the mail. I’m not really into testing bike components, it’s such a pain to switch them out and all that. These guys (gals? I have no idea) at Answer really know my weak spots though, because they sent a pink handlebar that is EXACTLY the color of my anodized sparkly pink mountain bike. EXACTLY. Had they sent a boring black bar, I probably would have, in all honestly, shoved it on a shelf and left it there, with good intentions of course, but with no real motivation to go through the hassle of changing out my bar just to try it out. But the pink bar? That matches my bike? I was putting that thing on IMMEDIATELY. And I’m glad I did because not only does it look amazing on my bike, but I really like the bar itself. It’s got a comfortable sweep and was noticeably easier on my wrists than my last bar. I like wide bars and this one was just a tad bit narrower than my old bar but still beefy enough for me to be comfortable. I’m sure there’s like a million bars out there with similar specs that would work the same, but this one really did it for me and it looks great on my bike. So Answer is out one bar (you’re not getting it back, let me break it to you, guys) but they’re up a whole lot of exposure on this eye-catching pink bike with the matching bar with a giant ANSWER logo on it. Well played.

I can tell whether I’ve run into one of my soul sisters on the trail when I see a savvy MTB rider wearing Mechanix gloves. The blunt truth is that if you’re into MTB and you haven’t clued into these babies, you are behind the times. Why? Because if you buy Mechanix you get a burlier, longer-lasting glove with the same padding, the same armor, and the same grip with better Velcro and tougher construction for less cash. So if you’re still dropping your paychecks on MTB-specific gloves, get with the program and visit the Mechanix Web site to get yourself the glove that makes other MTBers nod knowingly.

The Velcro on Mechanix is so much better than on bike industry gloves it’s pretty ridiculous. I won’t wash my guy’s regular bike gloves with our technical clothes because the Velcro is so crap that it always comes loose and snarls up our lycra. Needless to say he quickly caved and bought his own Mechanix. One of our more notable arguments involved his callous return to the house bearing new Mechanix gloves for himself and none for me. What kind of monster would do such a thing, I ask you? He’s over my shoulder now, defending himself with some line about going back to the store to look for gloves for me but not being able to find any in my size; a likely story.

I’ve been riding with and washing the same pair of Mechanix for three years now and the Velcro is still stuck fast. There’s no visible wear to the gloves and they are still just as nicely padded as ever. I bought mine so long ago that I don’t even know which version they are, but they are pretty standard with a padded palm and full fingers. No armor on them, but I don’t feel that I need it. If you want armor, they have gloves with armor. If you want pink, they have gloves with pink. If you want flourescent yellow, they have that too. Most importantly though, they have a great, tough, useful glove at a great price.

You can order them through the Mechanix web site or grab them at one of the big box home improvement stores. The latter comes with the (typical) downside of not having much choice for size; I’ve never seen a size small utility glove at one of those stores. The web site has them, though, so that’s probably the best option for us ladies. If you are in a pinch, the mediums will probably work; mine are size medium and although they are a little big, they are fairly comfortable. I have been meaning to buy new ones in size small but since my old ones are still in such good shape, I don’t see the point. Then again, if I wait for them to wear out I might never get to buy new gloves; an interesting conundrum.

Mechanix has gloves for cold weather; too, and they even have fairly decent arm warmers. One thing they don’t have, though, is gloves with much ventilation (except for their ventilated gloves, which don’t have palm padding), so just get used to sweaty palms and serious wrist tan lines. They don’t have any fingerless gloves and they don’t even really make bike gloves at all. But they do make gloves that are excellent for biking.

Boy, am I glad I wasn’t running this site during the Salt Lake City Olympics, or I’d be stuck featuring one of those goofy berets that was all the rage back then. They were the must-have Olympics-wear, seen on all the US athletes and a good portion of the spectators. Not like I didn’t try to get one, don’t get me wrong – but the line for berets was so long that I had to bail to catch my flight. Little did I know that I would have a second chance at that beret eight years later at the Vancouver 2010 Games. Yep, they still sell those berets! Something about how easy it was to buy them made me pass it up this time, though. Maybe it was the thrill of the hunt that made them so desirable. Likewise with this year’s hot item, the red Olympics mittens. There was a rumor going around for a while that the mittens were sold out, but nothing could be further from the truth. Believe me when I say that they are everywhere. Every Canadian in the world has at least one pair, and of all the Olympics garb at the store, the mittens were by far the easiest to obtain (probably because all Canadians already have their own). So don’t despair, you too can have the Olympics souvenir of the year. They’re even affordable, at about $10 a pair!

The best thing about them, aside from being immediately able to fit into any crowd here in Vancouver, is that they are actually really nice mittens. Fleece lined and cozy, they will honestly keep your hands warm while you bundle up in the bleachers to watch the events. You might even find them a little too toasty at the alpine events’ barely-almost-not-quite-freezing temperatures. Best of all, though, you’ll fit in, and when you are surrounded by a bunch of lovely, polite, nice, charming Canadians, what better feeling could there be?

Pick yours up at the Hudson’s Bay Co.

Embrace your inner feline with the Cougar Gloves from Backcountry.com.

OK ladies, here’s your big chance to try the gear that nets younger husbands. With these gloves, you’ll be unstoppable at your local apres-ski haunt, preying on those out-of-towner twentysomethings and worshipping your goddess, Demi Moore. No, just kidding, these aren’t for THAT kind of Cougar. Actually, I really don’t know why they are called “cougar” gloves, but I DO know that I repeatedly turn to these gloves when the pow is flying. They’re really well-padded (read: not nimble) and moderately warm, which is nice, but what keeps me coming back is the well-sized wrist cuff that keeps wayward snow out of my sleeves. Dakine has thought of everything; giving you a nose wipe patch AND a goggle squeegee, one on the left glove and one on the right. Of course I keep forgetting which glove has which, and I’ve had some painful nose-squeegeeing incidents. You’d think I’d learn….

Get the Onzas for the great price of $59.95 at Altrec.com! Click here!

I can’t believe I haven’t written about these yet, what have I been thinking? These are straight up awesome mittens. Actually, they are called “mitts” because evidently it’s not cool to wear mittens. It’s true! Every time I wear them, I get some snide cutesy “awwww, nice mittens!” remark. In print it seems innocuous, but try saying it out loud with a bit of a mocking tone, and you get the idea. To which I say: why yes, they are nice mittens, thanks very much. And my hands are ever so warm in them, and I don’t have to wear big clumsy gloves that go halfway to my elbows. So there! Finally, a mitten really, truly, honestly made to fit a woman’s hand. They’re not baggy, not bulky, and won’t drown your hands in extra fabric. They are exactly Head Geargal-hand-shaped. It’s a little creepy to think that Mountain Hardwear keeps sending people to measure me in my sleep to make stuff to fit me exactly, but I really love the results so, MHW, just let me know if you need a copy of my house key to make this easier.

The Onzas have been my standard hand-wear this year, in any temperature cold enough for mittens. I’m a cold-hands person, so mittens are a must for me, and the Onzas are just perfect. They are streamlined, form-fitting, and low-profile, but incredibly warm even without yards of bulk. You might be surprised at how dextrous mittens can be if they’re not huge and bulky, or just plain too big. I will put my nice warm Onza-mittened hands up against anyone’s stiff, cold, gloved hands any day. I really like this trend towards more form-fitting gloves and mittens, and the Onza is so far the best of the lot. Once I cinch down the wrist zippers, no snow can get in, and there’s no way snow is getting these things wet. They are practically impervious. The only way they get wet is when my hands sweat, which is gross, but is a good indicator of how warm the mittens are. I’m sure a few of my ex-boyfriends out there are reading this in disbelief, because they know my hands are NEVER warm. Well boys, I have warm hands now, believe it or not. Just add that to the list of things you’re missing out on. And since my brother reads this site, I’m sure I’ll be getting a “hey, TMI!” email pretty soon. Sorry bro!

Get your grab on at backcountry.com – ON SALE at $59.96!


One of the most eye-catching gloves in my arsenal, the Dakine Targas have quickly become one of my staples. That could have something to do with how they PERFECTLY match my orange and brown (cooler than it sounds) ski outfit, but it also is because they are sized correctly for women’s hands and are very warm and water resistant. They have a rather rare form-fitting cuff that doesn’t end up pushing your jacket sleeves up your arms. The cuff is also shorter than usual which is nice for getting your sleeves over them. I like its precise fit and the adjustable closure that gives you as close a fit as you want.

They’re fairly warm, though I’d say they’re for milder winter temperatures from upper teens to upper twenties, but their real attraction is their water resistant nature. It took many, many wearings for these gloves to let any water through, and that was after pretty much digging through slushy snow with my gloved hands for a while. They also tend to get wet when I’m working with snow with my hands, because the short cuff tends to let snow in when I reach down into the snowpack. But honestly, most people won’t be plunging their hands into snow so I think you’ll be fine.

I thought they might be kind of gimmicky because of the trendy design, but I was pleasantly surprised and found that they have significant function value as well. I think I use them most days unless I know it’s cold enough to need mittens. And, extra bonus: the flashy design attracts commentary, which is a good way to strike up a conversation with your favorite ski instructor. And what Geargal doesn’t like a good, healthy “conversation”?

More love is what I’m feeling for the Torsion gloves, which are lightweight, thin, stretchy, and completely windproof. They are popular as well, from the number of times I’ve heard “hey, I have those gloves too.” The leather palm allows maximum grippage (another patented Geargals technical term) and is tough enough to take abuse from sharp rocks and rope friction. While the Torsions aren’t waterproof per se, they shed the weather and only really soak up liquid when you force them to by dunking them in puddles or handling soaking wet ropes. These gloves get worn so much they haven’t even made it to the laundry – the Geargals can’t bear to part with them long enough to wash them. And that, readers, is a ringing endorsement.