So we all know that POW make probably the most hardcore techy gloves on the market. These are not fashion gloves, not at all.. these things are seriously constructed to take the worst the mountain can throw at you. This is obvious when you grab a pair off the store shelf and you almost can’t see the gloves for all the extra labels showing off the feature they have.. Goretex, Hippora, Thinsulate, Microfleece, Rubber-Tex… what??!
So in order to ease your anxiety and help you choose between the thing you really need and the stuff that might be overkill, here’s a detailed guide to all of the tech you are likely to find in a pair of POW gloves. Have a read, then go and buy some. You won’t regret it.
CUFFS
First things first, lets talk cuffs. Kind of simple really, look at your jacket sleeves.. does it have an elasticated fabric cuff (like you get on a sweatshirt) or a wide loose cuff (like you get on a raincoat). your gloves and sleeves have to work together, its as simple as that. If you get a gauntlet style glove like the Pro-Mitt and team it with a wide sleeve, they’re gonna be clashing and crumpled and letting in cold air and snow. With a wide sleeve you need a narrow glove cuff and vice versa.
Most gloves have a narrow cuff, but if you like to wear a technical hoodie when boarding and it has an elasticated cuff then you are forever gonna be trying to grip your stretchy cuff and tug it down over your gloves (almost impossible to do while wearing gloves, I guarantee you’ll resort to teeth, not a good look). With an elasticated cuff you need a glove like the Pro Mitt that has a wide gauntlet style to it. These will allow your jacket sleeves to slip inside and lock against the glove outer, keeping cold air and snow at bay. Plus just making it easier the get dressed after every stop.
Think of it like plugs, the two parts have to be opposite in order to fit together.
LINERS
A lot of gloves are offering separate liners now and POW are no different. When I say liners just picture a smaller, thinner pair of gloves inside your actual gloves, such as a sock is to a shoe. The WAYBACK GTX glove and mitt both come with liners. These are awesome!
Firstly, they keep a separate air barrier between you and the actual glove, this helps wick away sweat from your hands and stops the glove getting damp. As we all know, once the inside of your glove gets wet, its game over. We all know the pain of finishing your dinner after a hard mornings shredding and then having to put cold wet gloves back on. The liners help keep that at bay.
Next, they give you the chance to take your gloves off without taking your gloves off. Being able to have a chill on the ski lift without your hands getting freezing is lovely. Once you’ve tried it you will never go back.
And lastly, all POW liners come with a rubber-tec palm for super grip and most importantly a touch screen optimised thumb and forefinger for easy scrolling. Gamechanger!
EXTRA STORAGE
This is wicked feature.. all WAYBACK GTX gloves come with a zipped pocket on each glove for storing small items such as your board pass.. this is a great little feature as anyone who’s had to contort their spine into a question mark to try and reach the scanners in the lift queue will tell you. My fave adidas technical hoodie doesn’t even have a cuff or inner pocket. So getting through scanners is a nightmare. Its these tiny details that really make a difference to your day.
FEATURES
GORE-TEX, you will have seen this everywhere and yes it is a brand name.. quite simply, Gore-Tex is a material. It works kind of like sieve, the super techy material has tiny microscopic pores in it that are too small for liquids to pass through but large enough for vapour. What that basically means is water cannot get in but sweat vapour can get out. This enables the fabric to basically breathe for you and breathability is the most important factor when choosing snow gear as you will be exerting yourself, when you do that you sweat, if the sweat cannot get out you will get damp, if you get damp you get cold fast, if you get too cold too fast it could be game over. So Gore-tex can be critically important.
In case you were wondering the actual name for the fabric tech is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE).. (no, me neither)
MICROFLEECE, this is a super cosy lining fabric that takes the tech used in your favourite microfibre tea towel and scales it down.. the weave is infinitely tighter to give the same plush fluffy feel but with less bulk and material. This is why the gloves weight something like 250grams which is nothing, but they are packed full of cosy fabrics and advanced tech. think of a formula one racing car.. each individual component has been refined and detailed to the point where it is as perfect as possible each microgram here and there adds up to a larger picture of perfection.
3M THINSULATE, this is simply a type of insulation, it offer the max temperature conservation per microgram available which means it uses less material to keep you warm. The THINSULATE logo you will see on almost all gloves and that’s because its been a killer piece of tech since the 90’s. This I remember as each snowy season at school you were nobody without your own pair of THINSULATE gloves.
THE REST, oh my word.. Micro twill, 4-way spandex, Gore-tex Infinium, poly oxford, Teflon, Recycled Ottoman, Weft Stretch, Neoprene, Corded Nylon, Buff…. The list is crazy, but all you need to know is that when the icy temperatures start to close in.. POW gloves are gonna be looking after you long after the other’s have quit. There are some cheap gloves on the market, and some that look good too.. but by midday, after a few spills.. you are going to be wishing you had some proper tech on your hands.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.. keep safe, keep dry and have fun.
Andrew.
