Gear: Obermeyer Spring Gloves

It’s springtime, which means that your cold-weather gloves may just be too hot for riding. So what do you take on the mountain with you for that snowboarding session? Spring gloves.

I’ve been trying some Obermeyer gloves. They’re lightweight but cover your hands well. The shell is 96% nylon and 4% polyurethane, mostly around the wrist. The topside of the hand is nylon, while there’s an extra coating of leather on the underside–on the palm, fingers, and wrist.

The gloves have a cinching strap that hooks across the top of the wrist, with velcro. Truth be told, I have worn them more driving about town than on the slopes, so I can’t tell you how water-repellent on the slopes they are. I do know that they don’t hold up too well if you try to fish chunks of ice out of standing water, as I did about a week ago. I had to let them dry overnight.

If memory serves, they do a good job with a casual amount of snow. Just don’t expect them to stay dry if you’re always wiping out in spring slush. (Overly pessimistic? Perhaps. I prefer to be on the cautious side in writing a review.)

They come in both black and silver. (I’m showing the silver since it displays better on the screen.) Unfortunately one glove is already showing a bit of wear: there’s a stray thread near the cuff, and there’s a slight separation of nylon and leather on one of the fingers.

I also have a pair of spring gloves from the North Face.

They’re mostly polyester with some spandex to help promote a snug fit, but they feels cheap, and are more suitable for even warmer weather than the Obermeyer glove.