Kit Review – Gloves

Anyone who has ever sailed…
**and I mean proper sailing where you must use gloves or risk your hands looking like you’ve contracted a tropical disease….in fact you probably have**
…will know that the debate around which gloves are supremo RAGES. People get seriously het-up about this. So before I begin with my very own diatribe, let me start by establishing 2 key principles:

1. There is no such thing as a waterproof glove. No. Stop it. Shhhh. Doesn’t exist. I don’t care how much neoprene/leather/sealed-seam/Coolmax/GoreTex nonsense is on the tech spec, there is not a glove on this earth that will stay dry when you’re trying to hank a sail in a southern ocean storm. Or even a reasonable Force 6 in the Solent when the English Autumn decides to set in. Accept it and plan another strategy.
2. Obviously the type of glove that you need is going to vary depending on the conditions you’re in. Tropical lulls are not the same as a freezing wind off the north China sea. I have heard so many people talking about The Glove that they intend to take with them on the Clipper Journey and I think they’re all mad. How can one glove suit all conditions. Smashing about in the pulpit getting soaked requires different kit to helming from the relative safety of the stern.

I am going for a multi-glove strategy. It will be task- and condition-dependent and for once I actually feel like I know what I’m talking about.

I will start my strategy with these.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are your common-or-garden variety gardening gloves. They’re tight fit and thin giving you decent dexterity. The “palm” side is a tough rubber outer so protects your hands from the worst of the wet and has a good grip on ropes and winches. The textile back dries very very quickly and is pretty cool in warmer climes. I reckon for warm-waters, these guys will Do The Business. Best part is that they’re cheap as chips so you can take 10 pairs and go through them with impunity. I found that one pair lasted me L1 and L2 training before getting ragged.

I have acquired additional gloves for testing in colder and harsher conditions already but I am reticent to post anything about them until I’ve had a chance to try them out. So…more on this saga later.

Over and out.