This Little Piggy Went to Market, and This Little Piggy Got Frostbite, Turned Black, and Fell Off

I hate being cold. I don't mean the usual "I don't like it and prefer to be warm" kind of hate. I mean I hate being cold. I know, not the best thing for an individual who likes to spend a lot of time outdoors, but there it is. I have learned to ignore it, turn it off, focus through it, mentally disregard it, and even use it as a tool, but I hate it just the same. So with that in mind, I am always on the lookout for warm, functional socks and gloves.

For skiing, I don't really have a good pair of ski socks. My wife gave me a pair last year, but they are so thin that they don't get the job done by themselves at 0° Fahrenheit. I end up wearing a second pair of wool socks over them, and my shins, calves, and the soles of me feet are screaming at me by the end of the day. If you have recommendations you'd like me to try, send them to me and I would be happy to try them out and let you know what I think (pretty smooth how I worked that in there, no?).

As for gloves, I have gotten tired of wearing gloves that are bulky, hard to grip anything with or move my fingers around while wearing, and still get cold even when I'm using that little pocket designed for the hand-warmer to be inserted. This year I decided to go on the hunt for something that was warm, thin, and not a mitten, and I found the North Face S.T.H Apex. They met all of my criteria, with the added bonus of having Wind-Stopper lining, and have a leather palm and thumb for added durability and grip. The cuff comes back over my wrist and has a strap that can be used to tighten the glove around the wrist with Velcro. I liked this feature because the "strap" is about an inch wide by about two inches long, and closes a gap that is not open, but a spandex space for give- I don't even bother "closing" the straps. They are sold as being "...For mild winter conditions, the S.T.H. Glove provides water-resistant, breathable protection in a stretch-fit, high-dexterity glove" TheNorthFace.

On my first couple of days out with them, it was a sweltering 20° Fahrenheit outside, so I didn't really get a good feel for the warmth factor, but I was very pleased with how much dexterity I retained- very nice. I could grip my poles, adjust my helmet, and even zip my fleece without difficulty (though my jacket was a little more difficult with the smaller zippers under the arms). This past Wed though (Christmas Eve), I went up to Copper Mountain and the weather report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (you can find them here noaa.gov) said the weather that day was -2° Fahrenheit. So, yeah. I wore a liner glove made by Seirus($9.99)that day and went up in hopes my new NF would not let me down since I had begun to really like them, and the gloves did pretty well. My fingers only got cold a few times, each time was near the end of the lift ride when I had been sitting still for a while. They began to warm up again though as soon as I started moving again. The downside- The clip for attaching the gloves together is pretty small, making it difficult to use if your hands are cold or you are in a hurry to get in and have a beer- er...uh...lunch, and they do not have any way of easily attaching to your jacket, so you need to be ready to zip them into a jacket pocket or put into a backpack if you use one. The few times I took the gloves off to get into my pack or make more detailed adjustments, if my hands got really cold they took a really long time to warm back up in these gloves (thus the "mild winter conditions" focus), so make sure you have a back-up if you have any need to expose your fingers for any period of time because there really isn't much room to add a hand-warmer to the glove's interior.

The upside- you won't lose too much dexterity and they just feel good- my forearms weren't tired from trying to hold my poles all day. They do retain heat well, and the wind doesn't get through the wind-stopper lining, keeping them warm in spite of the elements. I wouldn't do any cold-weather survival with them, but they worked great for a long day of skiing on the mountain, and performed well in subzero temperatures with a liner glove.

Fabric

Shell: Apex ClimateBlock stretch; lining: Brushed tricot; palms: Water-resistant leather; insulation: 2 mm foam

Price:

I paid about $63