Gloves are perhaps the most important bit o’ gear you can wear when skiing. Why? Because if you have cold, wet hands, your entire day is ruined. Nothing will send you back to the lodge or scurrying to the heater vents in your car faster than frozen digits. Personally, I have issues with cold fingers and hands and am very picky about ski gloves. So when I first hit the slopes with Mountain Hardwear’s Compulsion OutDry gloves, I was nervous not having down mittens or glove liners along.
The Compulsion gloves are, according to the company, one of their most cutting-edge, technology-filled gloves they make. They are constructed with good-looking leather and feature an OutDry membrane plus Q-Shield technology for wet weather protection. Features include:
- Thermal.Q™ Elite insulation
- Velcro-fastener
- Pull-on web loop at wrist
- Durable leather construction
- Reinforced palm and fingers
- OutDry® waterproof membrane
- Q.Shield™ water-repellent technology
I am a big fan of leather gloves for skiing. Leather is a far more durable material compared with fabric gloves and hold up to beatings in the mountains. I’ve been wearing Kinco gloves, but despite being very warm, they lack any waterproofing and require a steady diet of SnoSeal to keep hands dry. Plus, Kincos are very, very stiff until broken in. Well, the Compulsion gloves are made from very nice leather, but are fully waterproof with that OutDry membrane for both durability and comfort.
I’ve been wearing the Compulsion gloves in-bounds at Alta and in the backcountry. At first, they were stiff and uncomfortable – pretty standard with new leather. But after about 5 ski days, they have softened up real good and are now molded to the shape of my hands. The fingers also have flex at the knuckles, which allows for really good dexterity out of the gate. I also really like the pull-on web loop at the wrist for easy on, especially when I’m trying to get the second glove on with a gloved hand.
On the inside, the gloves are very soft and fleecy. The first day out, they actually felt too small, even though the sample is a size medium, which I’ve always worn. But after a few uses, the inside liner has packed down and the gloves now fit perfect.
Of course warmth is the most important element when choosing a good ski glove. Initially, because of the stiff and tight quality of the leather, my fingers were cold, probably from poor blood circulation. But now that the gloves are broken in and the liner is packed out a bit, I can safely say the Compulsion are even warmer than my Kincos. I’ve skied in temperatures down to the teens and those finger tips have stayed warm and dry.
Since winter in Utah is pretty dry, I’ve not had a good opportunity to test the waterproof qualities of the glove. So I put them on and ran them under the bathtub faucet. Water never penetrated inside the glove, so I think it’s safe to say they will perform valiantly during wet, spring days.
My only real gripe aside from the break-in time, is the velcro cuff. For powder skiing, a good, long gauntlet is ideal to keep snow out of your shell sleeves. The cuff on the MH Compulsion glove are very short and they aren’t anywhere near big enough to wrap around a shell cuff. I’ve been cinching down the velcro closure of my shell on the outside of the glove cuff, which worked well so far, but anyone with a shell that doesn’t have a velcro closure may have issues sealing off their wrists to the elements.
The Good: Warm, waterproof, awesome-looking, durable construction, pull-on loop is nice.
The Bad: Wrist cuff could be longer and/or larger for better protection.
Final Word: The Mountain Hardwear Compulsion OutDry Gloves are pretty damn awesome ski gloves, especially if you have chronic cold fingers and like wearing leather while throwing yourself at the mountains. Overall, these are my favorite new gloves and will totally replace the old Kincos for sure.