SkiTech review: North Face ski gloves (Patrol Glove)

North Face Patrol Glove

My final ski glove review is also of my favorite. The North Face calls its Patrol Glove "an instant favorite of ski patrollers, because it's the warmest and driest glove around." I can't speak for whether it's ski patrollers' favorite glove, though I've seen plenty wearing it. But I can say that this was the warmest glove that I've ever worn.

Ironically, the North Face Patrol Glove is also the least outwardly "technology-driven" glove we reviewed. The other gloves we reviewed were excellent and made good use of technology. This glove? The technology is all in its materials.

Leather on the outside with padded knuckles (which came in handy when skiing the trees). The shell is made from Gore-Tex XCR. This means it's windproof and waterproof, yet is breathable so your hands stay dry. The insulation is PrimaLoft. It's very soft, lightweight, and water repellent. PrimaLoft synthetic insulation absorbs three times less water, is 15% warmer when dry, and is 24% warmer when wet than other insulation. At least, that's the claim.

In our SkiTech reviews, these claims held up. We wore the North Face Patrol Glove in heavy powder conditions and in some very cold, wet weather. No problem.

The North Face Patrol Glove is light on technology bells and whistles. No iPod integration. No plug-in heater. Etc. But it was incredibly warm and easy to maneuver.

I loved this glove. At $150, they're well worth the price. It's dumping snow outside my house right now (and four to five feet in the mountains). I'm putting on these gloves to shovel snow in. I guess they're not just for ski days.