Outdoor Research Super Couloir Glove - 2006 BCS

Very happy with these gloves. The liners are nice because they're softshell, so just used them for skinning up whilst it was snowing. Kept my hands drier than the normal fleece type liners. The shells are designed really well to make it easy to tighten / loosen the draw strings.

My first impression was "I can't believe I just spent $160 on this!!!", but after using them for over half the season, I can now reason with the purchase. For one, they didn't fit quite right when I first got them, but I think they are actually starting to fit to my hands better (maybe loosen up). I also didn't think they would be that warm, but after they kept my hands sweating during a night at 3900m in 40+ gusts I changed my mind. Overall, this is a good glove that can serve multiple purposes. Probably as good of an expedition glove as you can get (I'd say as good as Black Diamond's guide glove, and more supple).

This is by far the most expensive glove I have ever purchased but in my opinion worth every penny. I have worn the liners separately for most of the ski season and they are perfect unless the snow is REALLY wet. The shells fit well and NOTHING comes through them. I am not sure that I will ever need to use both the liners and the shells together as the warmth individually is enough for everything but the coldest temps. If you need a glove for those frostbite inducing days, these would definitely do the trick.

I bought these gloves for snowshoeing, snowboarding and potentially snow camping in the future. I've worn the outer shells a few times, but have always found them way too warm for the activities I've taken part in. When snowshoeing I've always found the inner liners to give just the right amount of insulation and wind chill prevention. Sometimes, when taking a break in the wind I'll put in the outer shells and it's nice to know that I have them in my pack in case of emergency or it gets really cold. As another reviewer mentioned, the soft shell liners really are much better than fleece as it's much harder for snow to stick to it. In addition, the leather grips really do help me with the poles when I'm snowshoeing. Also, they do indeed feel a little long-fingered for a medium when I compared them to other gloves I've had. OR, take note! All in all, great gloves.

Great gloves, tremendous warmth and I would buy them again without hesitation. However the liners seem a little long fingered. I wear right on a size medium in most everything, just your average guy I guess. But while just wearing the liners I tried to tie some knots in my tent’s guy lines and the finger tips of the liners were too long and I had to take them off to manipulate the cord. I’ve written OR and hopefully they can exchange them for a small liner. I think with the stretch capabilities of the liner a small liner in a medium shell would be a good combination for me. But if you have long finger these would be perfect.

I purchased a pair of OR Super Couloir's around X-mas 07 and within a month the soft shells were malfunctioning and coming apart. I requested to get a replacement for the malfunctioning pair and received them approx a week later. Within a week of receiving the new ones they themselves failed due to the same problem. It doesn't hurt the function of the glove but I would have to say poor craftsmanship from a company well respected in regards to gloves. The shells are superb and very warm. For $160 for size XL I would never purchase this pair of gloves again.