KMH Utah

My last pair of $75+ gloves just split at the base of the fingers so I decided to invest in some gloves that should last for more than a season (40+ days). They arrived just before the 10 feet of powder that got dumped here at Snowbird. I have large hands and purchased the size 11's. They fit nicely, not too big or small and good dexterity. The leather is not has heavy duty as the high end Black Diamond gloves but is well stitched and appears to be solid (the palms have already received some small nicks and cuts from carrying my skies from the car to the slopes). I applied a coating of the leather conditioner that came with the gloves before heading up. With the heavy snow and constant powder, the leather became saturated in places by the end of the first day but my hands stayed dry. I applied another thin coating of a more heavy duty leather conditioner each additional day that I skied but continued to have saturated spots that grew to the whole palm of the glove by the end of the day (my hands never became wet). This may be unusual due to the heavy amount of wet snow, constant use and the time that my gloves spent in direct contact with the snow. I am not thrilled with the cuff of the glove, my last ones had a thin layer of insulation that kept my wrists protected in high winds, these are just the thin layer of gortex. Love the wrist straps, no more worrying about dropping them. One of the downsides of wrist straps is that when you pull the glove off it hangs directly below your arm so any snow that falls off of you has a good chance of dropping into the glove and lodging in the tip of the fingers. The glove seem to dry out quickly over night and accepts leather conditioner well. The temp was between 7 degrees and 21 degrees, my hands kept warm but I suspect that if temps drop below zero that your fingertips would get cold, on the higher temps the glove was too warm and I found myself removing the gloves a lot to cool off. So after 8 plus days of powder over the last 2 weeks I am pretty pleased with the product, not perfect but better than most. If the glove lasts more than a few seasons I will be thrilled.

I have been a recreational skier for years. When I get new boots I typically go to a big box sports gear place and buy last years big discount comfortable boots. They usually pack out quickly and no matter how much I wrenched down on the buckles they never hold my feet. A month ago up on the hill, I hit a big bump head on completely lost control and nearly came out of my boots. Thus the investment in the XWave 10 boots. The results have been stunning. Not only is my foot locked into place – and I mean like poured into a mold (the foot box is large enough that my toes can wiggle). Yes they are stiff (lots of control), but I am able to ski the deep powder (Alta), the bumps, run the gates and still wear the boots all day long. My skill level has gone up at least 5 notches and my ability to ski expert level runs has taken on a whole new degree of intensity. Invest in the best boot you can buy, the difference it makes is truly astonishing. And to think that I have been skiing for 30 years in crappy boots – knowing what I know now, this is the single best investment that I have ever made in ski equipment.