The North Face Impact Glove - 2008 BCS

This glove is much better than I hoped. The pluses are...

1. Waterproof and Windproof due to Gore-Tex
2. These gloves are not bulky. I can use these in prolonged weather or just making it from the car to the grocery store. It doesn't stand out. Decent dexterity.
3. Short Guantlet: I like this. I stick them under my North Face jacket. I looks good and doesn't stand out. I don't care how good a glove is, I don't like long gauntlets.
4. North Face Brand: I admit it. I'm a North Face loyalist. I feel better getting and using North Face only products. I like uniformity from my jacket, to my gloves, to my hat. I liked to look good. I'm paying a lot.

I'm glad I bought this pair of gloves. This isn't the warmest pair of gloves. If you want warmer, get North Face's POWER STRETCH glove and use it as a liner.

Note: When the weather got real cold, I used the North Face Power Stretch glove as a liner under my North Face Impact gloves. It was comfortable and a lot warmer. It took the bite out of the cold and I could continue on my 4.2 mile hike. I noticed I could still drive wearing both the POWER STRETCH and IMPACT gloves.

You definitely need both when the IMPACT glove isn't enough to fight the wind and cold.

These gloves are amazingly warm and serve as a great skiing glove. As well the dexterity that they provide is second to none. The only draw back I can see is that the small gauntlet doesn't provide much of a snow skirt if you take a fall in some fresh powder and you get snow all up your arms.

These are the warmest gloves ever---I wore them for a week @ j hole and was thinking man--almost to warm for mid teens--never got wet great knuckle protection for hucking and never had to dry them--AAAA++++

Upon receiving the North Face Impact Gloves the first thing I noticed was the snug fit. When trying to clench your hands in a fist you do notice some resistance but nothing major. It may be the d3o inserts or just the way its constructed. Also note that if you are wearing a big thick watch this may mess with your fit as the glove ends just about where you would wear your watch.

As far as warmth...My hands were well protected from the frigid December weather here in the midwest. The windchill the week before x-mas was down past -30 below and my hands didn't feel the cold one bit.

Looks wise, I think the glove is perfect as I didn't want to buy gloves that I couldn't wear on my daily commute to and from the office. It isn't too small or too big like other ski/snowboarding gloves.

As far as the d3o component. The fingers and the back of your hand are protected from the d3o inserts like light armor, but I have yet to smash my hands against something fast to see it work like the other d3o videos on the web.

Price is steep but I waited for the holiday sales to buy it to ease the blow to the wallet.