The WayCool Sun Gloves from Mountain Hardwear are lightweight gloves designed to help keep you cool, protect your hands from the sun and protect your hands from the soreness and chaffing that comes from gripping trekking poles on long hikes. These gloves utilize Mountain Hardwear’s Cool.Q ZERO technology, which I found to be surprisingly effective. Here’s what Mountain Hardwear has to say about the Cool.Q ZERO technology in the gloves:
Cool.Q.ZERO’s little blue circles position an active cooling agent next to your skin that reacts with your sweat to lower the temperature of the fabric and accelerate wicking, creating an instant and prolonged cooling effect. Those little blue circles embedded in the fabric use energy from sweat to actively cool the wearer and enhance performance. Cool.Q.ZERO is a visual technology and it feels great next to the skin.
I used the gloves in a variety of environments – from Tenkara fly-fishing in the mountain streams of Japan, to backpacking in the High Sierra and San Gabriel National Monument.
I found the gloves to be surprisingly durable. When I first pulled them out of the packaging, I didn’t expect them to last very long due to their lightweight construction. But after many months of rigorous use, climbing up and down cliffs, scrambling, hiking and repeatedly soaking the gloves to handle fish or just to cool myself off, the gloves look just as good as they did when I first got them.
The gloves have a durable coating on the palm to help prevent blisters when gripping trekking poles on extended hikes. Despite my best efforts to rip or damage the gloves, I did not succeed. The seams are reinforced, and I had no issues with fraying or threads coming loose.
Bottom Line:
Many years ago, I used to scoff at trekking poles: I could not see their utility. Now I swear by them and hardly ever go hiking without them. The same thing happened with trekking gloves. I’m now a die-hard fan.
These gloves were designed for backpacking, hiking and trekking to protect your hands and to keep them cool. In that regard, they functioned quite well. They are durable, quick drying and comfortable. I tested the size L/XL and found them to fit my hands quite well. The sizing chart on Mountain Hardwear’s site is less than helpful, but, with only two sizes to choose from, your odds of getting the right size are high just by winging it.
Tech Specs:
Colors: Khaki and White
Weight: 20 g
Price: $28.00
Materials:
Body Fabric: Cool.Q™ ZERO Stretch Softie Jersey
Fabric Palm: Switchback Softshell
Mountain Hardwear WayCool Sun Gloves
$28.00
Pros
- Comfortable
- Quick Drying
- Durable
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