When it comes to my gloves in sub-Arctic weather, I think I have reason to be at least a little fussy.
When I was offered a pair of Gordini’s Swagger gloves with their Windstopper technology a few months ago, I was delighted to give it a go.
For the most part, I’m pretty pleased with the gloves. They’re extremely warm, not terribly bulky, and – once you get them on – quite comfortable.
These are the kind of gloves you don’t really want to be pulling on just to go for a casual walk, in my opinion. The Swaggers are serious cold-weather handwear that you put on and leave on when you’re planning to be out for at least an hour, and likely longer.
I’ve used them for both, and I find that’s the best and most practical use for them, due to their design.
The Gordinis Swaggers are a long-cuff glove, which, to be totally honest, I’m not fond of.
To continue to be honest, when I pulled them out of the package and saw the long cuffs, my lip instinctively curled a bit. I haven’t had the best luck with gloves of this sort over the years.
I’ve always found them awkward, to say the least. They’re either impossible to put on over top of a coat sleeve, because they’re not big enough, or difficult to fit under a coat sleeve.
It’s been years, in fact, since I’ve had a gauntlet-style glove suitable to pull over a coat sleeve. Between the size of my arms and the bulkiness of the coat, it simply doesn’t work.
Fortunately, the Gordinis fit reasonably well under my main heavy parka, as well as under a Canada Goose parka I’ve using this winter when the weather is cold enough.
It took some time to give the Gordinis a good workout, because our weather here has been unseasonably warm for the most part.
I like them when the temperature drops below -20C and beyond. In temperatures warmer than that, they’re simply too much glove.
The long cuffs are my only serious complaint with them. I also find the cuffs a little tight to get my hands through. In fact, I put a slight tear in the right glove jamming my hands through, but it’s not something I can’t easily fix with a needle and thread.
Other than that, the fit is fairly good. I tend to find most manufacturers produce gloves with fingers that are much too long for my taste, but the Gordinis are fairly good in that respect. They’re certainly not skintight, but the fit is quite workable.
Along with the warmth, the Gordinis also make a good cold-weather snowshoe glove. I’ve found they’ll stay warm, even when my hands start sweating. Another, less important feature, is that these gloves offer a little something in the style department, and that never hurts as an extra.
All in all, I’d recommend these gloves. If Gordini came out with a short-cuff model, I’d be all over them.
For more information on the Gordini Swagger, visit http://gordini.com/gloves-mittens/swagger/.
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