Hestra Highland Active Outdoor Glove Review 2019/09/15
A specific feeling of satisfaction comes from owning a pair of
quality gloves. Made stronger with the knowledge they will age well
and accompany you on many an adventure. This review is for the Hestra
Highland glove so let’s explore this premium all year round accessory.
The Hestra Highland Glove
This accessory features a goat leather and soft shell outer with a
luxury merino wool inner glove, which is completely removable. This is a
stand out combination that packs a serious punch in terms of protection
but with a soft lining next to your skin. Designed for light mixed
conditions, freezing cold and outdoor tool work the Highland Gloves cope
with an awful lot. They excel in these conditions by utilising premium
materials and workmanship.
Materials
Let’s take the Army Goat leather for the palm and fingers. It is nice
and supple but durable enough to cope with gripping rock, walking poles
or an axe for extended periods. It is saturated to aid in water
repellency and stain resistance. However all leather will become
saturated after prolonged use in wet conditions. Therefore the Highland
glove is not a wet weather specialist. The back of the hand is made of
Hestra’s Flextron softshell. This is advertised as 4-way stretch,
windproof and water resistant fabric. Having softshell positioned here
offers the user enhanced wet weather performance, especially from rain.
Zoning the fabric selection in this way allows for a lighter glove
overall and one that will not take on excess water weight by avoiding
leather in all non essential areas. The softshell material has a PU
backer of some kind and so is relying on a coated material to keep
moisture out. This will impact breathability in the glove but with the
positive of being better in the damp.
Construction
The Highland Glove features a good sized wrist guard that is also
elasticated. Each hand has a substantial finger pull tab to aid with
putting on the glove along with a carabiner eyelet. The eyelet allows
for the only real way to carry gloves effectively in the back country.
Stored close to hand but attached to your rucksack or belt. Having your
working gloves to hand whenever you need them means you will use them
more often to accomplish tasks. One of the most important reasons to
take gloves into the outdoors is to protect your hands against splinters
and abrasion. So by having an easy way to attach them to your equipment
allows them to be fully integrated with your outdoor system.
The fingers have outseams to maximise
your ‘feel’ when doing tasks. The stitching is on the outside of the
finger areas to minimise any loss of your touch. The merino wool liners
are secured in place by little velcro tabs in each glove by the wrist.
Once the liner has been put inside the outer it fits snuggly.
Field Use
Generally the Highland gloves suit a colder environment and here they
work very well. My hands were kept warm and the real advantage of a
glove over a mitt is your dexterity is much greater. If you find
yourself working with an axe then simply remove the merino liner and you
can really grip the tool well. This keeps your hands from overheating
but still protected by the leather outer. It is this flexibility that
the Highland gloves outshine a lot of competition. Being able to adapt
your gloves on the fly makes them ideal for changing conditions and
environments. As with any premium glove selecting the right size is
essential. Hestra makes this easy on their website by including a handy
guide on measuring your hand before purchasing. You will want to do this
as a mix matched glove to hand will totally ruin the experience. I
ordered the size for my hands which I measured using their online tool.
The fit is snug but not super close as the glove needs space for the
liner. The use of synthetic material in the Highland means you have to
be careful around fires. Any ember will melt the softshell part of the
glove.
Conclusion
The Hestra Highland are a great pair of gloves. A fantastic blend of
high quality materials, workmanship and a highly adaptable design. All
together resulting in a pair you can wear almost all year round and
tailor on the fly their performance. When it’s hot use the outer and for
when the temperatures drop add the liner. The luxury offered by the
merino wool liner is out of this world. It is a soft and technical fibre
that keeps your hands protected but also dry. Merino wool wicks moisture
well and also locks away excess sweat within the fibre.
