Longtime readers will know the difficult relationship I have with gloves. Though I seem to run a solid 10 degrees (F) warmer than normal humans, the one body part I have trouble keeping warm is my hands, and hands turn out to be pretty important. A cold pair can ruin a ride.
When Lizard Skins announced they had this new glove, I was intrigued. Already a fan of their bar tape, I suspected I might love their gloves, but did they know how to make a glove? They sent me a pair to review.
First, let’s address the name. These are billed as three season gloves, but they’re not. At least not here in New England. In reality, they’re more like shoulder season gloves, the optimal range being 40F-50F. If you live in a place where 40F is winter, well…ok. So my first impression was not great, and that speaks to the importance of product naming, because eventually I understood what these gloves are good for, and they are very good.
The palms have excellent grip. They use the same material that makes Lizard Skins bar tape so good. They also have excellent snot wipes on both hands. We can pretend you’re doing something else with that patch of terry cloth on the back of each thumb/forefinger intersection, but I’m wiping snot. I value this feature a lot. The back panel on each glove is wind resistant, and the cuffs are soft and very comfortable.
My friend Chapman hangs all his gloves on a line in his basement, organized in order from lightest to heaviest. That’s a level of organization beyond me, but it’s a nice way to think about the range of gloves you own. For me, the Monitor 3 SZN would hang between the POC Savant and the Craft Siberian, and there’s room there, not three seasons worth of room, but plenty still, and for $39.99 I’d call them high on both quality and value.
