Sealskin Gloves.

redvee
redvee Posts: 11,922
edited December 2012 in Commuting chat
Spoiled for choice :( Which ones have people bought/use? Of the nine gloves in the road range I can discount the ladies glove and lobster mitten. Looking at the All weather glove cause I'm a cheapskate.
I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.

Comments

  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    None of them. I have had two pair of Sealskinz and both were rubbish. Admittedly this was a few years ago and it is possible they have improved their products since then, but with so many demonstrably better makes and models on the market I would simply give Sealskinz a miss.
  • exlaser
    exlaser Posts: 264
    use sealskin gloves, mittens and socks for cycling and sailing.

    great bits of kit. work well and never had a problem with any of their stuff.
    Van Nicholas Ventus
    Rose Xeon RS
  • jimmypippa
    jimmypippa Posts: 1,712
    Opinion always seems divided on this.

    I have a pair that works pretty well, although from previous experience the waterproof membrane is fragile.

    You need to make sure that they aren't too tight otherwise they are cold
  • Hoopdriver wrote:
    ....but with so many demonstrably better makes and models on the market I would simply give Sealskinz a miss.

    Ah, but please enlighten us as to which these demonstrably better makes and models are. Or is it just an anecdotal opinion.
    Planet-X SL Pro Carbon.
    Tifosi CK3 Winter Bike
    Planet X London Road Disc
    Planet X RT80 Elite
  • My experience of SealSkinz gloves (and those of several of my cycling colleagues) are that they are shockingly bad. The "waterproof" ones I had seemed to have been designed inside-out - let water in like a sieve and then took 3 days to dry out. Made my hands sweat horribly too. This is the common theme with them - terrible terrible gloves.

    Honestly buy something else - anything else. Look on the recent BR gloves review for ideas

    I have Pearl Izumi, Gore and Assos gloves (in answer to dogbreath's question) and they are all much much better. I'd recommend the Assos Early Winter 851 glove for general use but the OP says he's a cheapskate so there's no point.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    Dog Breath wrote:
    Hoopdriver wrote:
    ....but with so many demonstrably better makes and models on the market I would simply give Sealskinz a miss.

    Ah, but please enlighten us as to which these demonstrably better makes and models are. Or is it just an anecdotal opinion.
    Like Meanredspider I use and love the Assos Early Winter gloves. They are great. I also have a pair of Gore Fusion MBT gloves that are quite warm and waterproof (if somewhat bulky) for when the temperature gets really cold. I bought these latter gloves for use in the arctic on a magazine assignment but have been pleased at how well they perform on cold winter morning rides.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    This always happens. People slag off sealskins because their one experience was bad so they tell everyone they are all bad - which is disingenuous (one bloke on the BR reviews comments slates two entirely different pairs of gloves despite it being pretty obvious he is complaining about the same pair). Avoid the All Weather gloves which try to cover all circumstances and apparently do all badly. The Winter Gloves are pretty good really (though not warm enough if you have poor circulation - but then I don't believe any cycling specific gloves are and there are no convincing reviews that make me inclined to try any more. I'd love it if the BR reviews actually gave some measurable indication of warmth but they never, ever do) - but the winter gloves are recommended by BR (and usually by people who have actually tried them) so even MRS should approve! My main objection is that the ones I have have a coarse plasticky thumb and index finger piece which is excellent for scratching anything your finger comes into contact with (eg specs or computer screen). I think this is redesigned on the current ones.

    People really shouldn't keep slagging the entire company off for a single product that they didn't like 3 years ago - it doesn't help anyone.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • Rolf F wrote:
    People really shouldn't keep slagging the entire company off for a single product that they didn't like 3 years ago - it doesn't help anyone.

    And the point I was making is that there are several of us in my small cycling community who have independently tried SealSkinz gloves relatively recently and found them terrible.

    Equally, there are lots of perfectly good gloves out there to not take the risk with SealSkinz. It is of course possible that they've sacked the entire development team and hired a brand new team of people but, for a company that's main selling point is its waterproof properties, a glove with very poor waterproof qualities isn't a ringing endorsement.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Rolf F wrote:
    People really shouldn't keep slagging the entire company off for a single product that they didn't like 3 years ago - it doesn't help anyone.

    And the point I was making is that there are several of us in my small cycling community who have independently tried SealSkinz gloves relatively recently and found them terrible.

    But there is no point at all making that point unless you can say which gloves were bad (please tell - which ones were bad?). Sweeping generalisations are unhelpful; it just comes across as a ranty vendetta. Randomly recommending entire other brands is also unhelpful as no doubt they sell different gloves for different purposes meaning that some will be crap for some purposes and others crap for other purposes (and vice versa). I could slag off Endura endlessly on the grounds that the MTB 500 overshoes have incredibly flimsy soles and have terrible zips that last five minutes in my experience but I don't because I know that other things they make are good.

    If you could just be specific......... :wink:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    Rolf F wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    People really shouldn't keep slagging the entire company off for a single product that they didn't like 3 years ago - it doesn't help anyone.

    And the point I was making is that there are several of us in my small cycling community who have independently tried SealSkinz gloves relatively recently and found them terrible.

    But there is no point at all making that point unless you can say which gloves were bad (please tell - which ones were bad?). Sweeping generalisations are unhelpful; it just comes across as a ranty vendetta. Randomly recommending entire other brands is also unhelpful as no doubt they sell different gloves for different purposes meaning that some will be crap for some purposes and others crap for other purposes (and vice versa). I could slag off Endura endlessly on the grounds that the MTB 500 overshoes have incredibly flimsy soles and have terrible zips that last five minutes in my experience but I don't because I know that other things they make are good.

    If you could just be specific......... :wink:
    The fact that, as you acknowledge, Sealskinz attract so much unfavourable comment in itself ought to tell you something, don't you think?
  • Rolf F wrote:

    But there is no point at all making that point unless you can say which gloves were bad (please tell - which ones were bad?). Sweeping generalisations are unhelpful; it just comes across as a ranty vendetta. Randomly recommending entire other brands is also unhelpful as no doubt they sell different gloves for different purposes meaning that some will be crap for some purposes and others crap for other purposes (and vice versa). I could slag off Endura endlessly on the grounds that the MTB 500 overshoes have incredibly flimsy soles and have terrible zips that last five minutes in my experience but I don't because I know that other things they make are good.

    I would happily tell you what mine are at least if they had a label in them saying WTF they were. It says "Waterproof" on the index finger and that says it all, frankly. They are pretty much the least "waterproof" gloves I've ever owned. The tag on them says "porelle waterproof & breathable" - they are possibly the least "breathable" gloves I've owned too and they have a padded palms which say "Gel". Does that identify them?

    As for my 4 cycling colleagues who also owned SealSkinz gloves and found them equally crap, I have no idea - perhaps we all own exactly the same pair of gloves from a company for which this one pair of waterproof gloves were a one-off shocking aberration in an otherwise faultless product line. I somehow doubt it..

    I've said what I know to be far better - I can't be more specific about the Assos gloves other than to say mine are black and size Large. I'd recommend the Early Winters for exactly what they are designed for. The OP doesn't say what he wants them for though.

    It's not a vendetta. I bought a product, it was relatively expensive and it was utter rubbish. I spoke to 4 other people who also thought the products made by this company are rubbish - that's 5 out of 5 people who I know and trust. It's also not like the OP is asking about their socks either.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH