Columbia Gathering Storm Glove Review
Columbia Gathering Storm Gloves
First Impressions
Hot Tub Time Machine. The Columbia Gathering Storm Short Gloves would be right at home in the 1980s flashback movie with their three-stripe styling the tight cuff. Look a little closer though and you find the Columbia glove packed with 2011 technology designed to maximize warmth and keep you dry.
Features
Columbia has been pulling out all the stops on the R&D side of their business over the past several years. As a result, they introduced Omni-Heat reflective interior fabrics and a range of other innovations. They also made acquisitions to help round out their offerings including purchasing OutDry (an Italian company) for their innovative exterior fabric technologies. Columbia brings both OutDry and Omni-Heat into gloves this year in the Gathering Storm.
Outside, the Gathering Storm looks pretty straightforward. Three strips across the back of the hand and another across the knuckles, a couple of Columbia logos and that’s it. Instead of leather, Columbia opted for a rubberized polyurethane for the palm and fingers. Behind the thumb, Columbia located the soft nose-wipe fabric (seems to be a ubiquitous feature on this year’s crop of gloves). And the compact neoprene cuff closes with hook and loop.
Working your way inside the glove, Columbia bonds OutDry to the exterior fabric. Omni-Heat insulation and reflective liner round out the Gathering Storm.
Specs
Construction: Stitched seams
Fabric: Polyurethane palm and nylon, OutDry waterproof membrane
Insulation: Omni-Heat
Weight: 6.75 oz per pair
In our submersion tests, the Gathering Storm performed reasonably well. After about an hour, the glove was not nearly a soaked through as the more traditionally designed Enforcer from Sierra Designs. OutDry kept most of the water at bay although I did find myself wringing a little moisture out of the glove possibly infiltrating at the seams. The interior remained completely dry however.
Fit
The Gathering Storm was the lightest in our tests at under seven ounces per pair. Fit was as expected, no need to size up or down. The streamlined cuff fit easily under all jacket sleeves.
Final Verdict
Columbia’s OutDry technology definitely improves over traditional waterproofing techniques. It’s not perfect on the Gathering Storm, but certainly is a step up. And the Omni-Heat insulation and reflective liner do a nice job of keeping the heat in. As for wear-ability, the low profile cuff makes the Gathering Storm easily compatible with every jacket we tried. In summary, thanks to its 1980s styling and 2011 technology, the Gathering Storm is a bitchin’ glove ready for some gnarly conditions.
