I’ve got two very similar new gloves from Alpinestars on my desk for review today… the Polar Gore-Tex gloves and the Corozal Drystar gloves. Both models are VERY similar and the main difference is that one glove uses Gore-Tex for the waterproof material, and the other glove uses Alpinestars “house brand” of waterproof material, Drystar. Gore-Tex fans will surely opt for the Polar version to get the superior breathability of Gore-Tex, and those that don’t think the material makes a lot of difference to them can choose the Corozal and save themselves about forty bucks.
Overall, both these styles look like nice gloves, but there is one aspect that concerns me. If you look at the cuff, it extends over the wrist about an inch and a half, but on the thumb side of your hand, there is an opening in the cuff to allow for tightness adjustment of the cuff using the Velcro-close strap, which is fine of course, but the opening is not waterproof and that means the glove is really only waterproof just to the point where your wrist connects to your hand.
So I asked our Alpinestars rep about this and he opined that if the cuff on your jacket was long and it could be cinched down over the glove’s cuff, then it wouldn’t make any difference. Hmmm… well, I suppose that’s true, but you’ll want to ask yourself if that scenario is yours. If so, you could be OK with these gloves, but if not, you’ll want to opt for a glove with a longer gauntlet.
Like I said, this is otherwise a nice glove and up to the usual standards for Alpinestars. And if you WANTED a waterproof, short-cuff, lightly insulated glove, then you’ve found it and no other glove I can think of will be built like this. :: Paul, 08-31-15
I’ve got two very similar new gloves from Alpinestars on my desk for review today… the Polar Gore-Tex gloves and the Corozal Drystar gloves. Both models are VERY similar and the main difference is that one glove uses Gore-Tex for the waterproof material, and the other glove uses Alpinestars “house brand” of waterproof material, Drystar. Gore-Tex fans will surely opt for the Polar version to get the superior breathability of Gore-Tex, and those that don’t think the material makes a lot of difference to them can choose the Corozal and save themselves about forty bucks.
Overall, both these styles look like nice gloves, but there is one aspect that concerns me. If you look at the cuff, it extends over the wrist about an inch and a half, but on the thumb side of your hand, there is an opening in the cuff to allow for tightness adjustment of the cuff using the Velcro-close strap, which is fine of course, but the opening is not waterproof and that means the glove is really only waterproof just to the point where your wrist connects to your hand.
So I asked our Alpinestars rep about this and he opined that if the cuff on your jacket was long and it could be cinched down over the glove’s cuff, then it wouldn’t make any difference. Hmmm… well, I suppose that’s true, but you’ll want to ask yourself if that scenario is yours. If so, you could be OK with these gloves, but if not, you’ll want to opt for a glove with a longer gauntlet.
Like I said, this is otherwise a nice glove and up to the usual standards for Alpinestars. And if you WANTED a waterproof, short-cuff, lightly insulated glove, then you’ve found it and no other glove I can think of will be built like this. :: Paul, 08-31-15