Sealskinz – dry hands and feet – Dan Hugo

Inserted from www.dghugo.com – the home of Dan Hugo - Pro XTerra Triathlete

(Flatmate Michal doing some in-house testing; was my drinking water…)

Sealskinz sent me some unique product ten days ago, during my bed-ridden-Scar-Tissue-reading days, so Michal and I started dunking hand and feet into water – just to be sure – of the totally waterproof Sealskinz claim. True true. But finally today I could do some real product testing in what I hope is of the last winter spells in the Cape.

The “All Weather Cycling Glove”  gripped the mtb this evening with much promise but perhaps not perfect for the conditions. Twas nippy but not freezing, and although the gloves are somewhat breathable, they are more successful at keeping water and wind away from nerve endings than controlling temperature. That said, if it was one of the sideways rain days they’d have been brilliant for pleasantary survival. I personally hate freezing, and reckon these are niche items of apparel, but essential in the winter arsenal.

I have the large All Weater’s, and they’re spacious – such that I might be better suited to a medium pair as there’s 1cm extra in finger length. The padding is fair and pretty comfi for cycling specific needs, with silicon type grip under the palm padding and the two breaking finger tips.

Overall its a very different feel to my usual super fitted full finger gloves, and would take me a while to get used to. Bearing in mind this is my day job, and I probably dont see the worst of the winter like many of the dedicated enthusiasts who ride before work. So, depending on his could your needs, these could be a radical life changer. I’ll keep them near for the snowy Truckee rides…

The socks tested are “Ultra Light Ankle Sock” – again totally waterproof, breathable and windproof. It’s the versatile Sealskinz sock: for biking, running, hiking, golf, etc. Unfortunately I like to wear my Puma’s really snug and run in an EU43 as opposed to my usual EU44 sizing. I could not get comforatble running with them, but had better success biking in my regular EU44 sized S-Works Mtb shoes. For warmth, dont think you could better them. And again, if it rained, my twinkle toes would have been snug as bug. Which is pretty revolutionary from where I sit.

Sealskinz could keep slimming them down (I hope) and design them more shapely, going the L and R route. But in the mean time, these will more than suffice for the icy days.

Thats the feel for day 1. Will keep you posted…