These Backcountry gloves are part of Kombi's technical outdoor line.  The top surface of the gloves are made with Polartec's WindPro and PowerShield fabrics. 

The Polartec stuff is not just wind resistant, it is supposed to be water-repellent and tough. 

The claim of this line of material from Polartec is that it makes it unnecessary to have multi-layers, which reduces bulk but still keeps the wearer warm. 

There are 40 grams of 3M's Thinsulate FLEX insulation in these gloves.  This glove feels thin, but that is by design.  The high end ThinsulateFLEX insulation is used in products such as these Backcountry gloves because it is supposed to trap heat generated by an active user.   Thus, instead of using bulky insulation material, products for active sports wearer can be much thinner, which gives the user better feel and manipulation capabilities.

Built into the glove are also additional ways to keep the elements from getting inside...wrist strap and drawstring.

Both the wrist strap and the drawstring can be adjusted using one hand...which is useful since the other hand is usually just sticking out there and pretty useless (unless you are one of the Cirque de soleil folks).

We will be packing these with us on our RainyDayMagazine 2006 Winter Snowshoe Outing. We'll see how they well they perform during our few days of snowshoeing in the backcountry.

Folks around the office know Kombi because of their cold weather gear for skiers and snowboarders.  So it was not surprising that we are packing Kombi's Backcountry gloves with us on our first Winter Outing. 

In the FirstLook review, we will take a look at the Polartec materals used to make these Backcountry gloves.

For the FirstUse report, we'll take the Backcountry gloves with us on the snowshoeing trip to see how well they perform.

Reviews:

1. First Look

2. First Use

3. In The Wild Report

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Light weight

Usability- Single layer

Durability- TBD

Price- $