Rollerski gloves on the cheap

Tue, Sep  13, 2011 - By Mike Muha

It's always a quandary about what gloves to use for rollerskiing. Use my expensive ski gloves? Use some expensive full-fingered mountain bike gloves? Buy expensive gloves meant just for rollerskiing?

I've done all of the above. My worn-out ski gloves become cold weather rollerski gloves. I have a pair of Toko Thermo Plus's with one finger seam ripping out - they work great as long as I repair the seam periodically. But they're a bit warm for the summer and early fall.

I had a set of Trek mountain bike gloves that worked great - until they sort of melted away from use.

And way-back-when, I had a nice pair of Saranac leather rollerski gloves. Saranac doesn't make cross country ski gloves anymore.

A  big problem is glove sizing. I don't really want to order a pair online or mail order without trying them on first. Gloves are more about immediate gratification: I need 'em. I go into a store and try 'em on. I buy them.

The nearest cross country ski shop is three hours away. Not immediate gratification...

Big box store to the rescue

So, being on the cheap, I drop into one of the many Lowe's I pass during the week. Lowe's, Home Depot and the other big boxes stores, have oodles of gloves in their garden or tool section.

I have a couple criteria for rollerski gloves:

• They can't be tight across the back of the hand - I found it makes my hand sore
• They need a secure closure around the wrist.
• They need to be fleible.

Since I want summer gloves, I also looked for lighter weight gloves. One pair stood out...

Lowe's has a zillion gloves (above).

For less than fourteen dollars, Lowe's had a pair of lightweight deerskin gloves with a wrist closure.

Here's the fresh unused pair. They don't stay clean for long.

The wrist closure is heavy duty Velcro...

...that grips like iron.

Notice the stains. I have 10 hours of skiing in them.

But the stains don't matter - the gloves are comfortable and keep the blisters away.

How long will they last? I don't know. A real ski glove would be reinforced between the thumb and forefinger, although my gloves tend to wear along the first finger or the palm. But for $14 compared to over $40 for ski or bike gloves, if I can get a couple season out of them, I'll be happy.