Hestra Powder Short

The Hestra Powder Short 5-finger is the Powder Gauntlet with the cuff turned around: the same warm, goat-leather-palmed resort glove, worn under the jacket sleeve rather than over it. Hestra's Performance spec states the trade plainly. Warmth 4/8, Mobility 6/8, Waterproof: No. There is no membrane in it, and Hestra says so in its own spec panel.

Goat leather palm, Niak polyester backhand

The palm and fingers are impregnated goat leather, the backhand Hestra's own Niak polyester. Goatskin is thin and supple, which is how one glove rates 6/8 Agile and 5/8 Durable at once. Inside are synthetic fiberfill insulation and a removable brushed-polyester microfleece liner. The cuff closes with a Velcro strap at the inside wrist, plus attachments for handcuffs.

Warmth and weather: windproof, not waterproof

Hestra rates the glove 4/8 on its eight-point warmth scale: "Very warm — balanced warmth for everyday cold-weather use." The badge Hestra prints is Windproof, and that one holds. Waterproof does not. The structured Performance spec reads: "The glove does not include a waterproof membrane. It may offer water resistance from its outer material but is not designed to keep hands dry in sustained wet conditions." Water-resistant is the ceiling, in Hestra's own words a "weather-resistant polyester". The Niak backhand blocks wind and sheds snow; what it does not do is stop water in sustained wet, because without a membrane behind it the shell wets out and moisture reaches the hand. Hestra's answer to that is a liner that comes out and dries overnight.

Fit and sizing

Hestra sizes gloves by hand circumference, a number rather than S/M/L, and the wrong number is the most common reason a glove comes back. Hestra's webshop lists sizes 6 to 11 in Black and in Navy, an identical run, so the colour does not change the sizes on offer. PTO stocks 7, 8, 9 and 10 in each of those two colours.

Who it's for, and who should look elsewhere

It fits a resort skier who wears gloves under the jacket cuff and wants leather and dexterity at $100, on cold, dry-to-normal snow. It does not fit sustained wet: the CZone Mountain 5-finger at $125 is the membrane glove in the same range, with Waterproof: Yes and Warmth 6/8 Insulated, and it gives up a step of dexterity (5/8 Flexible). If the problem is snow up the sleeve rather than rain, the Powder Gauntlet 5-finger is the same $100 glove on identical ratings, with a long cuff and an elastic drawstring worn over the jacket.