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Dakine Impreza
- Dakine Impreza glove
- Dakine Impreza glove
- Dakine Impreza glove
- Dakine Imprezza Glove
- Our highly sophisticated grip test
What It Is
The Dakine Impreza is an uninsulated, waterproof/breathable spring ski glove, made with synthetic suede, nylon and polyester, with silicone grip enhancement.
Retail Price: $55
79
- 95-100 Extremely high recommendation.
- 90-94 Enthusiastically recommended. Exceptional.
- 80-89 Highly recommended - few reservations.
- 70-79 Recommended. Standard performance.
- 60-69 Fair. Recommended for certain uses.
- 50-59 Poor. Not recommended in general.
The Good |
The Bad |
The Verdict |
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The Dakine Impreza is a fair value for a lightweight GoreTex glove. It will come in most handy if you need a super-grippy, uninsulated glove for spring touring or riding in wet-snow conditions. It performed quite well overall, though it’s not the top glove in its class. |
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Construction
The only insulation in Dakine’s Impreza is the Tricot polyester lining. The palm of the glove shells are made of synthetic leather with patterned silicone beads applied for grip enhancement. The sides of the fingers have stretch nylon inserts and stretch polyester covers the back of the knuckles and fingers. There is a trim, adjustable hook-and-loop (generic Velcro) closure on the wrist. The gloves were completely waterproof (GoreTex).
Grip
The striking feature of the Impreza was the grip. The silicone patterns on the palm firmly gripped poles, skis, and anything else I laid my hands on even when wet. I really came to appreciate that feature when I was holding beer cans and bottles fished out of the snow or creek at the end of a tour. The gloves had less dexterity than leather touring-type of gloves due to the waterproof nylon construction.
Durability and Design
Climbing refrozen corn or tossing branches and wood, the grip beads began abrading off, although the synthetic suede underneath had pretty good grip. Ski poles and tools didn’t seem to affect the silicone though, just rough surfaces. So if the silicone grip material is really important to you keep in mind that it’s a bit vulnerable to abrasion. There was a small bit of twisting of the forefingers during use that exposed the seam to wear. The cuffs fit nicely under jacket sleeves.
How We Tested It
I used the gloves mainly for ski touring, but I also took them out for spring downhill skiing and patrol work. They got around two weeks of day-to-day use. My patrol colleagues and I used the gloves hauling and putting up ropes, slat fences, rescue toboggans, signs and firewood, clearing runs, operating snowmobiles and lift evacuation gear and dealing with things at accident scenes. The temperatures ranged from around 30 to 40 degrees F in clear and occasionally stormy weather. Waterproofness was double-checked by dunking a gloved hand into a bucket of water.
The products featured in this test have been loaned to the Gear Institute. For more on our policies regarding editorial objectivity and sample returns, see here.
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Ratings
Fit
5
10
Grip
9
10
Dexterity
5
10
Durability
4
10
Features & Design
7
10
Value
5
10
Gear Institute Rating (Total Score)
79
100
Weight
3.6 oz
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