Gear Review

Patagonia Lightweight Liner Glove

1. lightweight
2. fit most outer gloves
3. no ice tool hold
4. negligible .9 oz/pair

Nothing fancy here, just good 'old fashioned Patagonia Capilene fleece, shaped into a nice-fitting liner glove.

Officially, you're supposed to wear Patagonia's Lightweight Liner Glove inside your outer gloves for extra warmth.

You'll probably find they work just fine on their own, however, in a variety of contexts. The Liner Glover is perfectly suitable when you're rustling around camp at night, or even climbing up the hill in the daytime when you need just that one little bit of extra warmth.

I also like wearing a featherlight glove in summer sometimes for sun protection.

Snip off the fingertips with a pair of scissors, and you won't ever need to take them off.

Since these weigh a trivial .9 ounces per pair (men's medium, measured), feel free to toss them into your pack as a safety backup in case your main gloves get wet or lost.

Even on day tours, I like to keep a pair of these stashed in my pack. You never know: they might come in handy.

Note that Patagonia's Lightweight Liner glove doesn't have any sort of texture or grip material on the fingers or palms, making them much too smooth to safely hold an ice axe shaft. Similarly, you won't want to try holding your ski poles by the shafts, though of course you'll be fine if you're grabbing the handles.

Since they have no bulk, the Lightweight Liner Gloves are thin enough to fit into practically any other glove you've got—even gloves not specifically designed to accept liners. Given how trivial their weight is, there's no reason not to bring them along in cold weather as a second or even third liner.

Patagonia's capilene fleece remains the best on the market, plus when you buy from this enviro-friendlier corporation, you'll warm your heart as well as your hands.

» Bottom Line: A perfectly thin addition to your glove collection.

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