As a landscape photographer it often happens to find myself out in the cold and wet occasions. For this reason I need clothing that will keep my warm and dry and surely comfortable to shoot, with hands warm and ready for camera control.
There are many factors to consider when choosing photography gloves, wind-proofing, water-resistance, cold-resistance, good grip features, tactile control of camera dials and buttons, and the tactile function for mobile phones – I found this feature very usefull when you need to answer to phone or sending a message while you are shooting without take off your gloves
Finding a pair of gloves that have all this features in one is impossible and in this article I will talk to you about a brand that I had the pleasure to collaborate and test in the field, that has succeeded with a combined system of gloves to enclose all these features for your needs
I’m talking about The Heat Company® an austrian company that from 1994 produces very high quality thermal products
With a simple and ingenious combination of gloves, what The Heat Company® gloves offers is everything you need to shoot outdoors in every type of conditions. The gloves are divided into 3 categories, each of which has different characteristics and properties, combining them together you get total protection from the cold and wind but using them individually you can benefit from the features I said above, to shoot easily or for the common use in the city
I tested out the various combinations of these gloves in the Liner, Softshell and Hood models that also correspond to the different levels of heat transmitted
The first layer, called the “Liner” is in contact with your hands: the key feature of this layer has to be close fit, for enabling you to have mobility equal to that without gloves
For the Liner category I choice for my needs the Merino Liner:
Beautiful and elegants they are the gloves you can use for every day, perfectly adherent have a tactile detection on screens for phones well congenital on 3 fingers and works in an excellent way. They are equipped in the external part of an opening to be able to insert the hand warmers in order to produce more heat when necessary. The Merino Liner are treated in detail and are equipped with a strap to pull them down that I found very comfortable
Talking about the second category they are the gloves that protect you from the cold
In this category I have the Heat 2 Softshell:
It is an outdoor activity glove, absolutely necessary for those like me who often photograph in the cold. They are incredibly versatile and represent a valuable ally of mine during my photographic trips. It is possible to use them as whole gloves or as a half-glove with the possibility to also draw the thumb, this ensures excellent functionality of interaction with the camera buttons ensuring at the same time heat, grip and resistance from the cold
These gloves can be combined with the Merino Liner, placing them on top of each other in order to have excellent protection from the cold and to have from both gloves the best of the characteristics
I found this feature very usefull and I continue to use this configuration very often when I’m out. Furthermore the Heat 2 Softshell are very easy to remove without removing both gloves thanks to the special supports located through the fingers
The last layer is the Hood, in this case I’m talking about the outermost layer that is worn above the previous two or just above the Shell
The Hood system is represented by the Polar Hood gloves:
Born for extreme cold and extreme bad weather situations. The Polar Hood gloves are wind and waterproof, thin and lightweight practical and simple to use, developed for the hardest weather conditions. The possibility of using them in combination with the Liner and the Shell make this configuration for me an authentic total shield against the cold and wind, for all kinds of extreme conditions
In conclusion The Heat Company® has revealed a sure ally in the field, now thanks to the combination system Liner, SoftShell and Hood I have a glove for every need!
The materials are of good quality, the products are undoubtedly of good workmanship, beautiful to look at and resistant
The excellent thermal protection is proven in every situation, and in the case of the cold becoming too intense, the possibility of using heating inserts deftly resolves the problem. The practicality and the modularity of the same are certainly the strenght of this products
The Heat Company® gloves has, without doubt, exceeded the field test, and has earned a place in my backpack!
