By Scott B
BoardReviews.com
Our friends at Kombi sent some Kombi TcZ gloves over to the BoardReviews.com team for our expert review. I can tell you that I have been Skiing and Snowboarding for over 20 years and I have never worn a custom ski glove. I have buddies who swear by mittens, but I have always been a fan of having the control of my fingers to easily get my snowboard bindings on and off quickly.
In testing the Kombi TcZ gloves a big thing for me was how much control I was going to have with these gloves on, and whether I ‘d have to keep taking them off every time I got off the lift to crank in my bindings (Yes, I was being a pessimist, but it was super cold in New England this weekend). So I have to tell you – these gloves are pretty sweet and I did not have one issue. First, these gloves are not mittens. They are called ‘trigger finger gloves,’ or as I have been calling them all weekend, ‘lobster claws.’ The gloves are really warm and I was a huge fan of having the index finger and thumb separated. The other 3 fingers are grouped together. Control is a big deal for me. I think having the index finger and thumb separated was huge for being able to easily snap and crank down my bindings.
The features of the TcZ glove are pretty crazy. The tag reads ‘windproof, waterproof and highly breathable.’ Having seen this on many gloves before, I though it was just a standard tag line that glove manufacturers added. I bet we can all remember our fingers half frozen by the end of the day. The TcZ gloves held up really well against the elements. I have never personally felt wind as an issue on the mountain, but ‘waterproof and breathable’ are big for me. I’m happy to report that my hands felt good at the end of the day and were not frozen.
Lastly, the ‘nose wipe’ is pretty cool. I won’t get into too much detail here because you don’t need a blow by blow of me wiping my nose. Just try this feature. It’s a lot more useful than I ever expected. One thing this glove is missing is a glove leash. I have historically purchased gloves with a leash. They’re convenient when riding on the lift and taking your gloves off. Outside of that one little feature, I really liked these gloves.
Check out these glove:
Great review, thanks. was wondering whether the index finger claw was a gimmick or really a help, now I know! How do you clean that nose wipe residue after a season though? Bleh.
Do they make these in womens? I’m a mitten kind of gal and I’m looking for an upgrade. The index/thumb freedom could actually help where mittens make you feel kind of restricted if you need to zip, hold, or get better handling on things.