Kast Steelhead Glove - Gear Review

"HARDCORE PROTECTION FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS!"

Kast Steelhead Gloves (Photo credit: Kast Gear)

Product: Kast Gear “Steelhead Glove” – Retail $79.99 (Ships Free in U.S.)

According to Kast Gear - in their words:

"The Kast Steelhead Glove is hardcore protection for extreme environments. Designed for cold environments, OutDry Technology creates a 100% submersible waterproof, windproof, and breathable glove. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a snow squall chasing chrome, or tailing a trophy King, your hands will be warm and dry.

OutDry Waterproof Technology: Totally waterproof, windproof, and breathable. The OutDry membrane is directly bonded to the glove’s outer shell, eliminating the ability for wind and water to penetrate through the sewn seams of the shell, keeping hands 100% dry and warm."

Gloves? I don’t need no stinkin gloves!

100% Submersible, Waterproof,
Windproof, and Breathable!

So, I answer the phone at the Gorge Fly Shop recently and on the other end I hear a voice, the voice of Colby Hackbarth, the president of Kast Gear. He begins to chat about a glove that he thought we might like to carry. The conversation takes a turn to include a 100% waterproof glove. I’ll admit, I’ve tried them in the past and was disappointed every time, so I started to drift off and think about that 20 pound mint condition winter steelhead I’m gonna swing up this winter. He started telling me about the “Steelhead Glove” and how it works, its characteristics, its technology, and how your hands stay completely dry even while tailing steelhead. I snap back into the conversation and embarrassingly reply… “Wait, what?” (I have teens and they often come into the middle of a conversation and say this). I dislike the phrase, but due to the nature of the conversation and being totally caught off guard, it’s the first thing that popped out of my mouth. So, Colby kindly repeats the information again. We’re on the same page now.

Because of my previous history with gloves, pretty much just gloves in general, I decided a long time ago that I just wouldn’t bother with them. They were uncomfortable, awkward, leaked when they were supposed to be waterproof, too bulky, they were a hassle to take off every time I needed to do something, and if they got wet, became useless to me. I never once in all the years of guiding for steelhead, even in the middle of winter, ever wore gloves. Even cutting and splitting firewood I wouldn’t wear gloves. I despised them! Maybe I’m hard headed, but that’s just me. Working at the Gorge Fly Shop that feeling is mutual with a number of customers when the discussion is about gloves.

OutDry Glove Technology

That said, Colby was taking a huge chance, to send me a pair of the Steelhead Gloves to field test. So, I agreed to give the “Steelhead Glove” a solid shot. I figured that it had been so long since I even bothered that it was worth the effort. I thought technology has had to advance over the years since I last tried such a glove. Next thing I know, a package arrives, and I immediately open them, and give them a serious look over. Inspecting every last seam, I even go online to their website to watch the little video clip (below) which shows the construction of the glove. I took them home and purposefully (not that I need an excuse to go to the river) went to the river the next morning to “field test” them.

OutDry Technology

Listen, I was born in St. Louis, MO. In case you didn’t know, that’s the show me state. And it’s true, I have that kind of attitude…oh yeah? show me! I put the gloves on and immediately notice a snug fit as my hand slips through the wrist section of the glove, then as my hand inserted into the fingers they seated nicely. They fit like a glove (no pun intended). Not bulky as I remembered gloves to be in the past. They were more of a mechanics type glove feel. I immediately notice the comfortable, warm fleece lining inside. So far, so good, I thought to myself. I closed the Velcro strap and drowned those puppies for nearly 3 minutes to prove they weren’t waterproof. After I took my hands out of the water, I didn’t even have to take the gloves off to realize that my hands were bone dry! I thought back to the last pair of waterproof gloves I tried and that they were made of neoprene and even though they were waterproof they weren’t sweat proof. They didn’t breath, which is a huge deal with a so called waterproof glove. If my hands sweat inside the glove and it can’t breathe and evaporate, well my hands don’t stay dry…they will even become cold from the sweat. So, not only are they absolutely 100% waterproof…they are breathable! Big deal to me!

Full Synthetic Grip

One of the major issues with me and gloves is the loss of “feel” when wearing them. I can honestly say that after about 10 minutes of wearing them I became used to them. I could even feel my Rio Slickshooter running line during my casting stroke. Anyone who has used Slickshooter knows that one of the drawbacks of a mono running line is that it can slip from your grip as you perform the casting stroke. Well, the palm material of the glove virtually eliminated any slippage. I even purposely held my SlickShooter loosely to see if I could get it to slip. I am pleased to tell you that it actually helped eliminate an occasional slip. This is an added bonus, I don’t think Colby thought about. Something they did think about, which seems totally random, but usable, is the soft nose wipe section on the thumbs, guaranteed somebody will be using that little feature right there in the middle of this winter. And yet another sweet thing about the Steelhead Glove is that the grip is full synthetic, which allows for easy grip in wet conditions, even while handling fish, minimalizing slime removal, unlike many other gloves which harm fish due to slime removal while handling. Major bonus!

Kast Gloves: Testing!

Bottom line from an ex-glove hater:

Worth every penny of the $79.99 price tag! I will definitely be wearing the “Steelhead Glove” this winter, I crap you negative! If you were like me, skeptical and just a down right glove hater, I encourage you to take a strong look at Kast Gears Steelhead Glove. Give them a serious shot. I’m glad I did. Don’t forget, if you use the snot spot, make sure you wash the gloves once in awhile…

Steelhead Glove Features:

• Patented OutDry membrane for true submersion waterproofness 
• Wind resistant yet extremely breathable 
• 4-way stretch construction for a snug comfortable fit 
• Thin anatomical cut for maximum feel and dexterity 
• Fleece lined for warmth
• Grippy rubberized fingers and palm for equipment control 
• Palm material minimizes slime loss and damage to fish including anadromous species 
• Soft nose wipe on thumbs
• Rubberized logo wrist closure for easy grab 
• Rubberized wrist cuffs

Sizing Chart:

(Measure the circumference of the palm)

Glove sizing chart: Call 541.386.6977 for  questions.

John Garrett

Gorge Fly Shop

"THE KAST STEELHEAD GLOVE IS HARDCORE PROTECTION

FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS."

Kast Steelhead Gloves
"Fly Fish the World with Us"