The Argonauts are in the category of "Work Gloves" on the OR Military website and I think this is a good fit for them as far as what kind of glove this is.
I'll start with the specs as usual.
INTENDED USAGE:
Reinforced glove for cool conditions
+ Breathable, water-resistant Polartec® Power Shield® fabric
+ Quick-drying, abrasion and wind-resistant fabric
+ MotionWrap™ construction wraps fingers for superior dexterity
+ Water-resistant leather palm and knuckle reinforcements
+ Leather wraps over top of thumb to preserve durability
+ Seam guard protects thumb seam
+ PrecisionGrip™ design for seamless contact between trigger finger and thumb
+ Lapped, double-needle stitching on middle and ring finger provide durability in high-flex areas
Avg. weight: 2.2 oz./62 g (size L, per pair)
So, according to OR this is a re-inforced glove for cool conditions. And I would tend to agree. This is not an outright winter glove. There's not enough insulation. But for cool conditions, down to say... 35 degrees and above, the Argonauts are fantastic!
I've used the Argonauts for a variety of different things. Shooting, hiking, setting up camp, clearing brush, exploring old mines, climbing up old ropes and steel cables, mountain biking etc etc.
Through it all, they've held up remarkably well, with no failures of any kind. All the stitching has remained solid. Without a doubt, their durability is great!
Now, let's talk about the fit.
The first pair I received from OR were... Odd. Something had obviously gone wrong with the manufacturing process, since one finger was noticeably too narrow and others were far too long.
I contacted OR and they not only apologized profusely for this mistake but also made sure that I received a replacement in short order.
Frankly, their customer service was impeccable!
I was contacted by their Government Programs Manager, who assured me that they would take this up with their design team and that they were actively looking at revising the fit.
All of this was a very pleasant experience and it was heartening to see how much OR cares about their customers satisfaction. It was the kind of experience that makes lifelong customers.
The replacement pair that they sent me were nigh perfect. Snug, but not constrictive in their fit. This is a glove that truly provides you with some excellent dexterity. I've deliberately done such things as field stripping my gun, loading and unloading magazines etc, with the gloves on and they cause almost no loss in manual dexterity.
The leather that OR uses for this glove is smooth and moves extremely well with your hands and the PowerShield back makes for good breathability. The cuff area is perhaps a little tight, but that mostly just means that once they're on your hands, they stay on. The PowerShield cuff is also very compact and offers no interference with a jacket cuff, being very low profile since there are no bulky straps or velcro. If you have very skinny wrists, they may be a little loose, but I find that they fit just fine, being neither too tight, nor too loose.
Here's a few pictures to illustrate. Keep in mind, this pair is almost a year old and have been used on a very regular basis for a variety of tasks.
Now, here's something a little odd. Despite the glove leather being smooth and only lightly textured, it is somehow also tacky and grippy. I can't really explain this, but it works extremely well. This is not a glove that will grab and hang up on certain fabrics. It slides smoothly over surfaces when it needs to but provides a solid grip as well when it's required.
The Argonaut is what I would refer to as a mildly weather-resistant glove. The softshell material on the back of the glove provides good breathability while shedding most water and being wind-resistant.
The leather itself will shed a surprising amount of water, whatever treatment OR uses is very effective for that. I've cleaned the Argonauts in the past by simply sticking my gloved hands under the running tap and "washing my hands". That is all the cleaning they've needed, despite being in some truly dirty conditions.
They do not, however, have much of anything resembling insulation. It's basically just a weather-barrier. For their intended use, I don't see this is a problem however.
Over all, I can only recommend these gloves whole-heartedly for anybody looking for a low bulk, high dexterity, high durability glove with some moderate weather resistance.
And backed by OR's excellent warranty and customer service, there's very little reason to not buy these. Go get some!
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