a Hands-In Review – Etre Touchy Gloves
Small things can make a big difference to a photographer, sometimes they are not even directly photo related. It’s winter here in Belgium and even though we got rid of the snow, it’s still pretty chilly if you have to shoot outside for longer than 10 minutes. I swear by outdoor gear when it comes to picking the right trousers, shoes, socks, jacket and a hat for working outdoors but that always left me with cold hands. I tried photographing with thick gloves, thin gloves and everything in between but I always ended up putting taking them off when working (and lost countless pairs of gloves on location). I even tried some gloves with a removable flap for the fingers but it just didn’t feel right. A couple of weeks ago I got my hands on/in a pair of Etre Touchy Gloves and I’ve been very happy about them.
These gloves look and feel they were made by your grandmother and that’s not a bad thing at all. The lambs’ wool feels incredibly comfortable and the gloves fit my medium sized hands perfect. The idea behind these gloves is one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-it-myself ones. Just leave the fingers you need exposed: thumb and index finger. The material gives me enough grip to comfortably hold my camera and other equipment.
If you are embarking on a polar expeditions, these gloves are not for you. Your thumb and index finger will get cold. But I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable they are when photographing for a couple of hours in temperatures around freezing. The exposed fingers got cold but never went numb. So I’d say (exposed) thumbs up.
Nice! I like these Barbour (gun) Shooting gloves – they have grippy rubber palms and retractable ends on the thumb and first two fingers: http://tinyurl.com/y9p5dhr
Nice!
Ideal for photographers!
Excellent gloves I saw these on a TV show here in the UK once, I got to get me a pair of those.
Here in Japan it’s really cold at this time of year too, I shoot a lot if festivals outside and I have to wear fingerless sports gloves to keep my hands warm. Next week I will be in South Korea which will be freezing, I think I might try and get some underarmour cold gear jogging gloves before then.
Excellent idea to take photos in these bluddy cold days.
Beautiful,
I custom made a pair of these for when I was busking in Chamonix in winter.
With four fingerless left hand of course.
I think that suitably lined black leather versions would be a huge improvement in the style stakes!
Lovin the blog.
You have also those gloves which provide both options:
For example “Lowe Alpine Convert Mitten Gloves”, but there must be more brands.
See: http://www.hiking-site.nl/goodies_lowealpineconvertmittengloves.php
On some sites, they are called
Pop Top Gloves http://www.amazon.com/Ragg-Wool-Pop-Top-Glove/dp/B000SORT48
Anyway, don’t let your fingers freeze
I think its a nice idea, but personal experience has me taking off the gloves in my environment. As an outdoor event photographer the ability to use the camera is fine but to use the kiosk to show clients picture and to print has me taking off my gloves all the time.
Great! Just won one of those http://www.enjoyyourcamera.com/Matin/Foto-Handschuhe-Matin-Gr-L-schwarz::2939.html at a contest here http://www.lens-flare.de/blog/weiszeit-reloaded-die-gewinner/8693/