Outdoor Research Alti Review
Compare prices at 2 resellers Pros: WARM, lifetime warranty, basically two gloves in one, super water resistant
Cons: Not super dexterous, inner glove not as durable
Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
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Outdoor Research Alti | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Price | $119.21 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $139.30 at Backcountry | $276.22 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $179 List | $135.96 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | WARM, lifetime warranty, basically two gloves in one, super water resistant | Warm, water resistant, durable, dexterous, lightweight and packable | Great fit and dexterity, weather resistant, electrical heat works, great glove even when turned off | Excellent dexterity and durability, fairly warm, water resistant | Super warm, extremely tough, great weather resistance, removable liners help them dry quicker, our go-to expedition glove |
Cons | Not super dexterous, inner glove not as durable | Expensive, lacks some features | Doesn't get as warm as other heated gloves, expensive | Expensive, lacks some nice features | Not very dexterous, take time to break in, if in between sizes you should consider sizing up |
Bottom Line | Buy this glove if you have ambitions to do a great deal of touring in a variety of conditions | Top-tier performance, coupled with exceptional versatility across a wide range of conditions | Well-built ski gloves that perform even when the heat is turned off | A good choice for warmth and weather resistance in a dexterous package | If rugged capabilities and warmth top your list of importance, think about investing in this pair |
Rating Categories | Outdoor Research Alti | Arc'teryx Fission SV | Hestra Power Heater Glove | Arc'teryx Sabre | Black Diamond Guide |
Warmth (25%) | |||||
Dexterity (25%) | |||||
Water Resistance (25%) | |||||
Durability (15%) | |||||
Features (10%) | |||||
Specs | Outdoor Research... | Arc'teryx Fission SV | Hestra Power... | Arc'teryx Sabre | Black Diamond Guide |
Double or Single Glove | Double | Single | Single | Single | Double |
Gaunlet or Cuff? | Gauntlet | Gauntlet | Hybrid | Cuff | Gauntlet |
Palm Material | Alpengrip | Leather | Goat leather | Leather | Goat leather |
Waterproof Material | Gore-Tex insert | Gore-Tex | CZone | Gore-tex | Gore-Tex insert |
Insulation Type | Back of hand: 200 g/m2 PrimaLoft HiLoft Silver Removable liner back of hand: 100 g/m2 PrimaLoft Active insulation Removable liner palm: 60 g/m2 PrimaLoft Gold |
133g Primaloft Gold Eco and 200g Primaloft Silver Eco | Fiberfill polyester | Primaloft | 170g PrimaLoft Gold and 100g boiled wool fleece lining |
Nose Wipe? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Outdoor Research has been designing gloves for a long time. They supply the US military with gloves and have 100s of models to choose from. On the warmer end of the spectrum, and we mean really warm, lies their Alti lineup. They all consist of a Primaloft insulated inner with a Gore-Tex and Primaloft insulated outer in either a glove or a mitten format. These gloves and mittens are designed for pursuing the high peaks of the world and make an extremely warm combo. We are here to take a closer look at the glove version. To sum it up, when low temperatures and a variety of weather conditions are on the table, the Alti glove rises to the occasion providing one of the best inner and outer glove combos on the market, allowing you to wear either or both layers, depending on the circumstances.
Performance Comparison
Warmth
The Alti glove crushes in our warmth metric thanks to the combination of the inner glove and the heavily insulated outer glove. When you use a thin next to skin liner with this glove combination, you have one of the warmest glove setups available today. Adding to the warmth of the glove is a large, extended gauntlet that allows you to seal in any warmth near the wrist, a major area of heat loss that directly impacts the warmth of your fingers.
Our testers have worn these gloves during a multi-day, sub-zero winter ski mountaineering trip and found that they never had cold hands while in the inner and outer combo.
Dexterity
This is the main weakness of the Alti gloves. The price you pay for being the warmth is a lack of dexterity. Couple that with a less than elegant construction of the palm pieces and stitching, and the glove feels restrictive at times. The gap between the thumb and the palm restricts some movement, and the more dexterous tasks require the glove to be removed and dangled from its wrist leash.
All this said, most tasks you find yourself doing during a normal ski day like buckling boots and manipulating zippers are doable with this glove on. Forget about tying a shoelace or opening a granola bar though. Also, if you only remove the insulated shell and keep the liners on, you'll be able to move and utilize your fingers to your heart's delight.
Weather Resistance
Another competition-leading performance area for the Alti. This is mainly because the Alti glove is a purely synthetic glove. No leather or any other natural materials are used in its construction. This means that the specific materials that construct the various parts of the glove, PrimaLoft insulation, AlpenGrip(r) palm material, and nylon back of the hand are all extremely water resistant inherently. The synthetic shell never needs waterproofing treatment, unlike leather-based gloves, which require such maintenance periodically. To add to the weather resistance, the gauntlet is large enough to swallow even the loftiest of down garments and provides an excellent seal from the elements.
Testers often found themselves reaching for just the shells of these gloves when snow caves needed to be dug or walls needed to be constructed to fortify camps. We quickly realized that this insulated Gore-Tex "shell" of a glove had a variety of use cases where it excelled versus other gloves, and weather resistance was a main factor in this. After moving slowly while dragging sleds on Denali, the tester would remove the insulation of the glove and dry it inside his jacket while constructing camp with the outer. Brilliant.
Durability
With the use of synthetic materials throughout, the Alti does not benefit from a hard-wearing reinforced leather palm, and it is slightly less durable because of this. The Alti glove gains added weather resistance due to the synthetic palm but loses long-term wear resistance by forgoing the use of leather construction. As the glove wears, the palm will thin and flake off in spots, but this is only after years of abuse.
The synthetic palm is extremely tough and tactile and has no problem holding onto ice tools or ski edges. We were impressed at how little wear they showed after a few full days working with snow tools in them. The best part about these gloves is their "infinite warranty" from OR, so if you do run into a problem with your gloves, you know Outdoor Research will make you happy. Kudos to them for one of the best warranties in the industry. All that said, the Alti gloves are durable on the whole.
Features
The Alti glove has a variety of standard features that are well executed. The large gauntlet has a one-hand adjustable cinch and release, so you can easily take them on or off and fully seal up the forearm area. The fingers include a dongle to attach the outer glove to your harness. The cinch located on the top of the wrist had a double stitched pull tab to aid in the tightening around your hand. Another bonus not found on any other glove is the cinch on the INNER glove's wrist. This allows the inner glove to be a true second set of gloves, unlike other double gloves that feature a more fragile inner glove.
We found the removable inner liner to be executed best on the Alti in comparison to the competition. Breathable, windproof, cinch-able, these liners make ski touring even dreamier (if that's possible?). They can also be used as driving gloves on your way to your pre-dawn laps in the backcountry.
Value
These are a good value for the warmth and capability they provide. In essence, this is two pairs of gloves. They come with an excellent warranty as well, so we believe this is a fair price.
Conclusion
If you find yourself planning different objectives to keep skiing interesting, the Alti gloves will certainly fit the bill. They are at home in the backcountry and one ski-mountaineering missions, and are a super warm glove to use during the coldest of resort days. The only thing that holds them back is mediocre dexterity.
— Jeff Rogers