Trail Work Favorites: Leather Gloves

These favorite gloves should have been retired a long time ago,
but today is finally the day! 

And what is the [Appalachian] Trail?… It always was a place for people. 

People who care for land and tend a simple footpath as if it were their garden.

–Appalachian Trail Conference, Member Handbook, 1988

I love this quote ..... and in many ways, the AT is a 'garden', but for anyone who has been out on a work trip or maintaining a section, it's a rather wild, rugged garden, very different from gardening in one's back yard!

[Note:  anyone who is a veteran of work trips or maintaining, you can stop reading here, but if you are considering trying out a work trip or new to trail work, this post might be informative for you.]

On notices for the 3rd Saturday work trips, you will see the following: "Bring water, lunch and work gloves". Gloves for yard gardening are often quite different from work gloves for AT work trips. The brown cotton gloves, the cloth gloves with pretty patterns on them, or those with mesh for breathability aren't likely to give your hands much protection. On the AT, rocks are bigger and rougher - just take a look at the wear holes in the leather glove in the picture above .... lots of rock handling wore those holes! Instead of flower and bush trimmings, you could be 'swamping' for the sawyers and handling much larger and rougher pieces of wood. Using a fire rake, pulaski or swing blade can also put some wear and tear on hands so a good pair of leather gloves takes the abuse instead.

Gloves are very much a personal choice. Go to a store that has a decent selection (the large garden and/or hardware stores are a good bet) and start trying on gloves. You might be surprised at how the same brand/type of glove differs per each pair. I just purchased replacement gloves for my worn-out ones and tried on eight pairs before I found one pair that was the most comfortable. The biggest issue for me was seam location - some pairs were fine while on others, the seam(s) hit me in a spot where I could really feel it and knew I would probably end up with a blister. It all boiled down to a pair with no seam issues and that felt 'softer' than all the others. All leather gloves soften up with use and wear, but I like mine fairly soft and pliable from the get-go.

Glove size is another consideration and you want a pair that fits comfortably. I have small/medium hands, but the last several pairs of gloves have all been "large". I prefer to get large gloves because they are easier to get off of sweaty hands and I tend to have my gloves on/off a lot while working.  An added bonus .... I've loaned my gloves out to crew members for moving a rock or some other task where they temporarily needed more hand protection and the large size will accommodate most folks. Try on several sizes and choose what works best for you.

My old gloves will be missed a lot because they are totally broken in and comfortable and have been on work/maintaining trips with me for the last several years. I confess to having put off getting a new pair well past the time when the oldies could no longer afford my hands adequate protection, but it finally became painfully (literally and figuratively) obvious the oldies had to be replaced. The new gloves will get their initiation to trail work this coming Saturday on our first AT work trip of the spring and it's guaranteed they won't be looking nearly so new after that!  ~ Merlot

The new gloves .... full grain leather, size large. Rated "Excellent" for abrasion resistance & durability; "Good" for flexibility, grip and comfort; "Fair" for breathability. 

(Photos: Merlot)