My Ultra journey started in 2017 with the Lakeland Trails 55k before completing the LL50 a few months later and a second the year after, the GB Ultras 50mile Grand Slam in 2019 and two LL100’s. All of this intertwined with competing in several 2-day Mountain Marathons (SLMM, OMM, Marmot Dark Mountains), where with my running partner we became the British Short Score Champions in 2019 and Runners-up in the OMM Alps Long Score in 2021.
As I live in the South Lakes I’m not far away from the Lake District – with Grizedale and Coniston being the easiest to reach for fun on the trails and fells – there are some great routes to run. I particularly like running in the wind and rain, which isn’t really too hard with living so close to the Irish Sea.
I sometimes find it hard to find the correct attire that actually stays dry after sweating. It’s important to get this right as it can cause issues on longer runs and races. This can be especially annoying when up high on the fells as once you are wet and cold it is quite difficult to warm yourself up again if you are constantly having to stop and change gear. Therefore I was definitely interested to see how the Sealskinz Acle water repellant gloves performed on mountain runs.
“I found the Acle fleece gloves were lightweight yet warm to allow for moisture wicking.”
Straight out of the packet they fit like a glove (pardon the pun). They are flexible and have a close fit. The fingers aren’t too long which can happen with certain brands, the fingertips also seemed to work well with a smart phone. Whilst using running poles the silicone print on the palm and fingers was great for extra grip.
The Acle gloves kept my hands warm during a LL100 recce from Coniston to Buttermere. Though I found that as the day wore on, with the wind and drizzly rain unrelenting for a good few hours, my hands eventually became cold and wet which became an issue when crossing from Boot to Wasdale. To the point where I could actually squeeze my fists together and water would pour away from the gloves. I removed them at Wasdale and put on another spare pair of gloves I was carrying in my mandatory kit.
I continued to use these gloves during a combination of short and longer runs. Both in dry and wet conditions they kept my hands warm during the winter months.
During a long day of hill running at Skiddaw in December with a wind chill around -10, within minutes my hands became wet and cold to the point where I couldn’t clench my fists, so during the descent I was able to remove them and on closer inspection I was again able to twist and wring both of them out which released a good amount of water.
I have tried several pairs of gloves from OMM, Inov8 and Montane, and what I tend to find is waterproof gloves are okay up to a certain point. I think combining them with a waterproof mitt is the best solution, as any thicker waterproof gloves on their own can become a hinderance when consuming food or gels.
I would recommend the Sealskinz Acle gloves if you were certain that the weather wasn’t going to be too harsh. They kept my hands warm on shorter runs and dry longer runs. The combination of wind and several hours of rain did lead to my hands becoming very cold in amongst the wintry conditions of the Lakeland Fells.
Review by Paul Managh
Sealskinz
ACLE Water Repellent Nano Fleece glove
£27.00
