Showa Temres Gloves, often called Smurf Gloves, are named after an 1980’s Belgian comic and popular TV show featuring bright blue humanoid creatures who lived in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. They’re inexpensive, waterproof, PU-coated gloves that offer good dexterity and are used in industrial applications such as commercial fishing and cleaning.

• Model: 281 Temres
• Insulation: Not insulated
• Interior: Nylon
• Exterior: Micro-ventilated Polyurethane
• Latex Free: Yes
• Weight: 1.8 oz in size XL

They come in an uninsulated model (281 Temres) that makes a good rain glove (advocated by Andrew Skurka) and an insulated model (282 Temres) popular with ice climbers, which I’ve used successfully for winter hiking.

I’ve been testing out a pair of the uninsulated 281 Temres gloves this spring in rainy Vermont, in preparation for a thru-hike in England and Scotland, which will undoubtedly require hiking in cold, lashing rain, possibly for days at a time. Since there’s virtually no tree cover along my route, I need rain gloves that will keep my hands warm while still providing a reasonable amount of dexterity.

I’ve attempted to use other rain gloves, rain mitts, and rain pogies on previous hiking trips in Scotland with less-than-satisfactory results, but I have had great success with the insulated 282 Temres for winter hiking, so I figured the uninsulated 281 Temres were worth a try.

The glove system I plan to use on the Pennine Way: OR Active Ice Sun Gloves and Showa 281 Termes Gloves

There are a few things about the 281 Temres that appeal to me so far.

1. Dexterity: I can zip and unzip jacket zippers or open and close backpack buckles while wearing them.
2. Wrist Gauntlets: They have long gauntlets that extend below the wrist and can be tucked into the wrist cuff of my rain jacket to help retain warmth.
3. Layering: They layer well with the fingerless OR ActiveIce sun gloves I like to wear when hiking, and Tenkara fly fishing. More on sizing below.
4. Waterproof: They’re completely waterproof, without any seams to seal.
5. Price: At approximately $20 per pair, the price can’t be beat.
6. Durable: They’re much more durable than nitrile gloves, for instance, and even thicker than Playtex dishwashing gloves of my youth.
7. Conversational openers: These blue gloves are a great way to start a conversation with people I meet while hiking!

The manufacturer claims that the Showa 281 gloves are breathable, whatever that means. After years of disappointment, I usually shrug off such claims because they’re not repeatable or verifiable. But if commercial fishermen swear that they keep their hands dry, I can be convinced.

With regards to sizing, you want to size up. I normally wear a medium-to-large-size glove, but wear an XL in the 281 Temres. That gives me enough room to fit a thin sun glove inside. But there isn’t enough room for me to use a Zpacks possum down liner, my preferred warm, lightweight glove. I’d have to get an XXL for that.

Just goes to show that the best backpacking gear is often not backpacking gear at all.

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