Bass Pro Shops® Neoprene Fishing Gloves
April 2nd, 2008 | by Lead Jig
While packing for a recent trip to Truman Lake, I happened to come across a weather forecast that showed a cold front to moving into the area. Normal temperature for that time was in the high fifties. Because of this front however it turned into a crisp high thirties to low forties. Wind gusts were high and at times capped the waves in the lake.
Luckily, I had decided to stop by Bass Pro Shops on my way home from work to kill some time while traffic died down (or at least that is my excuse) and came across their Neoprene Fishing Gloves. The packaging refers to them as 100% waterproof and that they were “constructed with cold weather fishermen in mind”. I have been a victim of soggy glove in the past and decided to give them a shot.
The index and thumbs of both gloves are severed at your middle knuckle so that you can peel the fingertip over and Velcro it to the back of your hand. Having these four fingers exposed is an obvious advantage over clumsy bulky gloves in that with either hand you can tie your line, jig, and do other tasks that require precision without weathering the cold.
The gloves are made from neoprene which is basically the material wet suits are made from. This material has an advantage of protecting you from water while keeping you warm. For those not used to wearing a wet suit, one thing you will notice is that your hands will eventually begin to sweat inside the gloves which can chill your fingertips quickly. Also, if all is going well that day and you are handling fish, the excess water will eventually makes its way into the slits in the fingers which gets trapped inside. This is in my opinion is not a huge drawback since normal gloves would need hours to dry.
After a few hours of use, my hands did begin to feel suffocated, they are wrapped in plastic after all, but again it was well worth it. It is better than wearing $.99 gardening gloves for crying out loud.
I managed to get hooked a few times but didn’t have a hard time maneuvering the hook out. Also, the gloves didn’t show a snag. I do have a feeling the Velcro will quickly wear out, but time will tell. However at $9.99 it isn’t a large investment and helped keep me in the water.
Overall these gloves get high marks for their price and simple functionality. The fact that they don’t breath well and that the feeling the Velcro which holds the fingertips back won’t last keeps them from getting a full score. However I highly suggest them and would purchase them again.
Lastly a note to Bass Pro. We need more than one color. Blue is cool, but no dude wants to be wearing the same color item as one of their fishing buddies. Unless the color is camo of course.
Rating: 
