REASONS TO BUY
Great dexterity
Easy to break-in
Very breathable
REASONS TO AVOID
Shell absorbs water
Liner packs out
Liner bunches with wet hands
Marmot Randonnee Glove - Women's Review
Credit: Marmot
RELATED: Best Ski Gloves for Women
Our Verdict
The Marmot Randonnee glove will keep you warm while out enjoying a day at the ski resort or in the backcountry. With 100 g/m3 of Marmot's Thermal R insulation, the glove allows heat to be regulated and moisture to be wicked away from the skin. While testing on a frigid day at Bridger Bowl ski resort in Montana and again at Steven's Pass in Washington, the Randonnee did a good job keeping our hands dry and reasonably warm. The only caveat our testers had was that its super soft liner would scrunch up and was really difficult to deal with when their hands were wet. Also, these gloves weren't the most waterproof, absorbing three ounces of water during our dunk tests. At $100 its not a bad price, but we think the Outdoor Research Southback - Women's is a much better buy ($85) with similar but superior construction as a stand-alone glove without a removable liner. One thing that sets the Randonnee apart is its sizing! With the largest range from XS to XXL, you will definitely find a glove that finally fits.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Marmot Randonnee is a great single glove for a day out on the lifts. With a DriClime wicking lining, the Randonnee allows your hands to stay dry on the inside while GORE-TEX fends off wetness on the outside. Watch out though! Don't get your hands wet and try to put them back into your glove, they will bunch up!
Performance Comparison
The Randonnees have good dexterity and surprisingly nice breathability. Not our first choice for any mission, but they still function and showed little signs of wear and tear through our testing period.
Credit: Amber King
Warmth
Using Marmot's proprietary Thermal R insulation, which is a blend of polyester materials, this model will definitely keep your hands warm when it dips below freezing. This synthetic insulation allows for moisture to be wicked away from the skin, keeping your hand both warm and dry. One of the issues with these gloves was that we were unable to find a location to place a hand warmer for those extra cold days. We tried to add it into the glove on its own, but since the liner was bunchy it was quite uncomfortable. As a result, our testers struggled with keeping their hands warm on days that were below 15F. If you are looking for a real cold weather alternative, check out our super warm Editors' Choice Award winner, the Hestra Heli Mitt - Women's or The North Face Montana Glove - Women's.
A look at Marmot's Thermal R insulation that kept our hands warm to 15F. After that we were wishing for a place to put hand warmers.
Credit: Amber King
Water Resistance
The Randonnee is designed with a GORE-TEX membrane inserted into the construction of the glove, which prevents water from creeping inside on those wet days on the hill. Marmot's website states that the Randonnee is durably waterproof, windproof, and breathable. We fully agree with the statement that the glove is breathable, due to its ability to wick moisture away from the skin. Though after testing at Stevens Pass on a 40F day when the snow was starting to melt, we found the outer material of the glove to absorb water and become heavy. During our dunk tests, it absorbed 3.1 ounces of water, just a little less than the heavy Swany X-Cell II Mitt - Women's. Even though water did not soak inside the glove, our testers noted that it became increasingly uncomfortable to wear. In comparison, the similarly constructed Outdoor Research Southback only absorbed 1.7 ounces of water and proved to be a much better wet weather option during field tests.
Dexterity
Marmot designed this glove with a "Falcon Grip," which consists of pre-curved fingers, making picking up items and gripping a ski pole easier. The digital hairsheep leather on the palm is textured and allows for freedom of movement. While testing, we found very few issues with using the Randonnee glove while trying to zip and unzip jackets, tighten ski boot buckles, or ratchet snowboard binding straps and we never had to take these gloves off to perform most tasks.
We found the Randonnee is a pretty dexterous glove; its thinner liner and synthetic leather make it less stiff. It was perfect for zipping up jackets, clipping boots, and performing other cold weather activities.
Credit: Amber King
The only time we took this glove off was to text or call friends on the mountain. This is where we had the biggest problem with this glove. Since the inner liner is incredibly soft, it sticks to your fingers and bunches up really terribly. Taking our hands out of the glove in the field left us with a difficult task getting it back in. When we performed our liner dexterity test where we wet our hands and put them into the glove to see how hard or easy it was to get our hands in and out, the Randonnee failed miserably. The liner bunched, and after much frustration and time it finally allowed us to get our hands inside.
Features
The Marmot Randonnee has a number of appealing features, the first one being that it actually had a cinch around the wrist AND at the edge of the cuff - just like our Editors' Choice winner. If you find yourself constantly getting snow in your gloves, the double cinch is an extra safety measure.
The nose wipe was helpful on cold days were our noses went a-runnin'!
Credit: Amber King
The Randonnee also comes with the standard set of features: leashes, nose wipe, and an easy mechanism for cinching and loosening up the gauntlet and cuff. Unfortunately this model does not come with a removable inner liner like the Arc'teryx Beta AR Glove - Women's or the Outdoor Research Arete - Women's.
This single glove features wrist straps and two cinch points - one around the wrist and another around the cuff. We hoped for larger cuffs and a handwarmer pocket.
Credit: Amber King
Breathability
During our ski-touring test day, one of our testers wore this glove while skinning up and also while descending. Claiming that she is a traditionally sweaty person during aerobic activities, she was impressed by the ability for the Marmot Randonnee glove to keep her hands dry and warm, even while she was sweating through her shirt. Even though the Randonnee does not come with a removable liner, the ability for it to assist in temperature and moisture regulation makes up for it.
Annie takes the Randonnees for a whirl on a skin up a local county road. We were surprised by the breathability of the glove, but unimpressed by its bunchy and sticky liner.
Credit: Amber King
Durability
After 50 hours of intensive wear and tear through testing, this product held up quite well, with only a few signs of wear on the palm. The Randonnee survived ski touring, loading and unloading gear, snowmobiling, fixing a snowmobile, multiple days riding ski lifts, skating in the backcountry, and cross country skiing. All in all, the outer shell showed barely any wear.
The hairsheep leather infused with synthetic isn't typically the most durable leather choice but we didn't notice any wear or tear during our testing period. Be sure to treat this leather to ensure continued durability and performance.
Credit: Amber King
Our only concern is after multiple days of use, the inner lining began to pack out a little bit. After a full season, the lining may lose some of its loft and not keep your hands as warm. Without an additional pocket for a hand warmer, the Marmot Randonnee doesn't have a back-up option for when extra heat is needed. If you want a glove that didn't show signs of packing out after similar use, check out the Hestra Heli Mitt or Outdoor Research Southback.
Best Applications
This women's glove glove performs incredibly well in a variety of situations both on and off the ski lifts. Because of its single glove design, resort skiing is where this glove performs the best. If you're looking for a more backcountry-oriented glove, check out the Arc'teryx Beta AR. If you want an even warmer resort-based mitt, check out the Swany X-Cell II.
While most of our testing for this glove was during ski tours in the backcountry, we think the Randonnee really should live more in the resort due to its single glove design.
Credit: Amber King
Value
At $100, the Randonnee glove sits in the middle of the pack of the gloves we tested, and is a good value for its performance. However, we think the Outdoor Research Southback, at just $85, has a much higher value for a better price.
Conclusion
The Marmot Randonnee glove blew our testers away with its ability to regulate temperatures inside of the glove, a very rare feat for most gloves that have a sewn-in liner! Take these gloves out to the hill or on colder days for those aerobic backcountry missions.
If you're looking for a resort glove for temperatures around 15F and above, then the Randonnee might be a good choice for you!
Credit: Amber King
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Amber King
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