For some reason, an obvious reason when looking at the photo of my old gloves, I felt it was time to buy new working gloves. I must confess that this is a detail I tend to forget about. The gloves should just be there, just like good friends. You shouldn’t even have to think about that. Eventually, even I must face the fact – I need new gloves! 
Gloves
Being both a stubborn old logger and editor, I bought one pair each of Husqvarna and Stihl gloves. Partly because I refuse to choose a side in the chainsaw battle, but also because I was curious about the differences. According to the lady who sold them to me, those two pairs of gloves should be comparable. However, I’m not 100 % sure about that as the difference between the two is quite big.
The gloves we are talking about are Husqvarna Technical and Stihl Advance Ergo. 
The first impressions
The forest I was working in at the time of the trial, was a mixed thinning. The trees had a diameter from five centimeters (2″) to approx. 30 centimeters (1 foot). The saw I used was a Stihl MS 201.
I am used to Husky gloves. I have worn out several pairs through the years. So, I tried the Stihl gloves in the first “shift” from morning to breakfast. My first impression of those was positive. They were very comfortable and smooth. The smoothness was especially noticeable as I had to use measuring tape on every tree. The hook was easy to handle with the smooth, skin-close gloves. The downside was that they were cold. I guess that’s the cost of the smoothness. This was not a big problem, you just have to work harder, but heated handles on my Stihl 201 would have been nice.
After breakfast, I took on the Husqvarna gloves. As mentioned above, I’m used to those and the ones I replaced now were of the same model (I think). They felt clumsy compared to the Stihl gloves, especially when attaching the measuring tape to the stems. My spontaneous thought was that I’ll never use those again. But I soon noticed that they were generally more comfortable than the Stihl gloves, and warmer which was appreciated as the first day of trial was cold, way below zero. 
Conclusions
This is of course no scientific test. It’s my personal impressions based on my experience, and mine only. I have switched between the two pairs of gloves every two to three hours now for five or six days. For the moment I am not working in the forest (with chain- or clearing saws) and I don’t know when I will start again. But I will for sure come back to the theme when I have used the gloves some more. This article just shows my first impressions.
The conclusion so far is this:
When working in forests where I must use measuring tape a lot, and if it’s warm weather, I will always use the Stihl Advance Ergo gloves. They are smooth and it feels almost as if you wear no gloves at all. Very comfortable if you don’t need much hand protection and if you need precision, like when attaching a measuring tape.
If I don’t have to measure a lot, and if it’s colder, I will use the Husqvarna Technical gloves. If I had to choose just one pair (which I hope will never happen) it would be those as they are more all-round and generally more comfortable. But again, if precision is needed they are a bit clumsy.
I will, however, use both pairs as much as possible. Maybe my impressions will change?
Photos: Per Jonsson
