POC Wrist Freeride vs. Hestra Ski Cross
This feels like an even more direct comparison than the two gloves above, and the Hestra Ski Cross is basically my favorite glove ever. But I can’t honestly say that the Ski Cross has anything over the POC Wrist Freeride. I guess I have two favorite gloves now, with the Vertical Cut Freeride coming in a very close 3rd place. (The POC Nail would be right there, too, if its narrow cuff works for you.)
As for fit, it’s the same as the above story: the size Large POCs feel slightly longer through the fingers than the size 9 Hestra Ski Cross.
Warmth
As I’ve noted, this is what really impressed me about POC Wrist Freeride. I wore them comfortably, day after day, in temperatures that would have seemed to call for a glove with more insulation.
These gloves are pretty low profile, but after using them down in Las Leñas, at Taos, and through a deep-pow and cold-temperature cycle at Alta (temperatures at the base were around zero), I’m sold.
But remember how these run a couple millimeters longer than my Hestras? I wonder if that additional length / room is enough to account for the additional warmth. I point that out only because if I (or you) went down a size to a very snug fit, I wouldn’t be surprised if the tighter size didn’t feel equally warm….
Breathability
It’s difficult to say which breathes better, the Wrist Freeride or the Ski Cross, and the Wrist Freerides are perhaps not quite as good as the POC Nail—with its nylon fabric backing.
My hands don’t tend to run very cold, so I wouldn’t want to do long tours in 45-plus-degree weather in the Wrist Freerides, as I wouldn’t in the Hestras. But if your hands do run cold, I could imagine either would work well as warm touring gloves.
Durability
I do not take care of my gloves. At all. And my Ski Cross gloves are looking fairly beat up after probably 300 days of use. Time will tell how well the Wrist Freerides do, but so far, they show almost no wear, even after climbing on and bootpacking around some very sharp Andes rock this past fall down in Argentina.
Dexterity
It’s good. Every bit as good as those Hestras I keep talking about, and close to as good as those size Medium POC Nail gloves that I said felt like a custom fit for me. Basically, I’ll just have to let you know if I come across anything else that’s as dexterous and also as warm.
Bottom Line
It appears that POC has made a glove that is every bit as good as my previous favorite. The POC Wrist Freeride is a well constructed, very nice glove with excellent finishes, and I’m unaware of a glove in its class that outperforms it.