Amateur Photographer verdict
Vallerret Saga Women’s Glove are a great choice for female photographers shooting outdoors in the winter. They combine a slim comfortable fit, excellent warmth, and lots of practical features.
- Slim, comfortable fit for female hands
- Flip-Tech fingertip access
- Excellent warmth and insulation
- Only available in three sizes
- Pricey compared to non-specialist gloves
- The cuffs don’t work perfectly with all jacket sleeves
Vallerret launched its first photography-specific winter gloves on Kickstarter in 2015 and its range of gloves and mittens has grown steadily since. The Vallerret Saga Women’s Glove marks a welcome return of a women-specific model that combines a slimmer shape with practicality. It’s been designed from scratch for female photographers to give a better fit for women.
Vallerret Saga Women’s Gloves at a glance:
- €89.95 (approximately $105 / £79)
- Primaloft Gold Insulation (133gsm/100gsm)
- Flip-Tech fingertips secured by magnets
- Goat leather & water-resistant shell
- Fleece gauntlet cuff design
- Non-slip silicone palm grip
- photographygloves.com
The Flip-Tech finger caps, which cover your thumbs and index fingers, fold back neatly and are held securely by small but strong magnets. This allows you to operate your camera without removing the gloves, which is ideal when you’re out in the cold, especially if there’s a dramatic windchill.
Better still, the tips of both digits are touchscreen-compatible, which means you can use your phone or a camera touchscreen without needing to flip anything back. Despite the bulk of the fingers, I found I was able to type texts on my iPhone while wearing the gloves.
Vallerret Saga Women’s Gloves key features:
- Flip access: Flip-Tech caps on the thumbs and index fingers allow easy camera control
- Stay connected: Touchscreen-ready tips let you use your phone without removing the gloves
- Secure grip: Silicone palm print ensures a firm hold on gear
- Warm and dry: Blizzard fleece lining, gauntlet cuff and a water-resistant shell block out the cold and damp
- Detachable leashes: Elasticated leashes keep your gloves safe when you pull them off
The gloves’ warmth comes from a combination of Primaloft Gold insulation and Vallerret’s Blizzard fleece lining, which together strike a good balance between heat retention and flexibility. The gloves feel cosy and protective in mid-winter conditions, and I found them effective in a recent cold snap with biting windchill.
The gauntlet cuffs are effective at sealing out wind, with a Velcro strap that allows you to adjust their fit and pull them tight around your wrists. I found this a mixed blessing because although it’s effective, you need to release it to put on or remove the gloves.
The outer is a 20K water-resistant shell paired with durable goat leather on the back and palm, while a silicone print provides extra grip. It means your camera feels safe in your hands.
Additional features include a zippered pocket on the back of each glove that can hold a heat pack or a memory card and elasticated cuffs on a leash to keep your gloves on you if you pull them off your hands. Also, one of the zippered pockets holds a useful tripod plate key on a leash to ensure it doesn’t get lost.
The Vallerret Saga Women’s Gloves are available in sizes: small, medium and large. The size guide on Vallerret’s website explains how to measure your hands and indicated I needed a size large pair. These fit my hand well and although some of the fingers are a little on the long side, that’s better than them being too short.
Our Verdict
These are thoughtfully designed gloves with the right mix of warmth, functionality and style for women photographers who want to keep shooting when the mercury dips. The gloves feel cosy when you pull them on and the Flip-Tech system works well, with the magnets that hold them seeming stronger and more effective than those on past gloves.
Crucially, the Flip-Tech finger caps are easy to flip back and the magnets hold them in place. In the recent cold spell, I found the gloves kept my hands nice and warm and although the tips of my index finger and thumb quickly got cold when exposed to the elements, they soon warmed up once the caps were back in place.
