EMS Rampart Soft Shell Gloves

A basic, lightweight soft shell glove for activities in milder winter temperatures. A synthetic suede palm reinforcement helps protect from wear from pole or shovel handles. Patches on the index finger tips give touchscreen compatibility.

I bought these because my other softshell gloves (Seirus Windstopper Cyclone) were too warm, and the pile lining would get wet with sweat. EMS had them for 50% off, which was a nice bonus.

The glove is very basic, without fancy features. There's no lining so you feel all the sewn seams inside. Touchscreen compatibility is on the index fingers only. There's elastic gathering the wrist for a somewhat snug fit while still being easy to put on and take off. There are nylon pull loops on the palm side of the wrist, and one of those tiny clips to secure the gloves together.

The palm is reinforced with synthetic suede to protect against wear from pole or shovel handles. It does not extend onto the thumb.

Both the EMS logo and a small stripe below the pinky finger are made of reflective material. 

Wearing them while snowshoeing, I found the gloves plenty warm at about 10-15°F (don't know what wind chill was.) They gave me plenty of dexterity for adjusting bindings and working smallish zippers. No moisture worked its way through the fabric.

These seem to be sized very generously. I generally wear L or XL, but a medium fits me fine and leaves room for a thin liner (which I assume is the reason for the generous sizing.) My new EMS Summit Gloves are also mediums, maybe for the same reason. The last EMS gloves I bought, a pair of Ascent Summits from maybe 5 or 6 years ago, fit about the same and are size L. So be careful with sizing if you're ordering online.

My only real complaint is that most of the time I have no touchscreen compatibility with these. Pressing my finger tight against the inside of the tip doesn't help, I still have to take the gloves off if I want to use my iPhone. I thought it might be due to my LifeProof case's screen protector so I tried them on my iPad at home, with the same results. On the rare occasion when I can get it to work, it almost always swipes back to the "widgets" page. This is my first pair of touchscreen-compatible gloves so I have nothing else to go by, but I'm pretty sure they generally work as advertised. So this didn't impress me.

All in all, I like them for what I got them for, but not enough to pay full price for them.