The Simms ProDry Gloves are the company's top foul weather hand protection offering

Impressions: What separates a fishing enthusiast from a fair weather fisherman? Just as the term implies, the conditions of course. If you are the type of angler that needs to scratch that itch to fish regardless of what Mother Nature has planned that day then you my friend are a fishing nut, an enthusiast, or as Jabba said it “my kind of scum, fearless…” For those of you that will not be denied your bounty there are a number of fishing apparel manufacturers out there providing highly technical foul weather gear designed specifically to help you brave those elements, and perhaps none is better known than Simms.

Synthetic materials are used on the outer glove except the palms which are made out of goat leather

The Simms ProDry gear has quickly become the stuff of legend among bass fishermen. Designed to keep bass anglers warm and dry, even after a deluge, these garments have become popular among fishing enthusiasts and pro anglers alike. For those anglers looking for hand and finger protection from the rain and cold the company’s ProDry gloves feature an oversized design that includes both outer and inner liner gloves.

The inner liner is a glove in itself and is a stretch fleece fingerless design for easier line management and knot tying

The ProDry gloves can be worn three different ways, with the liner by themselves, the outer Gore-Tex gloves by themselves, or together for maximum warmth and protection from the elements. The outer glove makes use of breathable Gore-Tex technical fabrics which are designed to be fully waterproof but also trap heat to keep your fingers dexterous in the cold.

On cold days a good pair of gloves can make fishing so much more enjoyable

There have been times when I’ve been fishing on Clear Lake with the temperatures below zero and after a run across the lake I felt like my ears were about to fall off and my fingers were absolutely useless. I could barely feel anything, and even opening and closing them took noticeable effort, so as you can imagine tying knots was an exercise in futility. It was after two frigid trips like this that I decided enough was enough, and I started wearing my ski gloves on subsequent trips.

Though the outer glove is somewhat bulky I found I was able to handle all bass outfits and even finesse fishing with spinning gear

Those ski gloves kept my fingers functional but really were not designed for rain versus snow, or complete submersion. Unlike ski gloves fishing gloves are designed specifically for our application, providing enough range of motion for everything that anglers need to do with their hands while staying completely waterproof in the process.

The ProDry gloves provided a firm grip on my steering wheel

Real World Tests: Gloves don’t fit all of our new rating categories so for the purposes of this review we had to revert back to our original test methodology and evaluate the gloves based primarily on our experiences in the field. I fished the with the Simms ProDry gloves this entire season, finally capping off a week of fishing in the California Sierra Foothills where there was temperatures below freezing and snow on the ground just miles away.

After full submersion the gloves remained dry thanks to the use of Gore-Tex

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