SSG Hybrid Gloves
So for this review I’ve chosen my new favourite piece of riding essentials, the SSG Hybrid gloves in brown/tan. I bought these as a little treat to myself before the winter season started and I love them! Here’s why..
First of all I’m a real brown accessories fan, especially for gloves! I think they look so smart for competitions, hunting or showing but for ages couldn’t find any that wouldn’t break the bank, they were all so expensive and just not quite what I was looking for.. until I spotted these. What Georgie and I have found over the years is that plain leather gloves get very slippery when they're warm loss of grip is never what you want when riding.
They come in brown& tan, black or white; yes you can have a pair for all occasions! I’m also very keen on having white gloves for dressage, and black or brown for cross country and show jumping so these are ideal. Sadly they don’t do a yellow pair for showing as I know many are keen on this look but perhaps they’ll come in the future?
I’ve been wearing them for autumn hunting, hound exercise and hunting and they’ve been fabulous! The top part of the glove is a nice thin supple cabretta leather that moulds beautifully to your hand so fit perfectly from the first wear and just get better and better each use. The palm of the glove is made of Aquasuede® for a nice soft supple contact but it absorbs sweat from your palm to keep your gloves from getting wet and you loosing grip. Another big plus point for me was it stops the sweat from your horses neck, which therefore transfers to your reins from soaking into the palm of the glove so minimalizing the chance of reins slipping and you loosing contact on the reins.
This was really big thing for me. I went out cubbing one morning and the horse I was on did get quite warm and sweaty and not once did I feel I was losing grip on the leather reins. Usually the combination of leather reins, mixed with a sweaty horse means you’re scrambling to regain grip on the reins so this was a very pleasant surprise! I was with a friend who had an even more sweaty horse and rubber reins and did find her normal gloves just didn’t stand up to the task and they slipped significantly! Luckily I had no such trouble thanks to these wonderful gloves.
They have a wonderful band along the knuckles that is breathable and stretchy to allow your hands to keep cool but not restrict movement over your knuckles. Ideal when you’ve got to keep on and grip to the reins even of a hot day! This element, combined with the Aquasuede palm means these gloves can be worn year round both in the hot summer and colder winter and keep your hands temperature regulated for whoever condition you’re riding in!
Since writing this review and it's subsequent update Georgie has bought a pair which she uses for showing and loves them just as much as me. Obviously the show season runs from Spring (as early as March) to the end of Summertime (September) and have never failed her. She always looks consistently smart and they go very well with tweed jackets as well as navy!
One thing I will mention is that for the first two or three wears be aware that if your hands do get sweaty or slightly wet the dye from the leather upper part of the glove does transfer a little to your skin but it does wash off and doesn’t stain any clothing, just your hands a little! It looks like you’ve got a bit of orange fake take on your hands! Sorry I didn't manage to get a photo!
With regard to sizing, they’ve got a great variety of full and half sizes so you can get a snug perfect fit. These particular gloves range from a Ladies small Size 6 Ladies medium size 7, to a men’s small being a size 8 or 9, to a mens large which is size 10. I’ve got quite long fingers so I picked a size 8 and they fit perfectly. And with a very sturdy Velcro adjustable wrist band you can make sure they’re just as tight as you need.
The price of these does vary from £20 to £30 but I purchased mine for about £25 or so. Stockists near us are Gibsons Saddlers Newmarket and Welly Wears Country Store near Huntingdon if you’d like to grab yourself a pair!
Verdict, we love them! Strong 9 out of 10. I loved them so much I didn't want A&E to cut them off when I broke my wrist so I pulled them off at great agony. Now that's love!
