Rab Power Stretch Contact Glove Review

Overview

The Rab Power Stretch Contact Glove is a thin, stretchy fleece glove built from Polartec Power Stretch Pro — the same brushed, four-way-stretch fabric you’ll find in a lot of base layers and buffs. It’s designed to do double duty: used as a standalone glove for mountain and hill walking in variable conditions, or as a liner glove in harsher alpine environments. If you want something that lives in your jacket pocket for chilly mornings, cool descents, or as an extra layer under a shell mitt, this is the category it’s competing in — not a dedicated cold-weather glove.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight	60.0 g (pair)
Outer fabric	Polartec® Power Stretch® Pro
Fabric composition	53% polyester, 38% nylon, 9% elastane
Fabric weight	241 g/m²
Touchscreen compatible	Yes (conductive fingertips)
Cuff	Low bulk with Lycra® edging
Palm	Unlined Power Stretch (no silicone grip print)

Performance

Power Stretch Pro is a known quantity at this point — it’s a brushed-interior, smooth-faced fleece that stretches in every direction, and Rab’s glove takes full advantage of that with a close, glove-like fit rather than the boxy feel you get from most fleece gloves. At 241 g/m², it’s a genuinely thin fabric, and 60 g for the pair puts this glove firmly in liner territory rather than “cold weather glove” territory.

Where this fabric earns its reputation is breathability and dry time. Power Stretch dries fast and doesn’t hold much water, which matters if you’re the type who takes gloves off to eat a bar and lose them in slush, or if you sweat through gloves on a climb. It’s also genuinely warm for its weight thanks to the brushed fleece interior, though don’t mistake that for wind resistance — Power Stretch Pro isn’t a windproof fabric, so on an exposed ridge in a stiff breeze, your hands will feel it. That tracks with impressions from the related Contact Grip version of this glove, where reviewers found them a bit too warm for high intensity pursuits like trail running but useful as a general outdoor glove for frosty countryside walks or chilly days on the hills — the fabric behavior should carry over directly since it’s the same Power Stretch Pro shell.

One thing worth flagging: this specific “Contact Glove” (as opposed to the “Contact Grip Glove”) skips the silicone palm print. That’s a trade-off. You lose the tacky grip on trekking poles or a phone case, but you also lose the durability issue that shows up in reviews of the grip version — the fabric snags easily, as reviewers found to their cost, tearing a small hole in the palm from the silicone print catching on rock. Without that print, this glove should be more liner-friendly (it can actually slide under a shell mitt without binding) but also more slippery on smooth surfaces — a complaint that surfaces in Amazon reviews of the Power Stretch Pro Contact glove, where one buyer noted it keeps hands fairly warm however feels very slippy on your hands, missing the grippier rubber palm from an older design.

The touchscreen tips work as advertised for basic swipe-and-tap use — nothing revolutionary, but reliable enough that you won’t need to strip a glove off to check a map app or send a text. The low-bulk Lycra cuff is a nice detail if you’re layering: it doesn’t bunch under a jacket sleeve the way some fleece gloves with elastic hems do.

Durability is the open question. Power Stretch Pro without any reinforcement is not a glove you want to be scrambling or handling firewood in regularly — thin fleece snags and abrades. Treat it as a liner or a mild-condition glove, not a workhorse.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Very light (60 g/pair) and packs down to almost nothing
• Close, articulated fit thanks to four-way stretch fabric
• Dries quickly and breathes well — good for aerobic use in cool (not cold) conditions
• Low-bulk cuff layers cleanly under a shell or mitt
• Touchscreen-compatible fingertips work reliably for basic phone use

Cons

• No wind resistance — exposed skin feels the breeze quickly
• No grip print on this version, so it can feel slippery holding poles, phones, or gear
• Thin fabric is prone to snagging/wear with regular rough use
• Not warm enough on its own for genuinely cold or wet conditions — it’s a liner, not a standalone winter glove

Who Should Buy This

This glove makes the most sense for hikers and backpackers who want a lightweight liner to wear under a shell mitt in cold conditions, or a standalone glove for cool-but-not-frigid trail days — think shoulder-season backpacking, brisk trail runs, or camp chores where you want dexterity and touchscreen access without bulk. If you need serious wind or wet-weather protection, or you’re regularly gripping poles, rock, or gear, look at the Contact Grip version with the silicone palm, or pair this with a shell mitt instead.

Verdict

The Power Stretch Contact Glove does exactly what a good liner glove should: it’s light, warm for its weight, dries fast, and disappears under other layers. It’s not a standalone cold-weather solution and the lack of a grippy palm on this particular version is a real limitation for pole users, but as a base layer or mild-conditions glove it’s a smart, low-cost addition to a three-season kit. I’d rate it a 7.5/10 — solid at what it’s designed for, just don’t ask it to be more than a liner.