Apparel makers are continually trying to design things to keep us ever more comfortable on the slopes. They choose fabrics expected to have certain properties such as insulation, moisture resistance and wicking capabilities. They can predict performance, but how do they know their products really work? Someone has to test them.

One apparel company, 180's, makes snow-sports gloves and came up with a novel idea: Give them to people who will use them under the harshest of conditions.

Now in its second year, 180's "Backwoods Testing Campaign" has asked more than 60 snowmakers at Hunter Mountain, Greene County, and Sugarloaf USA in Maine to wear the company's gloves while working and to rate them. Using the data from the snowmakers, the company can build further improvements into its products.

Last December, Crystalyn Thienpont, former communications director at Hunter Mountain, returned to her old haunts to give the snowmaking crew some gloves. This time she came in her role as a representative of 180's.

The gloves she gave them have the company's patented and trademarked Exhale Heating System that allows the wearer to blow a blast of warm air to the fingertips without removing the gloves. Although these gloves were designed for snow sports, not the type of rough work that the snowmakers do, the idea was to have them tested under the frigid night temperatures, strong winds and exposure to moisture that these workers experience every night on the job.

"These gloves are yours to keep," Thienpont said. "But we want you to fill out a questionnaire about how well the gloves perform." The men looked skeptical and not only because of doubt that such handsome gloves could be warm enough.

One man held up his work gloves, already shredded from contact with frozen metal. Thienpont conceded that maybe they might want to spare the gloves while dealing with icy hydrants, but she insisted they wear them for enough of their shifts to give them a rigorous test. The gloves did well in last year's test.

The 2004 gloves got the highest marks for general comfort and dexterity and for the Exhale Heating System. Eighty-five percent of the snowmakers gave that feature a 9 out of 10 mark for functionality and performance. Most snowmakers gave the gloves an 8 out of 10 for general warmth compared to other gloves they had worn. The company was pleased, of course, with the general 2004 ratings.

Some feedback gave room for improvements, which the designers tried to incorporate into this year's line. The second phase of the Backwoods test was an opportunity to see whether these improvements worked, and the 2005 test has already taken place.

We may be only barely beginning our personal ski seasons, but snowmakers have been on the job for weeks. 180's returned with the top-of-the-line 2005 Patrol glove, which retails for about $80. Waterproofing had rated only an average of 6 out of 10 and moisture wicking only a 7.

Improvements in 180's trademarked Quantum Dry Technology moved the 2005 ratings to 7 and 9 respectively. The Achilles heel for the 2004 gloves — not surprising considering the tough conditions under which the snowmakers use them — was durability of the palm, which had rated only a 5. A new abrasion-resistant leather palm moved these ratings to an 8.