Glove tested: FootJoy RainGrip (men’s) Retail price: $22 Material(s): Microfiber, mesh Colors: Black Hand: Left and right (sold in pairs) Sizes: S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL

Available in cadet* fit: Yes Weather: Rain

About this glove: Playing golf in the rain is a special kind of misery. You’ve got to keep your clubs’ grips dry. You’ve got to keep your towel dry. You’ve got to keep your hands dry. And if your glove gets soaked through, all your efforts are for naught.

Unless, that is, you have a glove made specifically for rainy days. Yes, such a thing exists and – go figure – FootJoy makes the market leader.

FootJoy’s RainGrip isn’t one glove, actually. It’s two – a mitt for each hand. It’s constructed of a special “autosuede” palm material and “QuikDry” mesh on the backhand and fingers. The gloves come in black only, which we find fitting given their purpose.

If you’re thinking you can pick up a pair of FootJoy RainGrip gloves and use them rain or shine, that’s not recommended. Their tackiness is actually activated by moisture, and they simply don’t work properly when dry.

But how well does the RainGrip do its intended job? Pretty darn well, as we found out.

Appearance: While we generally don’t care much for black gloves, these are really kind of cool. With their meshy backhand, RainGrip gloves remind us of scuba-diving gear. At any rate, this is definitely a case of form following function. Who cares what a rain glove looks like as long as it works? You might be the only golfer on the course, anyway.

Comfort: Surprisingly good. Then again, FootJoy is known for making comfy gloves, like its top-dollar Pure Touch Limited. The RainGrip is very flexible and breathable, with a soft touch across the palm. As long as your hands are roughly uniform in size, fit shouldn’t be a problem.

Feel: Not surprisingly, FootJoy’s RainGrip features a slightly thicker palm than a standard glove. Feel is somewhat compromised, but only a little bit. That’s a tradeoff we’ll gladly accept, considering the RainGrip’s performance in our next category.

Tackiness: These gloves are definitely not slippery when wet. Quite the opposite. It’s pretty nice not having to worry about keeping your glove dry in a shower. Even nicer to feel completely confident in your grip security when you take the club back. If the rain stops but you’d rather keep playing with the RainGrip, just swipe the palm across some wet grass and it’ll become instantly tacky.

Durability: Unless you play a lot of golf in the Pacific Northwest during the winter, this shouldn’t be much of an issue. The RainGrip isn’t meant to be an everyday glove, and it stands up well to occasional usage.

Bottom line: Some golfers head for the 19th hole at the first sign of a cloudburst. Others aren’t so easily deterred. Anyone who belongs to the latter group should consider a pair of FootJoy RainGrip gloves. At $22, it’s a sound investment that you’ll be thrilled with when the inevitable rainy day arrives.

*Cadet gloves have shorter fingers than regular gloves of the same size; e.g., a cadet medium glove has the same palm fit with shorter fingers than a standard medium.