I'm looking for a new pair of gloves that I can bring with me for mixed climbing, mostly on rock in moderately cold weather say, -10 to 20f at between 4,000 to 6,000 meters. The pair that I have has finally given up the ghost after several years of faithful service and has been laid to rest. I know that a lot of new stuff has been developed and am looking for recommendations. Thanks.

I'm on my second pair of Black Diamond enforcer gloves. They're burly and heavy duty and quite pricey. They're perfect for me and extremely warm which is what I need. Next to impossible to do tiny precise jobs in them (I've always got to remove them to adjust crampons etc) but thats one drawback of having such a warm gloves.

There's some great thinner gloves out there but you really can't go wrong with the enforcer. They do make the gloves quite tight though, so size up if you want to wear a liner underneath.

the Albi from OR is really good

The OR Alibi is also about 3x more expensive than it should be. Many people just climb in heavy duty insulated Kincos work gloves. I have a pair of decent Jacob Ash insulated work gloves that I snagged from from Sierra Trading Post for about $12, but I'm not the biggest fan of them.

Right now I'm climbing in Mountain Hardwear Hydra gloves. The leather palm wets out pretty easily, even after an application of Nikwax waterproofing wax, BUT they haven't actually let any water through, so I'm still dry and warm. They're fairly thin and tactile, but reasonably warm. I wear them with 100 weight (the lightest weight) Powerstretch liner gloves and I've had them out as low as about 7 F and stayed warm (well, relatively warm in the context of ice climbing) while I was climbing. I definitely needed an overmitt for belaying though - not warm enough for just standing around. And don't forget that I also was wearing a thin but warm liner glove.

Their biggest feature, IMO, is the new "Outdry" system. Instead of a hanging GoreTex liner, the waterproof membrane is bonded to the inner shell. This means that as they get damp from sweat, if you pull your hand out, the fingers don't "invert" 0 this really makes a world of difference for me.

MH also makes a warmer, burlier version of the Hydra. It's called the Medusa, but it costs just as much as the Alibi (about $160 I think).

I really like the Rab Latok for a cold weather climbing glove. Good dexterity and warmth, and the benefit of eVent.

worth mentioning that I wrote the Albi and not the Alpine Albi. The Albi is a glove designed for mixed climbing, a little expensive but about the stickiest palm fabric I have ever seen and super sensitive -- the Alpine Albi is ORs attempt to take the same idea and make it into an ice glove. For some reason it is also one of the most expensive gloves on the market, the Albi however is not.

I have the Alibi and it is not up to the cold temps the OP was asking about, not even close. I hate wearing it below freezing, but it is the stickiest, most dextrous glove I own.

I should also add that OR specifically prohibits using the sticky-palmed Alibi for belaying or rapelling. It's a pretty niche glove, for warmish, very difficult ice and mixed.

I have no answer for the OP. I'm looking at the Enforcer myself, but also thinking about going with a thinner glove and overmitt. I have the MH Cima which I really like (no longer made), but the super-tough synthetic palms are getting worn out from rope use, driving me back to leather. I am also going to try nitrile work gloves as a VBL, because I tend to soak my gloves from the inside. Then they freeze, and it gave me a little frostnip one time. If I had been on a big mountain instead of a short gully that day...

I've worn the MEC Out-of-Bounds glove for several years now in cold weather and at altitude. They're not that expensive, easy to get on/off, are wind/waterproof and have a removeable liner that makes drying them out very easy if your hands sweat a lot like mine tend to do.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 4949866360

I wear the OR Vert Glove with a liner/powerstretch glove underneath. I normally bring at least two pairs of these. One pair kept in a chest pocket, one pair on. After a pitch or two, switch. This is the best system I've found for making sure my hands stay some semblance of warm/dry. There is no one glove that I know of that will keep moisture from getting in, yet wick away sweat well enough to keep from wetting out from the inside.

For colder weather, you can try the Extravert.

Thanks for all the great ideas! Now - how to select from so many possibilities...

Well, there's been great suggestions.
As for the glove, if you want primarily warmth, then you'll end up loosing some dexterity. If you go for more dexterity, you'll lose warmth. For me, the mixed and climbing that I have in my current area, the extra warmth is much more important then the dexterity that I lose - it just forces you to be more creative when searching for holds etc. Look at what you'll be climbing first, then choose your glove based on that. The enforcers are apparently rated to -17 C, but I wear em out in much colder then that and they do fine. around -40 C is when you start to feel it. But that's me, and -40 is a daily average lately, so you get used to the cold.

More about gloves than you ever wanted to know, from Kelly Cordes' blog.

That was an excellent read, thank you!

I'm leaning towards the new MH gloves. It looks like they replaced the synthetic palm with leather, added OutDry, and brought my glove back under a new name.

For technical climbing I really like taking two pair of close fitting, light weight, leather palmed soft shell gloves that lack any kind of waterproof/breathable liner/laminate. I rotate them out (as described above) as they become wet keeping the backup (or wet) pair close to my skin and/or in a jacket pocket. I also carry a big primaloft or similar mitt for belays or if it gets really cold. They are sized so they can go on over the softshell glove to minimize fuss.

gloves I've liked:
REI One glove
OR vert
OR Extra Vert
Cloudveil ice floe
cloudveil Rayzar



mitts I've liked:
Patagonia micro puff
Mountain Hardwear Masherbrum Mitt

I like the above mitts because they do not have removable liners and are therefore easier to get on and off quickly.