Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

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seano

 
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Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by seano » Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:24 pm

I'm looking for a glove for cold (10-20 F) aerobic activity like cross-country skiing, plus ice climbing (swapping with belay mitts). The gloves need to be dextrous enough for rope-work, lightly insulated, and have durable palms. What I think I want is something windproof with a thin layer of synthetic insulation; I don't care as much about them being waterproof, because they'll get wet from either the inside or outside no matter what. Leather palms would be nice, but only if they're separated from my hands by some kind of waterproof barrier so they don't sweat through. There are a zillion gloves out there, and I'll bet most of them are badly designed. I currently use a pair of unlined leather-palmed OR gloves, which suck: they're warm enough at first, but once they soak up some sweat, evaporative cooling makes them almost colder than no gloves at all, and they take forever to dry.

So, what are your favorites for this kind of use?

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GuyNC

 
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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by GuyNC » Fri Jan 08, 2016 10:31 pm

I really like my OR Extraverts in the temperatures you describe during activity where I am generating plenty of my own heat. However, the insulation is wool not synthetic.

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seano

 
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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by seano » Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:29 pm

Yury -- I often use wool liner gloves plus overmitts for cold activities where I'm not gripping anything. It's amazing how little glove you can get away with while running or trudging uphill through snow, and the mitts warm your hands up quickly if they get chilled, or keep them warm while you stand still. The problem for climbing and such is that the overmitts lack dexterity, while the liners lack durability.

GuyNC -- The Extraverts look like they could work, though being made out of leather and wool (old school!), they would be incredibly slow to dry.

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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by WyomingSummits » Sat Jan 09, 2016 8:46 pm

I use these:
https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/mens- ... tionId=JK3

I'm normally not a TNF junkie.....found them on clearance and had a gift card. I run in them in the winter and they grio even a general mountain axe handle pretty well. Theyre not perfect....but perform generally well for what I need. Dexterity is not the greatest, but works.

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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by nartreb » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:18 pm

I think you really need two sets of gloves. Ice climbing requires a good grip and tough construction.

These do the trick:
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/cli ... es&start=2

They're very dextrous and grippy, significantly water-resistant (you're out of luck if a waterfall opens up on your hand, but beats the hell out of fleece when gripping snow-covered rocks or tools) and the knuckle padding is a nice bonus.

My only complaint is that the wrists are a little bit short - they won't stay over my jacket and they're hard to fit under. Not a big deal for ice climbing, only that they're my favorite gloves in the cold and I like to wear them hiking above treeline (they're windproof and they give great grip on my ski poles or ice axe) but I have to take care with my wrists. Maybe I'll make myself a windproof wrist-gaiter (elastics at each end, plus a thumb loop)...

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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by ExcitableBoy » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:58 pm

I have found over the years that Primaloft insulated gloves offer the best dexterity. They get wet and take forever to dry, but that seems to be no different than fleece or wool, both of which I find to be too bulky for cold weather ice climbing.

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Damien Gildea

 
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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by Damien Gildea » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:18 am

For a full day of ice climbing, particularly if the route itself is long and/or the approach is tough, I would take at least three maybe four pairs of gloves.

1. 1 x A light windproof pair for walking in, using poles, that may get wet either through sweat or snow on the approach.
2. 1 x A climbing pair, much like you describe - dexterous, a little bit of insulation, leather palms.
3. 1 x Mitts, either for belaying, though I rarely belay in mitts, or walking out in bad weather.

If the route itself is long I may take a second pair of (2) or a slightly thicker warmer pair of gloves instead of mitts, depending just how cold it is. In a pinch they can double as the second pair of (2).

With so much gear being so much lighter nowadays, the extra weight of an 'extra' pair of gloves is negligible to me. Fingers and hands are too important for the climbing and too valuable for life to worry about a few hundred grams of gear.

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seano

 
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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by seano » Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:24 pm

Thanks, all, for the information and suggestions. I'll test out a reasonably cheap "system" over the next couple of weeks and describe how it goes.

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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by Damien Gildea » Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:02 pm

Forgot to mention, as to actual dexterous climbing gloves:

I end up using these quite a bit: http://www.smartwool.com/shop/men-acces ... tionId=001

The Lowe Alpine Alpinist gloves are also very good but hard to get in the US.

I have an older version of these, they're are a bit burlier and warmer (and shorter) but great: https://hestragloves.com/sport/intl/glo ... er/240100/

Hestra make some of the best alpine gloves available. They make the major US outdoor brand gloves look like Home Depot.

Of course all these depend in fit, as with all things and hands more than most, so you really have to try gloves on to be sure, and try on different pairs in the same size and brand/model, as given the tight sewing dimensions, small variations can occur that affect fit. It also depends on how you feel the cold, and I don't get cold hands badly like some do.

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seano

 
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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by seano » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:54 pm

On the advice of a friend who climbs a lot of ice, I went with the relatively cheap option of Marmot "basic work gloves" for climbing plus Kinco insulated gloves for belaying. The pair also works for my usual cross-country ski, which consists of 1-2 hours of steady climbing followed by 0.5-1 hours of descent. The gloves and a tub of SnoSeal cost about $70 total. I recommend trying on the Marmots rather than ordering online, as the fit varies quite a bit from pair to pair.

I also demo-ed a pair of Rab Latoks, which I liked a lot, and which would probably perform better in colder/inclement weather. They seemed insulated enough to wear while belaying in the 20s, and dextrous enough to adjust crampons, though not to tie shoelaces. They're also $90 which, while "cheap" among light mountaineering gloves, is enough to make me want to wait for a sale.

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Re: Recommended dextrous cold-weather gloves?

by infinityjellyD » Sat Feb 27, 2016 6:30 am

seano wrote:...
I also demo-ed a pair of Rab Latoks, which I liked a lot, and which would probably perform better in colder/inclement weather. They seemed insulated enough to wear while belaying in the 20s, and dextrous enough to adjust crampons, though not to tie shoelaces. They're also $90 which, while "cheap" among light mountaineering gloves, is enough to make me want to wait for a sale.


Ask and ye shall receive: 20% off now at Backcountry...

http://www.backcountry.com/rab-latok-gl ... BnbG92ZXM=

Like you, I demo'd them recently and liked them enough to be curious, but unfortunately the weather was warm that day so I have no idea what their operating limit is. Thus I'm hesitant to pull the trigger.


Edit: I just realized that if you are a member of AAC and link to Backcountry through AAC, you get a further discount: 33%! At $60, I couldn't pass them up.


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