SummitPost.org

Hey !

i want to buy new gloves this season for ice climbing. I hate my hands to be soaked and cold...any recommendations ? what do you use ? keep in mind that i will be climbing in the daks and white mountains...so i need somthing that will be warm, but not too bulky for gear placement...anyway...what is really important is 100% waterproof...

lelf wrote:Hey !

i want to buy new gloves this season for ice climbing. I hate my hands to be soaked and cold...any recommendations ? what do you use ? keep in mind that i will be climbing in the daks and white mountains...so i need somthing that will be warm, but not too bulky for gear placement...anyway...what is really important is 100% waterproof...

I just use 3-4 pair of gloves each day. Once they get soaked and move to a belay or new climb, I swap them out for fresh dry gloves. It seems like even the best "waterproof" gloves I own get soaked.

Gloves?

Chuck em. Bare handed is the only way bro....







Seriously, I have two pairs of these now. I can't stand bulky gloves. After I purchased em, I immediately soaked em over night in a 80% solution of Nikwax Soft Shell Proof solution then threw em the dryer. I also shoot em with a dose of the same stuff in the spray version after each days trip to the ice. Works out pretty good actually.


OR Storm Tracker Gloves

The Chief wrote:Gloves?

Chuck em. Bare handed is the only way bro....

Are you getting ready to scream or to barf in this photo? Seriously, good idea about soaking in Nikwax - I will have to try that on my climbing gloves.

On a related note - has anyone been able to find shell gloves? I used to have a pair of cheap but functional Marmot Precip shell gloves which were nice for moderate cold because you could just rotate liners. They fell apart last season and I haven't been able to find anything like that this year. The only removable liner gloves I've seen on the market this year are very heavy weight ones (and I already have a pair of those).

A multiplicity of good ideas.

I'd start with Chief's suggestion. The Storm Trackers are great gloves. I have the BD Punisher's and I like them because not only are they not bulky, but they're articulated and have extra padding on the knuckles. Trust me, it's a welcome feature when you've been bashing your hands against hard things all day long.

Definitely treat them with a waterproofing product and keep doing it. With the amount of use the gloves will get it's vital. The softshell proof is good - Nikwax also makes a glove proof although the application with a wand is kind of a pain in the butt.

I would also buy a couple pair of wicking liners to switch out during the day. Hands will get sweaty with this kind of activity and it won't be so bad when you're moving, but once you stop and are belaying someone....

PS - Chief, what/where's that piece of ice you're on?

JHH60 wrote:On a related note - has anyone been able to find shell gloves? I used to have a pair of cheap but functional Marmot Precip shell gloves which were nice for moderate cold because you could just rotate liners.

My ice gloves are long and go up over the wrists of my jacket. They also have the quick dry liners which is exactly what you need. Take two pairs of the liners. I like them so much, if I'm packing for any winter moutaineering or skiing and if weight/space considerations apply so that I limit myself to one pair, that's the one that'll go. It's real important you keep them leashed as per Chief photo above, b/c they drop and... well there's a few TRs where things really go to hell at that point.

Check these out! They have an Event liner so they are far more breathable than any Gore glove. This will enable them to dry much faster. Rab makes the best quality stuff that I've ever used or seen.

http://www.prolitegear.com/rab_latok_glove_2008.html

Belay in nice warm mittens and keep your climbing gloves inside your puffy belay jacket until you actually start climbing. That tends to warm them up and dry them a bit.

Wearing liner gloves tends to decrease your dexterity and kinda defeats the purpose of wearing thin gloves for leading in the first place. Size accordingly.

I've had good luck with the BD punishers (old style), cloudveil ice floe, and OR contact (probably not made anymore). As I understand it, the new BD punishers have d3o impact foam in them, cool stuff.

It really is dependant on what you are climbing. If alpine ice to WI 4, thicker, warmer, better waterproof gloves are more than adequate. OR has dominated this space for some time in terms of being an industry leader, but I am sure most brands are quite reliable. If you break into multi pitch WI 5 and 6, you will want thin gloves, has more to do with the feel-grip than dexterity. I, Will Gadd and others I know who spend a fair bit of time on ice, and have suspect hands, will go to a pair per pitch almost. For backcountry ice, that is a bit of extra weight, depends how bad your previous frost bite was as to motivation to carry that many gloves. I take hand warmers, which can be bought in bulk at Costco now days and place then in the glove on deck. When not helped with your direct body heat, these handwarmers don't last near as long. So again, I normally carry several packages if the temp is below -20c. I don't want them in the glove when I climbing though. OR has a tremendous line of these thiner gloves. The Alibi are very technical (read cold!) and more for mixed climbing. The Vert and ExtraVert are my favorite for thin gloves. Extra are more waterproof, little warmer, little heavier. Vert are cheaper and with a much better feel. My favorite general use/climbing glove of all really is the Vert. I climb alpine rock up to 5.8 in them as well.

Good Luck with the upcoming season.

I wasn't suggesting wearing liners under technical climbing gloves (been using BD Punishers for that), but rather for general purpose wet conditions (e.g., snow climbing or easy alpine ice) where a pair of fleece gloves is warm enough but where you want to keep them dry. That's where a shell glove comes in handy - you can bring a shell and two or more pairs of fleece gloves and rotate them underneath the shell.

Do not obsess over 100% dry gloves. You'll be climbing in the Whites and Daks so at least you have generally cold temps to help keep things not running wild with wetness.

Bad thing about climbing with a glove with a waterproof liner is that the liner will add to the loss of dexterity (I don't like the feeling of liner moving against the other layers).

I'll have to try out the OR gloves chief mentioned, but I have had good luck with OR. I first used and liked the OR Contact, which are no longer made and I'm glad (poor design/badly made). Now my main ice glove is the OR Extravert, which to me is a perfect combination of warmth/dexterity for short spurts.


It is also a softshell glove with lots of leather in the palm and fingers. I will have to try nikwaxing them to see how I like that but they have gotten wet and still worked (ie. kept my hands semi warm).
Like it has been said the trick is just to have at least 2 sets of gloves - one for climbing and one for belaying. While belaying just stash your climbing gloves inside your jackets near your torso. When it is time to climb, warm your hands in your nice dry belay gloves one last time, switch quickly to your climbing gloves (which are now warm) and go.

If it is a nice dry and not too cold day then you can keep one set of gloves on the whole time. Those days are nice.

Wow, surprised no one's mentioned these yet (plus they're under $5)!



so basically go find two pair of thin leather palmed softshell gloves that dont claim to be "waterproof" (ie no pu insert) and fit, well, like a glove.

wear your mittens at belays and rotate gloves every pitch while warming/drying the spare pair underneath your layers

rhyang wrote:Belay in nice warm mittens and keep your climbing gloves inside your puffy belay jacket until you actually start climbing.

Yes, this is basically what I do. Here is my gloves dissertation:

1. Gloves system is really imporant for me as I'm a sissi with a poor circulation who often climbs ice in frigid temps here in NE.
2. Maybe it's me but ice climbing destroys both my cheap and my expensive gloves in just a few sessions.
3. My gloves usually get wet no matter what material (gore-tex, etc.)
4. In my experience expensive "technical" gloves tend to be thick and rigid (leather, thick fabric, foam) and that makes it harder to grip the tools. Very imporant for a sissy like me who grips for dear life!

So here is what I've done the last several seasons:
I buy cheap puffy gloves at places like Filene's basement, Target, etc. in x-large size. I look hard and try to find the ones with primaloft and a very soft and thin nylon shell, no W/P membranes, no leather, no foam. Such gloves weigh very little and are very compressible. I buy several pairs as these are usually cheap at $10-15. If a Filene's basement approach fails I buy these

http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?pr ... lmdn=Brand

And I also use handwarmers. And I usually have two pairs of gloves + belay mittens. Too much? Not for me when it's -15F with a wind. Too bad but when it's warm there is usually llittle ice here.