Favorite Gloves for skiing (both backcountry and resort)

I know OR makes good gloves - but what model do you like the best? They have quite a few, just wondering if any one stands out.

How about the Mountain Hardwear Outdry gloves - they have a bunch of new models this year, are they any good? I like the idea of bonding the membrane to the shell instead of the floating gore tex layer or whatever, but how does it work in practice?

What about Black Diamond gloves? any favorites for skiing?

Backcountry - two pairs: thin pair (wool or polartec) for skinning, a nice warmer leather glove for when its really cold and descending.

Resort - nice leather glove. Expensive - Hestra. Cheap - Kinco.

IMHO - it's skiing, not ice climbing. No need for tech-fabrics e.g. gore-tex. Can't beat a nice leather glove.

I'm a big fan of Hestra gloves.

+1 for Hestras
For cold weather, BD Guide gloves are the bomb.
Does OR still make the Alias? Those were a pretty sweet leather/wool combo.

Thanks for the input. I guess I should say that i get cold hands pretty easily so I want a glove that is both warm and waterproof for downhill skiing that I can also use for occasional mountaineering and ice climbing.

I got the BD Specialist last year and while it is a decent all-around glove, it is not as warm as I'd like for skiing in cold conditions, kind of bulky for ice climbing, and doesn't fit all that well so I'm looking to upgrade to something better. My last pair of ski gloves was a pair of Gordinis from 1990 or so and they are pretty much dead.

I'm also kind of a gear freak and just plain like having good gear, good gloves, etc. any and all input is appreciated! I may have to check out the kinkos as I keep hearing about them.

$10 pair of kinkos.... There is a reason every ski patroller wears them. Cheap, indestructible, warm, dextrous. Or you can pay $100+ for a pair of hestras if you have money burning a hole in your pocket... Just make sure to heat em up a bit in the oven and rub in some sno seal when you first get them. Don't know how they would work for ice climbing as they can absorb a lot of water if you are constantly digging around in snow.

Huge fan of the Grandoe Rainier glove system - includes a gortex shell and a removable liner. Very easy to put glove on and take off. The added bonus of the removable liner for drying the glove out and having options for less insulation when its not as cold worked very well for me.

I have tried many of the top of the line OR, TNF, Stoic, and MH lines to compare them to - like these the best. I waterproofed the leather on this glove and it stayed the driest out of all of my gloves, was the easiest to dry out when you end your day late and start early the next, and had very good dexterity for how warm they are (when the liner is in, they are a little bulky but less so than others I have tried & they were able to pull off a warmer glove).

Can someone post a link to the kinkos gloves that everyone loves so much? I found their website but they have like 30 different ones on there. thanks!!!

Kincos

Just go to Ace, Lowes, or the like. There is an all leather version that is double insulated, but that would be a really warm glove.

Thanks Joe!

Just found this one too... kinco.com/products.html?pag…

OR Alti gloves + a PL200 glove liner. I'll use the PL200 fleece liners on the skin up then switch over to the Altis for the ride down. If it's really cold out, I'll wear the liners that come with the Alti in addition. Haven't had cold hands yet.

The reason why all the patrollers wear kincos is not because they're sweet gloves, it's because they're cheap. I used to go through at least two sets a season on patrol and they're really not that warm. After about twenty days of use, they soak up water like a sponge no matter how much snow seal you put on them. When you're wearing through gloves with rope and explosive fuses on a regular basis, nice gloves seem a little pointless. I love the $60 glorified kincos that Marmot and Cloudveil make. Ripoff.
That being said, I still use a set for approaches, belay/rappel, and dry ski conditions.
If you have cold hands, get something beefy, durable, and warm to stuff in your jacket and something cheap and dextrous to climb in.

Black Diamond Midweight, Kingpin and Legend. I run warm so the Kingpin usually does it, but if it is cold or it's a hard charging day, i love the Legends. The Midweights are just Powerstretch for skinning/spring conditions.

bv
www.whiteknuckled.com

Kincos....without a doubt

MikeS wrote:The reason why all the patrollers wear kincos is not because they're sweet gloves, it's because they're cheap. I love the $60 glorified kincos that Marmot and Cloudveil make. Ripoff. That being said, I still use a set for approaches, belay/rappel, and dry ski conditions.

Im confused, first you say they suck. Then you say the $60 glorified kincos are a rip off and you still use your kincos for a bunch of different situations.... So they suck but you still use them everyday?

Well, yeah. Isn't that clear enough? :)
I never said they suck. What I'm saying is that it's worth buying a nice pair of gloves for skiing. Kincos are not that warm, waterproof, or durable. And the markup that the companies put on their look-alikes is ridiculous.
And they are useful in situations where you want to avoid wearing out your expensive gloves.

JoeP wrote:Backcountry - two pairs: thin pair (wool or polartec) for skinning, a nice warmer leather glove for when its really cold and descending.

I am a big fan of the two glove system even in the resort. Multiple gloves seem pretty standard for BC. The challenge for me, more than the cold, is managing moisture. For the past six seasons, I've used the "glorified Kincos ripp offs" by Marmot. They may have been like $60 or so, but I've abused the shit out of them on over 150 ski days and they are still great. They also function well as belay gloves in the cold.

On warm days, I use the Marmots all day. On cold days, I wear them until they become saturated (mostly from my sweat as they are fairly water resistant) and then switch to the back-up pair. I put the back up pair in a pocket close to my body so they stay warm/dry. On super cold to below average days the back up pair is BD Guide glove...on warmer days any dry glove will do for back up.

I got this idea from Kelley Cordes' blog a couple years ago. He had sort of a glove manifesto that I found to be really good advice.

Thanks again to all for all the input. great info on Kelly Cordes blog although it is more geared towards ice climbing...