Rappel glove on the cheap

Can anybody recommend a rappel glove that is not name brand/overpriced? I'm looking for a lightweight, low profile glove that I can use to rappel long routes. Idears?

Check out Harbor Freight. They have fingerless full-grain leather gloves for $10.

Wad up the corner of your shirt in your palm. It'll make a bit of a mess but it works.

I like the knit garden gloves with latex on the palm and finger. About $5 per pair.

1. go to a hard wear store

2. bring some cord, ropes, slings

3. try on every pair of durable looking gloves

4. tie all your standard knots with the gloves one ... the double fishermans and water knots are probably the hardest with em on

5. get the one that works best for the price

remember though that the BD crag gloves are 19$, so its not like they are crazy expensive

those 40$ belay gloves on the other hand are a total waste of moolah

;)

i hate going there but walmart always has decent quality $10 leather gloves. I usually cut off the fingertips.

If you go the Harbor Freight, try the pair on carefully. I've found pairs where one seemed to be sewn almost right, and the other was a disaster. They were more glove shaped items then gloves. They probably have good, cheap, destroyable options, but know what you're getting.

As Bearbreader says, the BD crag gloves are sub $20.

I've tinkered a LOT with gloves over the years. The heavy leather gloves, be it expensive climbing gloves ala Metolius or Petzl etc or cheap leather work gloves from costco SUCK for nearly all climbing uses. The only place they are at home are on Wall Routes where you beat the shit out of your hands all day long and don't do a lot of free climbing.

I HATE thick leather gloves because they have very little gripping power. You often have to grip HARDER with your hands on a rap. They do protect your hands but you work harder. Belaying they're even WORSE because of the lower grip. This is especially true of the ones with reinforced palms. Ugh.

My FAVORITE types are the thin leather ones that are full finger. The classic Mechanixs gloves can be had for $15. They do the job. The BD Crag gloves are essentially Mechanix gloves that have been touched up for climbing use. Clip in point, Padded knuckles etc. They BIG advantage of these thinner gloves is dexterity and grip. You can actually tie knots etc with them and the thin leather GRIPS well making belaying etc less of a chore. Sure they'll wear out faster than heavy leather ones but they cost a lot less and provide more security IMO.

any cheap all leather hardware store glove that fits well, and I cut off the very tips of fingers for management. never been a problem, done this for almost 40 years.

Locker wrote:Of all the years I've been climbing (more than a few), I have never found the need or desire to wear gloves to rap. Gloves? What the fuck for?

Umm... Yeah don't put too much thought or cash into it. I've almost always used $2-5 garden gloves, for both climbing and caving. Often didn't bother with gloves at Seneca, chapel pond, or the gunks. More alpiney climbs I would bring either winter liners or cheap hard wear store gloves. Did ellisons and Valhalla pits with cheap gloves too. (800 foot rappells)

Don't over think it.

pmi's

pmi's

Locker you must not be chucking your ropes in cactus as much as I do.

For belaying and rappelling, I use BD Crag Gloves. I bought the full fingered version, but they come in half finger as well.

blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

They're awesome! I put a carabiner through 'em and put on 'em on my harness.

On the CHEAP?

You can buy work gloves of horrendous quality at the dollar store. Reinforce with duct tape after each rap!

Why not just use a weightlifting glove? Most of them are padded on the palm and are relatively cheap.

I'm a fan of the $10 yellow deerskin work gloves you can get at the hardware store.

Locker wrote:Gloves are for pussies and that's all there is to it.

Ten years ago, before those BD crag gloves were around, I found a pair of full-fingered mountain biking gloves on clearance. Thin leather palms and fingers, stretchy back, and snug fit. They have worked very well as belay/rappel gloves. These days, if I didn't already own those, I would just get the BD Crag Gloves- same thing, basically, and about the same price.

That said, the reason I still can still use them after 10 years is that I barely ever bring them. Locker is right, even if he says it in his own inimitable fashion: most of the time, you really don't need gloves specifically for rappelling. If you're climbing long routes in the alpine, you already have some gloves or another to keep you warm, and if you're climbing long routes anywhere else, think carefully about whether you want to bother with the extra weight/bulk-- it's one more thing hanging off of you, waiting to get lost or snagged on something.

Locker wrote:Gloves are for pussies and that's all there is to it. LOL!