Ice climbing gloves
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I've been experimenting with all different kinds of gloves for ice climbing and am interested in others opinions/experiences. I know that there is no "perfect" glove and no matter what I do my digits will always be sore/swollen until spring. |
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I've had good luck using insulated work gloves. Kincos seem to be extremely popular, but I don't own a pair. I picked up a pair of generic insulated leather work gloves for $12 off STP but they seem to be out of stock now. A thick coating of SnoSeal wax helps tremendously. They're relatively good at everything but waterproofness. |
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Obviously there are many types of gloves out there, but I have found a near perfect combination for myself. For the approach I wear a thin fleece glove that I put in my pack at the base of the route. At that point I put my climbing gloves between my base layer and my R1 Hoody and puffy. My climbing gloves are either of two choices.....BD Torque which I use on harder climbs and for temps down to about 15F, or I use the Rab Latoks for temps down to -15F. Both of these gloves are about 50$ so not going to break the bank. After putting the gloves in my coat, I put on mittens to harness and rack up. The mittens keep my hands toasty warm, and having my gloves in my coat heats them up so that when I put my hands in them they don't get cold. I clip the mittens to my haul loop and at the top of the pitch remove my climbing gloves and put the mittens back on. I then use the mittens (with a leather palm) for belaying and rappelling and save the gloves only for climbing. |
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Three categories of gloves: |
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I love Marker spring gloves, i use them for everything from ski days, to ice climbing to shoveling the walk....only on the coldest of coldest of days do i have to use something thicker...I have tried the OR fancy gloves for mixed climbing and unless it's warm, or a short climb, my hands freeze by the time I'm at the top. regardless, i keep a pair in my chest pocket to keep them toasty. |
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OR Alpine Alibi is the best glove iv'e owned. These have lasted through the season with 40 days and counting. I usually go through the finger in BD gloves in about one season. No matter what model. Punisher included, |
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I don't understand the big glove problem, putting in ice screws and clipping a rope doesn't take much dexterity... That said, I love my OR Stormtrackers for hard ice leads and anything but the most technical dry tooling, for that I use a pair of FOX cycling gloves (very thin, no padding) and then use Alpine Alibi's for cold weather climbs/following/belaying, and I'm giving BIG prop's for Kinco's, easily found at most ACE Hardware stores, great cheap gloves for rapping, belaying and following when things are not wet. Multiple gloves and lots of love with the Sno-seal will really help prolong your gloves life. |
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So I've been swinging the tools for about 16 years or so and what I've come up with is this. |
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Ty Harlacker wrote:OR Alpine Alibi is the best glove iv'e owned. These have lasted through the season with 40 days and counting. I usually go through the finger in BD gloves in about one season. No matter what model. Punisher included, Te cuff cinches down and releases with ease. It fits my large hand well.I've only been climbing one season, so don't have alot of experience, but I really like my Alpine Alibis. They are stupid $$, though. For me, it is worth it becauuse I have a circulation issue in my fingers and toes and it makes even warmer conditions unclimbable in my other ski gloves. With handwarmers, i was good down to -9. I think alot of it has to do with where you climb. In New Hampshire, I think the cold is a lot different than in CO or UT. My friends called me stupid for dropping the money on AA's when Kinco work gloves would do fine...then one came out and tried to climb with Kincos on a warmer day and had a miserable time. In the end, there is no perfect glove. I use the AA's for climbing and belaying. I wear mitts on the approach and if its really cold at the belay. handwarmers go a long way. Evan |
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Jim Amidon wrote: One pair of old Leather Wool lined gloves for the approach, Or any glove you like, but usually approach gloves get sweated up.One thing I started doing on longer, cooler approaches is using a pair of lighter fleece mittens. They only get slightly warmer, but it really helps reduce cold fingers once you start climbing. I noticed hiking with poles and light gloves really set me up for failure once climbing, as they allow the digits to become really chilly. The mittens really set me up for success (at least in some aspects), for when I switch over to gloves. |
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I use the thin BD torque gloves for an ice climbing with temperatures above 20 degrees. Your hands get cold, but you still have great dexterity. Once I finish a pitch I throw on the belay mitts. |
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I have been ice climbing for the past 3 years with the basic not fancy EMS work gloves. There super cheap compared to ice gloves and are extremlley warm. I have 3 pairs of them, usually i wear one, have another in my pack and keep a set stored away incase I forget to take the gloves off the top of my car when I get back and drive away with them ontop waving goodbye on the way home. Has happened to me like 3 times.... Anyways there really nice. |
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Jon H wrote:I've had good luck using insulated work gloves. Kincos seem to be extremely popular, but I don't own a pair.These gloves are simply AMAZING. I used them all season. I re-applied Sno-Seal to keep them water proof and it worked great. The only downside is that they are a bit bulky and weren't great for leads at my "limit". I climbed with three pairs of gloves this season. -Kinco Work Gloves $10 + $4 tube of sno-seal (wore 90% of the time) -BD Patrol Gloves: Good dexterity, not quite as warm as the kincos, but used for harder leads - $95 bucks (9%) -Mountain Hardware Talisman Spring/mixed glove: $35.00 not waterproof at all. (1%) Summary: KINCO WORK GLOVES!!! |
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I usually use the Punishers to climb and either the Mercury mitt or the Guide gloves for belaying. Off the shelf the Guides are not waterproof by any means. I've had many cold and wet climbs in them. I just applied some Nikwax Glove Proof and I'm headed up to Vail on Friday, so I'll let you know. |
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There are so many great gloves out there. I have had great luck with the Dakine Mustang glove (my favorite). Kind of a light to middle weight glove, not waterproof but it works great with the tools. I usually bring two pairs of these, an additional light / waterproof glove and a nice warm glove or mitt for the belays. |
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well |
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I really miss my Dachstein mitts from the days of straight axes. My wife accuses me of being a glove fetishist, and I kind of agree. I have LOTS of gloves, Im down to carrying only a few pair - The rab gloves are truly well designed and warm enough, I also have a pair of Mountain Hardwaer ice climbing gloves that are not too great but have lots of dexterity (leather palm is wearing out, not waterfproof and no insulation) and canvas/leather winter work gloves that are generic. But my number 1 combo... Yellow rubber coated knitted nylon fishermens/coldstorage gloves that Ive cut the finger tips off and wear over a cheap pair of windproof gloves or a thick liner. They grip like nothing else, protect my pinkie from lazy placements, keep me warm and dry with a shake. They are so cheap that they are free at some work places. I do go through a lot of liners at the fingertips, but the combo works well. This season Im thinking of wearing them over a pair of elkhide gloves. |
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Anyone climb ice in FlyLow Gloves?? |
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AntinJ wrote: These gloves are simply AMAZING. I used them all season. I re-applied Sno-Seal to keep them water proof and it worked great. The only downside is that they are a bit bulky and weren't great for leads at my "limit". I climbed with three pairs of gloves this season. -Kinco Work Gloves $10 + $4 tube of sno-seal (wore 90% of the time) -BD Patrol Gloves: Good dexterity, not quite as warm as the kincos, but used for harder leads - $95 bucks (9%) -Mountain Hardware Talisman Spring/mixed glove: $35.00 not waterproof at all. (1%) Summary: KINCO WORK GLOVES!!!+1 for the Kinco gloves, at least for belaying/rappelling. A friend in Montana can't say enough good about these. I will be trying out a pair soon. |
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this is a cool find. i have been looking for commendable gloves that can be used since I am planning for a mountain climbing project this summer. |