Belay Gloves. Do you use them?

What's your opinion on belay gloves? Do you always use them, never use thrm, just on multi pitch (as mentioned in another thread), when belaying someone on a project, only when it's cold?

I have a pair. I like them for rapping but rarely use them for belaying. Most often I forget to take them out of the house.

i typically bring a pair on trips that are cold, involve long raps or have steep snow. i never wear them for belaying though.

Yes, they double as my aid gloves. I don't take them up normal multi-pitch climbs unless they are aid climbs. I do use them on single pitch climbs, but not because I'm afraid of rope burns or want better grip while belaying. I mostly use them to keep my hands cleaner and because I think that they also help keep me from getting cracked skin and splitters.

My hands get very cold, so I use a pair of (I think) Black Diamond insulated leather gloves. They are pretty warm, but allow enough sensation for me to belay comfortably. I also use them when rapelling, if I happen to have them on me

I've also bought a cheap pair of work gloves from Home Depot and cut the fingertips off to make sport rap gloves, but then I dropped them and don't miss them too much.

I don't see the value in belay gloves when it's warm, though

Use them when cragging, typically dont carry them for long routes or the like as it makes for one more thing clogging up the harness. As far as I'm concerned gloves are too cheap and too useful not to wear at the sport crag.

Here are reasons for belay gloves for me.

1, cold hands
2, dirty rope, including cactus spine stuck in rope
3, rope burn when rope slipping through too fast

It's definitely a nice to have luxury item for climbing though.

unless you are ice climbing, why?

Petzl Cordex Plus, always.

Smoother and faster lower, no aluminum dust on my hands, warm hands when it's cold (sometimes w liner gloves underneath)..and if I ever have to catch a factor 2 again, I won't burn the shit out of the base of my thumb.

Only for single pitch.

Yes for sport climbing.

Yup, I've got a pair of the Petzl Cordex Plus. The first time I had ever worn them my partner fell about 15' up a route unexpectedly and I'm not totally sure that I would have kept him off the ground had I not been wearing the gloves. They are pretty much always on the harness when I'm climbing outside. I've even started wearing them when lead belaying in the gym because they make lowering heavier partners so much easier. I won't be getting rid of them anytime soon.

My wife uses them in order to belay safely. She has more control of the rope.

Yeah, I use them all the time. I hate how filthy my hands get otherwise and have caught a cactus spine in my palm once or twice that the rope picked up. That sucks. Gloves prevent it.

yep. One they keep my hands from getting nasty from the rope which is nice when i eat my ham sammiches. second I've read many stories about falls from belayers getting rope burn.

That being said I don't wear them on multi-pitch.

Scott McMahon wrote:I've read many stories about falls from belayers getting rope burn. That being said I don't wear them on multi-pitch.

If rope burn is a concern, then you should consider bringing gloves on multi pitch climbs. On single pitch, the greatest fall factor can only be 1.0, but on multi-pitch, much bigger/harder falls are possible. That's when you'll really need the gloves.

Yes. Outside and inside. Single pitch and multi-pitch. Rapping.

I always wear while belaying, and usually when rappelling. You rarely need them, but when you do it's too late to put them on :-)

Jon H wrote:If rope burn is a concern...

If rope burn is a concern then you need to learn how to belay.

Jon H wrote:On single pitch, the greatest fall factor can only be 1.0, but on multi-pitch, much bigger/harder falls are possible. That's when you'll really need the gloves.

Not at all. Again, competent belaying is all that is required and if you need gloves for that then you need to go back to the drawing board. Gloves are definitely optional, not in any way necessary.

Stagg54 wrote:unless you are ice climbing, why?

Aluminum Oxide

When I'm belaying lots of people in a row at the crag. Long raps.

Only when I know I will be doing multiple rappels off a multipitch route. I don't use them for belaying.