Belay GLOVES options

Hi,
On the subject of belay gloves or mittens for ice climbing, I m looking for alternative solutions to mine.

So far I’m using mittens (Hestra Army Leather Gore-Tex) with a silk liner glove.
Because of very poor dexterity, when I arrived at the belay station I have to set up the belay with my climbing gloves and change to my mittens only for belaying.
Consequence is that my hands are often cold.  

What are you using ?
Looking for warm GLOVES and I would like to be able to hang them upside down on my harness (so they don’t filled up with ice/snow).
I m open to mittens only if you think you can efficently set-up a belay with warm mittens on.

Thanks for sharing!

I like Simond Cascade. I climb with them inside my jacket, close to my body to keep them warm, as opposed to having them hang outside in the freezing temperatures.

I wear a pair of Rab Xenon gloves. Midweight Synthetic insulated gloves. Zero durability but warm and easy to stash, wear them over your liners and keep them warm in your chest pocket when you climb and switch them out for your climbing gives.

Dirt King wrote:

I wear a pair of Rab Xenon gloves. Midweight Synthetic insulated gloves. Zero durability but warm and easy to stash, wear them over your liners and keep them warm in your chest pocket when you climb and switch them out for your climbing gives.

They look nice, thanks!
I ll try to put my hands on it (pun intended) to see how it feels.
I already like the fact that its syntetic insulation, for ice it make sense
Lightweight? Warm enough? Dexterity? I ll see.

DeLa Cruce wrote:

I like Simond Cascade. I climb with them inside my jacket, close to my body to keep them warm, as opposed to having them hang outside in the freezing temperatures.

Thanks. Are they warm enough? A lot of durability issues according to reviewers on the Decathlon website :( 

Fabien M wrote:

Thanks. Are they warm enough? A lot of durability issues according to reviewers on the Decathlon website :( 

“warm enough” is a very relative description...durability wise, for their price I think they are totally fine. As durable as Hestra? probably not, but certainly cheaper. And again about warmth, it really just depends on too many factors. I think cold, uncomfortable hands are part of the gig, just as long as they don’t get dangerously cold. I also work on an alaskan fishing boat, so I am used to having annoyingly cold hands. Some guys like to climb with Showa 282 Temres gloves, which I haven’t climbed with, but have fished with. I am more concerned with affordability than “chasing the dragon” for that perfect pair. Another option is to use latex gloves as a liner...kind of along the lines of a vapor barrier with feet. I personally don’t like liners but that could be something to experiment with.

Fabien M wrote:

Hi,
On the subject of belay gloves or mittens for ice climbing, I m looking for alternative solutions to mine.

So far I’m using mittens (Hestra Army Leather Gore-Tex) with a silk liner glove.
Because of very poor dexterity, when I arrived at the belay station I have to set up the belay with my climbing gloves and change to my mittens only for belaying.
Consequence is that my hands are often cold.  

What are you using ?
Looking for warm GLOVES and I would like to be able to hang them upside down on my harness (so they don’t filled up with ice/snow).
I m open to mittens only if you think you can efficently set-up a belay with warm mittens on.

Thanks for sharing!

The Black Diamond Enforcer is relatively cheap and durable and the warmest ice specific glove in their line up. The Guide glove is even warmer, but less dextrous since it's designed for skiing.

What part of this operation is making your hands cold? Just changing gloves? I have Raynauds, so I'm usually pretty sensitive to keeping my hands warm. My typical system at the belay is to strip gloves, put on my puffy, get everything set up asap, and then put mittens on and belay. A couple swings of the arms and my hands are quite warm compared to being in gloves. 

I got the OR Arete gloves a few weeks ago and love them. They come with a liner which Velcro's to the inside so you can easily take off both gloves at once or just the shell glove. They have finger clips to attach upside down to harness and keep snow out. Seem very warm and waterproof, and I have lead belayed on double ropes with them no problem. Sub $100 too. Highly recommend. 

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/or-mens-arete-gloves-271615?cat=15,4,402

You can’t hang them off your harness but I use insulated leather work gloves, $10 at Lowe’s. They work great, plenty warm, and at that price who cares if you trash them

Do your belay gloves always hang off your harness? That might be part of the problem. Shove them down the front of your jacket while climbing. They will be nice and warm when the time comes to swap them out. 

The constant switching is a contributing factor for cold hands but maybe not the main one.
Fact is I m always trying to minimize the amount of equipment I 'm carrying so I often take only one pair of climbing gloves which are wet by pitch 2/3 so it doesn't help...
It is also true that I m not always taking the time to put on my belay jacket so it may make things more difficult as well. ..

I know I m not doing everything "by the book" here and that is certainly the main reason I m cold and I should take more gloves (for climbing and belaying)
Many climbers take 4 pairs, not counting the weightless liners I only take 2, one for belay one for climbing.

yeah I would rather ditch something else and have extra gloves. cold and wet hands fucking sucks

I think you need to ditch the lighter is better mindset and carry another pair of gloves. You'll climb faster with more safety and have more fun if you're not miserable. The showa gloves are great for wet ice leads since they don't soak up water and thus stay warmer throughout the day. Like was mentioned above, keep your belay gloves inside your layers so they stay warm. Eating and drinking plays a major role in keeping you warm as well.

Arrive at the belay, build it with your climbing gloves, go off belay, stash your climbing gloves inside your layers, puffy on, belay gloves on, zip everything up. Keeping your gloves pre-warmed is clutch. Reverse for leaving the belay.

jselwyn wrote:

I think you need to ditch the lighter is better mindset and carry another pair of gloves. You'll climb faster with more safety and have more fun if you're not miserable. The showa gloves are great for wet ice leads since they don't soak up water and thus stay warmer throughout the day. Like was mentioned above, keep your belay gloves inside your layers so they stay warm. Eating and drinking plays a major role in keeping you warm as well.

Arrive at the belay, build it with your climbing gloves, go off belay, stash your climbing gloves inside your layers, puffy on, belay gloves on, zip everything up. Keeping your gloves pre-warmed is clutch. Reverse for leaving the belay.

Yep, I think you are right guys, I need more gloves.
I m off to the store but first I ll show your messages to my wife to justify the bill ;)

 Put your belay jacket on more, if your core isn't warm, your hands and feet will never be. Will Gadd has been doing a series of tips on his IG, and had 4 posts on how to keep your hands warm. Some great tips in there as well.

I would stick with the system you have, perhaps adding more climbing gloves. If you swap your belay mittens for belay gloves my guess would be:

Still hard to set up a belay with big gloves. You want to be quick and efficient, you need great dexterity. So, you still end up setting up the belay in your climbing gloves. Then, you are belaying in gloves. It is much harder to warm fingers back up in gloves than in mittens.

Or could try trigger finger mittens, so you have most of the dexterity of a big glove, while being able to warm up mitten style when you can.

My limited experience with Trigger mittens is not great though.

Enforcers are on sale at the moment

I have used kinco work gloves for many years with great success. Snow seal them and keep them warm in your jacket chest pockets. They hold up well to the abuse of belaying and rappelling and I find them warm enough. 

Rab guide two end of discussion. 

Or rab fulcrum 

Tjaard Breeuwer wrote:

I would stick with the system you have, perhaps adding more climbing gloves. If you swap your belay mittens for belay gloves my guess would be:

Still hard to set up a belay with big gloves. You want to be quick and efficient, you need great dexterity. So, you still end up setting up the belay in your climbing gloves. Then, you are belaying in gloves. It is much harder to warm fingers back up in gloves than in mittens.

Or could try trigger finger mittens, so you have most of the dexterity of a big glove, while being able to warm up mitten style when you can.

My limited experience with Trigger mittens is not great though.

I m indeed weighting down adding more climbing gloves vs. buying belay gloves (as opposed to mittens). Maybe I ll end u doing both :)

Tjaard Breeuwer wrote:

I would stick with the system you have, perhaps adding more climbing gloves. If you swap your belay mittens for belay gloves my guess would be:

Still hard to set up a belay with big gloves. You want to be quick and efficient, you need great dexterity. So, you still end up setting up the belay in your climbing gloves. Then, you are belaying in gloves. It is much harder to warm fingers back up in gloves than in mittens.

Or could try trigger finger mittens, so you have most of the dexterity of a big glove, while being able to warm up mitten style when you can.

My limited experience with Trigger mittens is not great though.

FYI, after giving it some thoughts and reading all your inputs I went with your suggestion and bought some more climbing gloves instead. 

Now my set up is as follow:

BD Punisher (regular climbing gloves) They feel great, will try it for the first time this week
BD Terminator (as a second pair and for harder pitches and nicer temp/mix climbing)
I still have a pair of BD Kingpin for easier pitches
Heavy weight merino wool liners from Icebreaker
Hestra Army Leather goretex Mittens, once the belay is set 

Thanks for sharing!