Ice Gloves?
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Howdy folks, |
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(Disclaimer - this comes from a relative noob who only TR's WI3) I'm a fan of the Rab Baltoro gloves - picked up a pair when I was in Ouray in January, and I've been very happy with how well they breathe and how warm they are - they've become my go-to for all winter activities. |
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Hey Andrew, |
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(I am also a noob but these are cheap and work well if you put some sno seal on there) I also picked up a pair of MH Hydra EXT gloves that I haven't had a chance to use yet. The dexterity is killer though and they're totally waterproof (hand in bowl of water). |
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The best ice gloves on the market today are the Outdoor Research Alpine Alibi II gloves. However, they're a bit pricey ($179.00). OR makes another set of gloves that are very similar but just a step down in the fancy bells and whistles department, called the Arête Gloves ($89.00) I've found that the differences in the two aren't significant enough to really justify the price differential. |
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When I'm climbing I use a thin pair of waterproof/lightly insulated work gloves that I bought from Home Depot for $8. Everyone asks if they're the Petzl gloves (not sure which ones they were referring to) but they have held up the best. When belaying I use my heavier and warmer gloves. |
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The Blueprint Part Dank wrote:The best ice gloves on the market today are the Outdoor Research Alpine Alibi II gloves. However, they're a bit pricey ($179.00). OR makes another set of gloves that are very similar but just a step down in the fancy bells and whistles department, called the Arête Gloves ($89.00) I've found that the differences in the two aren't significant enough to really justify the price differential.The Alpine Alibi II are amazing technologically and fill a specific function (alpine climbing in bad, but not super cold, weather) very well. That said, I prefer my OR Lodestars ($90) over the Alibi 90 of the time (Northern Rockies waterfall ice). They are more dexterous and breathable and keep my hands happy most of the time. Basically, they just make my hands feel real "climby". I think I wore over a dozen pairs of gloves extensively last year. I'm starting to learn what I prefer in different conditions, and most importantly, my partners don't necessarily agree. Maybe try to climb with a glove-whore with the same size hands as you who's willing to share. Sadly, just demoing for a day won't tell you much. Every day and climb presents a new set of challenging conditions for your glove to overcome. I'm not going to do hard mixed climbing in the Alpine Alibi, but I'm also not going up Denali with Nike golf gloves. |
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Andrew, I like to have a few pairs when climbing ice but these are the main staples that I have found to be SUPER legit. |
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Alton R. wrote:Andrew, I like to have a few pairs when climbing ice but these are the main staples that I have found to be SUPER legit. For ultra warm, the Rab Guide Gloves are unbeatable. Fully waterprof, COZY as hell and really burly. us.rab.uk.com/products/mens…Hell yes on these. I'm just sad that you reminded me that mine are almost done for (after a crazy amount of abuse). |
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Very worth the 100 dollar glove...when you are pumped and losing grip its the last interface you have with the tool or when you are staving off the screaming barfies... |
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Thanks for all the awesome replies, folks! Love all the input! It's looking like OR really has the market nailed down on high-performance gloves. I really like the look Rab Guide and the OR Alibi II gloves! |
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Yes. It is worthwhile having more dexterous gloves, especially if you want to get into mixed climbing. I always bring two pairs, so I can change out wet gloves. Others worth checking out... |
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Karl, I noticed the same thing about the fit of OR gloves. Haha.. |
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I'll check out those gloves, Kirby, thanks for the input! |
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unless it's brutally cold, I find that thinner is best. I use some ridiculously thin OR soft shell gloves -- no liners -- down to about 15 Fahrenheit. |
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As pricy as they are, I had great success with the OR Warrant Gloves this season. They took a beating, kept my hands pretty warm, never got soaked through and had to be put away, and climbed fairly well. These were definitely my go to cold weather day glove. I will admit I got they at a pretty good price, so I am not sure if I would buy them again at the full price, however I did like them a lot. |
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I'll revive this thread and add my 2c. In my opinion gloves are like boots - they're great if they fit but worthless if they don't. I'm currently rotating through the MH Typhon and Hydra Pro gloves with the OR Highcamp 3-Finger Mitts for extra cold weather. I previously had the OR Arete and loved them - unfortunately they started splitting a seam and I sent them back to OR for warranty repairs (great service by the way). I was dissapointed to find that they'd changed the fit in the fingers since the pair I owned so that's how I stumbled on to the MH range. I've also tried the OR Stormtracker and OR Vert gloves for warmer weather - or paired with the PL Base Gloves as a liner. If the MH Hydra Pro fit you though I can't think of a more versitile pair that's both warm and gives good dexterity. |
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Maybe my Canadian hands are more acclimatized to the cold and I don't feel I need super big / super warm / expensive gloves when climbing ice, so I use the BD glissade. I also use thin OR liner gloves underneath if it gets rediculously cold. |
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+1 for alibi 2's. I wear them with a thin liner and then switch to a warmer glove for belays. I really like the all leather flylow gloves and at $40 per pair, theyre cheap enough to get a few pairs of. The good ones are hard to find online but larry's bootfitting in boudler carries them |
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To throw another suggestion out there, I use ice fishing gloves. As a smaller woman with notoriously cold hands, Frabill gauntlets are great and almost too warm for all the not-climbing parts of ice climbing. They're totally waterproof too since, you know, the whole ice-fishing picking cold wet fishies out of frozen water type stuff. I also have more dexterous ones for the actual climbing part of things. |
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I've grown to liking a winter bicycling glove for my ice glove Gore bike ware makes solid winter cycling gloves that are very dexterous and warm( so long as you have a thick pair for the belay). |