Anyone use crack climbing gloves?

Planning a trip tp Vedauwoo in a few months and dislike taping up. Has anyone used crack gloves and are they any good?

amazon.com/Ocun-Crack-Climb…

amazon.com/Outdoor-Research…

I've used the Ocuns for two or three years now. I'm on my second pair. How long they last depends on several factors - how much you climb, how much you hand jam, and the coarseness of the rock.

I really like them much better than tape gloves.

I like them for certain cracks, or just the occasional crack on a crag, in Vedauwoo however, you want tape, loads and loads of tape, that rock is a different beast, you want tape for days there.

Depends on what you want to climb there. Plumb line is desperate with crack gloves and a ladder with tape. Double that for soft parade. It would help on horns mother or satterfields though.

I've used Ocun and Hand Jammies. I prefer Ocun.

They were great at Vedauwoo. I still tape around the wrist to keep the velcro strap from peeling off while climbing and to add coverage on the wrist.

The mesh liner in the Ocuns wears on my skin, so I still get gobies after a lot of climbing.

The leather stretches, so they get a bit sloppy over time. Don't hang them from a biner through a finger hole -- the finger hole will stretch out.

Jake Jones wrote:Yeah. Ethan Pringle. touchstoneclimbing.com/etha… I used a pair of hand jammies and tore them on my third trip up a hand crack in a gym. Been a tape guy ever since. To each his/her own.

The original Hand Jammies were almost a quarter of an inch thick. More recently, they came out with some that rivaled the Ocuns in look and feel, yet were substantially cheaper. And the pair I got tore quickly, just like yours. Too bad, because I'll never buy another pair of Hand JammiesJunk.

Edit: The Ocuns are way more durable.

I wore out a pair of Ocuns. Now using OR Splitters. The Ocuns were great. The Splitters are better. The Splitters are more flexible. I keep a pair in the pouch of my chalkbag: they fold up small. They are even less intrusive when face climbing than the already acceptable Ocuns. Some have said the early version of the Splitter had velcro that peeled too easily, so now they are sewn. Some say the issues persist. I haven't had issues yet. Regardless, they are better than tape. Added bonus: they help keep my hands a bit warmer when it's cold

The Ocuns may be more durable, but they are thicker. The new version of the Ocuns apparently covers more of the thumb.

Ocun's sizing chart is spot on. Go by it rather than your typical glove size. I wear a small/medium in most gloves. I was a large in Ocuns. OR's Splitter runs true/maybe big. You'd have to have quite a paw to need the L/XL size.

I seem to always draw blood in cracks (old age thin skin? bad technique? both?), so I purchased a pair of the OR Splitter gloves. I did have to take them to the local alterations shop and have them sew the crap out of the velcro attachment. Other than that, I have been very happy with them. In the case of Vedauwoo, though, as someone said earlier, you may want to just use a pile of tape as that rock is pretty darn rough. Also, with tape, you can customize the tape job based on the objective o' the day. Or..take both, try both, and report back. Have fun!

Thanks for all the advice. Think I might try a pair but take a couple rolls of tape too.
I last climbed at the Voo many years ago & remember the coarse rock well. My skin was a lot tougher back then, too....

I like my Ocun's

I have the Splitters. I think they're a little thicker than tape but pretty decent. One thing I dislike is the thumb loop which is not very effective at causing the glove to wrap around the thumb side of your hand. You'll probably want to supplement the glove closure and coverage with some tape for real rock climbing. I only use mine in the gym and tape at the crag.

Jake Jones wrote: I have friends with the Ocuns and they swear by them, but I do have to say that most everyone I know that has them isn't a real crack "aficionado"- meaning that they have them for the occasional pitch but they're not out there seeking different sized splitters at which to throw themselves

I love cracks, seek them out when I'm outdoors, and go out of my way to Planet Granite (local gym with pretty good cracks) to do long sessions of crack training on all sizes...

Used to tape up outside and just use the gloves in the gym, but I found the gloves to be more convenient than tape outside -- especially now that I don't always want gloves and can easily take them on and off as-needed.

OR splitters are great. Quick, easy, and effective. They are great at the Voo. That said, you'll want some canvas pants more than the gloves. Thick shirt too.

Yes, and I have had both the OR Splitter gloves as well as the Ocuns.

I had the first generation of the OR Splitter gloves, and unless OR has remedied an issue, they have a fatal flaw. Initially, the velcro was glued on by an adhesive (which I assume is heat activated), resulting in full delamination and mine being held together by Loctite.

As far as how they performed, they were pretty solid and thin but adequate as far as the back of the hand feel. You can still feel every crystal in a sharp granite crack, but I would feel pretty confident with them in a thin hands crack. Durability overall was definitely a point of concern for me, even beyond the delam/glue issues.

With respect to the Ocun gloves...I had the older generation pair that you had to use the tape around the wrist on. Aside from that, they were very durable and lasted almost two full years of climbing on a very regular basis. Once they wore out, I got a pair of the new models with the velcro that tucks into the back of the hand...awesome! No more wasting tape on that and they are sized identical to the old model. They are just thick enough (and very slightly padded) but don't add a ton of size to your hands and can take one hell of a beating. Would strongly recommend.

Hope this helps.

IMO tape is the way to go at vedauwoo. Crack gloves I guess work pretty well for anything cupped hands/good fists and smaller, but don't do anything for rattly fists and bigger. The lack of coverage on the side of the hand, thumb, and sometimes even the palm are the issue. Steep stacking on sharp crystals, really steep chicken wings (palm coverage).... I suppose you could supplement with tape, but I don't see a good way to do the side of your hand without having to do pretty much a full wrap.

If you plan to avoid wider stuff that you can't just arm bar your way through, crack gloves would probably work out pretty well though.

IDK. Might try gloves but probably will just use tape. Cheaper anyway...