UKC Editor Jack Geldard slips his hands inside the XT gloves from Marmot:
"They are a mid-weight, do everything type of glove, and they are great. They are perfect for winter rock climbing in the UK (belaying, resting while bouldering etc), and winter hill walking."
In reply to UKC Gear: My mate has been using a pair for a good two or three years for all his ice climbing and seems to have found them quite good for that: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/images/dbpage.php?id=62718 They're worn out now, but I've seen him use the loads for a long time so they seem pretty good value.
I also used those as my main ski touring gloves, and worked fine for resorts as well, unless it was freakin' cold.
Marmot did have a different kind of model a season or two back, with the same name (XT)... Good to see they have resurrected the old original version... Might have to stock a few pair, since I lost mine (in Eberg, me thinks) and before Marmot decides to change the model again...
In reply to TobyA: I'm looking to buy a pair of new gloves for ice climbing in Rjukan in Feb. Any idea if they'll be warm enough for those conditions ?
In reply to robdan: I'll ask my friend to comment on this thread if has chance as he's the one with the gloves! But he has used them lots and lots of ice climbing and Finnish conditions probably aren't so different from Rjukan. Like HeMa said having a glove system with you is the best bet - some for climbing, something warmer for belays, some old ones for the approach as they might get covered in snow etc.
In reply to UKC Gear:
Just bought a pair for mixed and ice-falls based on this review and the recommendation from a mate who has been using a pair for a couple of years and says their awesome.
In reply to UKC Gear: I'm on to my second pair after 2-3 years of use out of the first. I've used them for scottish winter ice and mixed in all conditions, although sometimes with belay gloves as a back on proper cold days. They are perfect for ice cragging, (used in Norway extensively), as they have good feel and dexterity for tools and gear. They have also been used for general hill bashing, snowboarding, and a Bergen winter cycle commute.
They are by far the best gloves i have owned!
As TobyA mentioned I used them for two winter seasons in Finland. The main strengthens were there grippyness and dexterity. While I used them down to -15, the short wrist cover meant I had to used them in conjunction with long sleeves and thumb hole on an under fleece.
At 50€ they were great value for money especailly since if I hadnt sometimes also worn them in the summer(as a cleaning glove) they would had probably lasted another winter.
In reply to Jody:
My climbing partner has used these for the last 2 and a bit winters and thinks they are great for leading - easy to fiddle gear in with, and very sticky. That has included Scottish mixed, continental ice and arctic Greenland. However he does have to use mitts for belaying.
They are not that waterproof so they tend to get pretty wet after a typical Scottish day out, but on the other hand they tend to start self-drying once his hands warm up.
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