Looking for warm and waterproof gloves for my Christmas present, mainly for hiking, I already have some big mountaineering gloves, but these are too bulky to stuff in my pockets for a walk.
I looked at Sealskinz, but they seem to get mixed reviews.
What do the good and great of UKC and H recommend?
(touch screen capability would be useful)
Ta.
I like my sealskins.
They keep the water and wind off pretty well. No such thing as a genuinely waterproof Glove inmy book - unless you want marigolds!
:http://www.moandco.com/workwear/gloves/skytec-argon-thermal-gloves.html
Cheap, warm, waterproof and excellent grip. The only problem is if you do end up with damp hands due to sweating they may take a while to dry out. Most larger builder's merchants stock them in various makes.
Oh, and they have touchscreen too.
These ones: https://www.sealskinz.com/gloves/stretch-fleece-nano-gloves-black.htm
For anything proper cold, it's always pile mitts for me
> I like my sealskins.
> They keep the water and wind off pretty well. No such thing as a genuinely waterproof Glove inmy book - unless you want marigolds!
Which model do you have?
> Cheap, warm, waterproof and excellent grip.
I love my argons for hard mixed climbing. They're cheap, warm enough and dextrous like you say but not even remotely waterproof. The fingers and palms are but there is a knitted section on the back that lets water in very quickly.
Similarly, tried these a few times and they’re not bad, pretty waterproof. Take forever to dry if the do get wet though.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/uci-aquatek-thermo-full-dip-latex-thermal-gloves...
I've just got some Rab Vapour-rise gloves, I'm really impressed with them. Not thick but very windproof with a micro-fleece lining. They also have leather palms, I wanted this as I do cross-country skiing, which eats gloves.
OK. I'm going to predict the future here.
This will happen:
I'm going to say go and get a pair of Skyteck Argon gloves.
You're going to be skeptical - but your curiousity will pique you to google.
You'll see that they're about 10% of the price of usual mountaineering gloves.
You'll be more skeptical.
Then you'll think, "for a fiver, what's really to lose?"
Then you'll order some, try them, and thank me later.
I received a similarly worded challenge over a decade ago and have skiied, mountaineered, cleared gutters and walked in winter to my hearts content with them since.
> OK. I'm going to predict the future here.
> This will happen:
I like them but I think you're overconfident in them. I know plenty of people who've tried them and not got on with them and I only like them in certain situations.
> I know plenty of people who've tried them and not got on with them and I only like them in certain situations.
Why? They're warm, durable, light, waterproof, stay-waterproof-under-duress, cheap, allow quite fine control (I can easily tie laces/do crampons). I carry two pairs - one to wear and one sealed in a bag to break out dry if I need it.
Genuinely interested why folk don't get on with them. I'd prefer a mitt though...
> Genuinely interested why folk don't get on with them. I'd prefer a mitt though...
In wet conditions your hands get soaked very quickly due to the knitted backs, the water can't escape due to the waterproof fingers/palm and even wringing them out doesn't really work. Wet hands are cold hands.
If you have very sweaty hands they get pretty wet pretty quickly as fingers and palm are not breathable.
The cuff is not very long so if climbing you get a gap between jacket and glove.
For a pitch or 2 of hard climbing I've never found anything better but for most other applications (winter walking/running, skiing, easier climbing, longer climbs) I find other things do the job better.
Sure I’ve seen another thread that said it’s best to have more than one pair of gloves. That way your gloves don’t have to be the best, they just have to be easy to dry somewhere - like under your armpits!!
Caveat: I’m not a winter climber!
> In wet conditions your hands get soaked very quickly due to the knitted backs, the water can't escape due to the waterproof fingers/palm and even wringing them out doesn't really work. Wet hands are cold hands.
So you mean they let water in but not out? There should be an application for that! I've not found them to leak but a mate washes them in caggie-proofer.
> If you have very sweaty hands they get pretty wet pretty quickly as fingers and palm are not breathable.
I thought I had pretty sweaty hands, but obviously not. You'd need sewriously sweaty hands for this to be a problem.
> The cuff is not very long so if climbing you get a gap between jacket and glove.
The cuff comes up to cover the antebrachial faschia on me; my caggie comes to almost the first joint of my thumb, so ?8cm overlap?
> For a pitch or 2 of hard climbing I've never found anything better but for most other applications (winter walking/running, skiing, easier climbing, longer climbs) I find other things do the job better.
I think the disadvatages of ordinary gloves need weighing too: seams (shocking idea), fragaile membranes, and very pricey.
I suffer from seriously cold hands and find warm and dry gloves to be an elusive item. In winter I use Buffalo mitts - warm and damp and reasonably dextrous, without the bulk. And for super cold, another pair of XXL Buffalo mitts over the top. Works for me.
Agree 100% about Buffalo gloves
Often carry a spare pair in bad conditions and have handed them out so often to help friends whose gloves have failed them - getting them to hand them back is sometimes a challenge
A pair lives in the running pack all winter - snow, rain, sweat - no problem they just work
Even use them On the smallholding in the snow for sheep feeding duties - perhaps the very definition of cold and wet - just brilliant mitts
Obviously you use them differently to me and find them to be fine. I find them to be good for some things but to have really serious limitations. That's the problem with outdoor kit recommendations, people use it in different ways so have different experiences.
Just because they work for you doesn't mean they'll work for everyone and however hard you try you're not going to convince me I didn't actually have cold, wet hands in them or gaps at the cuffs!
Ive got similar experience, wet and cold that is. I gave my Argons away. Now climbing mostly with Camp and BD gloves who’s warmer, drier and better fitting for my hands.
And yeah, they’re well expensive, so that’s the downside.
> Ive got similar experience, wet and cold that is.
I now take a pair for the crux of a hard route (not below VII mostly) but use other gloves for the vast majority of my climbing. I found that they were pretty damp and therefore cold after a single hard pitch. Unless it's really damp I find I can usually get a whole day out of my Simond leather gloves without changing them and they're only £20.
Although the op was asking about walking so a lot of that won't be relevant.
OX Thermal Latex. Amazing kit for £4. Warm, extraordinarily puncture resistant and perfect for winter climbing. Reversible inner meaning they can be dried out on a radiator.
https://www.buildingsuppliesdirect.com/ox-group-ox-waterproof-thermal-latex...
> pile mitts for me
Is that just a euphemism for warming your hands in your arse crack?
>In winter I use Buffalo mitts - warm and damp and reasonably dextrous, without the bulk. <
Another agreement for this type of mitt (pile+permeable shell). Good for hiking as OP requires, not so good for climbing. I find the (pre-Buffalo) Helly Hansen Polar mitts a bit warmer (more windproof?) and they are still available if you search on internet.
Keeping in mind your question is posed as a hiker I'd also side with mitts. I use a Montane showerproof pair and if I need to use the phone they slide off much easier than gloves so isn't a big deal to take them off briefly. Very light and compress well.
Just got a mailshot from PH Designs. They are selling off a mitt with fingers that flap open to access a phone for £29. Not something I would personally need to own but seems to fit your request.
Re SealSkinz gloves, I’ve got a three different models and whilst you can’t doubt the waterproofing of them whilst they last, I have never found any of them warm enough for what the company claim and certainly not for the colder hill walking days out.
The “warmest” of SealSkinzs I have is the Extreme Cold Weather gloves, admittedly now a few years old version, but I get cold fingers in them even at zero C or just below within a couple of hours. I’ve tried even with another glove inside and still get cold fingers.
Best gloves I’ve used in the hills for really cold conditions are both Montane models that have primaloft and pile inners. Warm even when they get damp, one is actually waterproof, but you always get some wetting out when taking on and off, etc. Old models now but suggest you check out Montane’s latest equivalents as they seem to have primaloft gold now.
> OK. I'm going to predict the future here.
> This will happen:
> I'm going to say go and get a pair of Skyteck Argon gloves.
> You're going to be skeptical - but your curiousity will pique you to google.
> You'll see that they're about 10% of the price of usual mountaineering gloves.
> You'll be more skeptical.
> Then you'll think, "for a fiver, what's really to lose?"
> Then you'll order some, try them, and thank me later.
> I received a similarly worded challenge over a decade ago and have skiied, mountaineered, cleared gutters and walked in winter to my hearts content with them since.
Interesting. I tried these once in winter. Hands got soaked and cold really quickly. Thought they were hopeless. Glad you have had a positive time with them though.
Another vote for buffalo mitts, sure they get wet but they stay warm, dry super quick and there comparatively cheap. I use mine all the time in winter, even for cycling! They are crap for actually climbing in though.
I find Argons fine if its not too cold and conditions aren't such that water gets through the porous non-windproof glove back. They are quite dextrous but don't have a long warm cuff. I've started taking at least two pairs so I can change to a dry pair if necessary (as recommended in other threads). A pair of the light featherweight Buffalo mitts or similar provide good backup.
Upthread similar gloves but with a waterproof back were recommended which presumably decrease water ingress and vulnerability to wind, albeit at the expense of more sweating.
Over the years I've seen many expensive winter gloves sliding past after being dropped by other parties and experience a degree of smug satisfaction that I'm using cheapos.
I agree, I've tried numerous Argon type gloves and they were all shite. The Argons felt like they were sucking the heat out of my hands, so now I use a range of stuff, but the OR Bitterblaze gloves are good - warm and waterproof. You should caveat all this with the fact that I get very cold hands.
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