UKH

Hello,

each year the same:
1. spend whole summer dreaming about the next ice season
2. gearing up

As always I'm looking for gloves:
1. all-round gloves for climbing (-5 to -15°C):
relatively sensible, waterproof, breathable, backside isolation and finger 4/5 protectors, anti-loss attachment, finger attachment, durable palm, durable stitching, fast drying, easy to get in/out when wet.
Would prefer a shell/liner glove system.
I've not yet tried: OR Warrant, MH Pistolero, Hestra Tacky Army Leather.
The best all-round glove I have is BD Punisher, although not waterproof, takes ages to dry and is not very durable (avoid rappeling!)

2. mitten for belays and rappel:
waterproof, absolutely robust (rappel!), shell/isolation liner glove, high isloation, anti-loss attachment, finger attachment,fast drying, easy to get in/out when wet, lightweight and easily packable.

Your suggestions for gloves available in Europe are highly appreciated ...

In reply to muFF1n: The current punishers are waterproof and pretty durable I must say, mine have withstood lots and lots of abuse and look like new apart from the green which has taken on a dirty look but otherwise brilliant

In reply to muFF1n: 1. ME mountain Stretch 2. BD Mercury

In reply to muFF1n: have you tried looking for rocking-horse shit??
may be easier than finding perfect winter gloves!

In reply to skarabrae: Think I found the perfect winter gloves for me in Joe Browns BYC, A pair of marmot gloves, throuble is they were last years model and didn`t have my size !

In reply to muFF1n:

I am pretty sure there isn't a perfect glove, just what works best for you. I have an old pair of Patagonia work gloves, which don't have a lot of the features you are after, but give me the right combination of dexterity and warmth.

As a slight aside, I was intreaged by your use of the American / French term "rappel" so looked at your profile to find you are Austrian, how come you don't use the English / Germanic "abseil".

In reply to muFF1n:

I was pissed off with my punishers lasting 12 climbs and tried these: http://mammothworkwear.com/dickies-workwear/dickies-gloves/dickies-lined-le... I now have about five pairs as people borrow them, they last the entire winter and just need a little looking after with nikwax. The drawback is lack of cuff length, but you can work around that, especially as they cost less than £15!

I used them in the Alps this summer and they were excellent, in winter they are a good substitute for punishers. (I think.)

In reply to muFF1n:

2 pairs of punishers. treat the leather with nikwax before every serious session, swap em around to keep em fresh.

mercury mitts are the rolls royce option. expensive tho.

maybe look at your rappel set up too.
i do a lot and have yet to do significant damage to my gloves.

In reply to jonnie3430:

how warm are these dickies gloves? they look pretty good at the price if they are warm, and of course being work gloves theyll be bombproof.

BOS

In reply to muFF1n:
1. Hestra gloves are in general very good. Mine have outlasted BD Punishers by years and fancy expensive as hell Patagonias by a season. New for me this season is Rab Ice Gauntlet, just ordered them so haven´t tried them out yet. Hopefully they are the business!

2. Dont carry mittens. Usually rappels with old, worn out glove for my right hand so I spare the good stuff for leading.

In reply to ice.solo:

Enlighten us, share the magic! (Gri-gri, single-rope and rope tricks a la Americana??) I have no idea but anything which could save me a couple of gloves per season is worth trying!

In reply to BallsOfSteel:

Warm as punishers, I run warm and find that they are fine for climbing but too cold for belaying. They are thinsulate lined.

In reply to DanielJ:

a $10 alpine figure 8 descender rigged for more friction is much cheaper than going thru gloves.

nothing too special about it.

In reply to ice.solo:
If 10$ can save a couple of hundreds Im all ears!

Sorry for my ignorance( I havent used or seen anyone use a figure 8). Is it possible to rap more or less handsfree with a figure 8?

In reply to DanielJ:

Is it possible to rap more or less handsfree with a figure 8?

nope. just rig it so the device takes more friction and you dont need to grip the rope as hard.

In reply to skarabrae:
no, but i did come across some hens teeth a while ago.

In reply to wobl: marmot are good gloves, use them all the time, i think they`re the best of the bunch.

In reply to muFF1n: Our user Aljaz Anderle, a professional mountain guide and ice climber, has reviewed Mammut Extreme Siam Glove and Guide Work Glove as well as rated them 5-stars for ice climbing in our site, see:

1) Mammut Extreme Siam Glove: http://www.tribevine.com/product/10068/Mammut/Extreme%20siam%20glove
2) Mammut Guide Work Glove: http://www.tribevine.com/product/10066/Mammut/Guide%20work%20glove

You might also want to take a look at the gloves in our database that are used for ice climbing. While the selection there is not yet complete, there might be couple of good alternatives + all the gloves mentioned in this thread: http://www.tribevine.com/quicksearch?open=true&tab=null&searchword=...

oh! wow! so much helpful response! great! thanks!

Seems I'm already there with the BD Punisher ...
I haven't read a lot on BDry or whatever, anyway, even my last 2010 bought Punishers are soaked after 2 pitches in normal conditions.

Already tried work gloves. Due to thick leather those are fairly stiff and as jonnie3430 said: cuff way to short for practical use (e.g. if much snow, spindrifts).

Can't be seriously recommending marmot for serious fun, sorry.

Thanks for tips, will try to get my hands into these:
ME Mountain Stretch gloves look ok and might work, no protectors, cheap.
Rab Ice Gauntlet looks a little too warm (133g primaloft), no protectors.

Abseiling (sry for "rappel", never climbed in UK) - if done at all - need to go FAST for big walls and short days - not going to make my system (ATC Guide, double ropes, 7mm cord prusik) slower. Prusik helps gloves. Didnt yet dare to try a Bachmann knot (which could have even more coverage) for iced conditions. Anyone tried a webbing Bachmann on ice crusted double (UIAA 1/2) ropes? Btw, Franz Bachmann in his 70s or 80s ist still around, look in Austrian climbing forums!

Thanks for tribevine.com com links, good overview!

In reply to muFF1n:

No need to apologize, just interested in th use of the word.

In reply to muFF1n:
My Rab Ice Gauntlets have arrived. They are small in their sizes (I´ve got baby hands and their M fits me well).

They are, as you write, on the thick side. More of a general mountaineering glove than a glove for leading vertical ice. Sloppy research by me. It will be a perfect glove for belaying and following for colder days though.

The gloves from Mountain Hardwear seems to be in vougue. Have a look at the Hydra, no knuckle protection as far as I can see but a sleeker look and 60 grams lighter than the Ice Gauntlet.