Good Ice Climbing Gloves

[Farrgo]

I just went ice climbing for my first time up in Lillooet and I realized that I really don't have any gloves that are any good for ice climbing. My gloves are either functional and not waterproof or waterproof and bulky, not functional. Any opinions on what a good glove that is waterproof and not really bulky?

[jja]

When you design one let me know, I'd love to get a pair.

 

Seriously there's a design compromise here. Warm and waterproof means bulky. Thin and nimble means cold and wet. I'm sure some gloves are better than others at getting the design right, but there is no one perfect glove.

 

Consider instead two pairs, one thin and light for tough leads. When you get to the belay, pull on your parka (yeah right in this weather) and your heavy gloves or over-mitts, and settle in. When it's time to climb again, jump back into your action suit twight-like and be on your way.

 

There's a discussion on gloves right now in the gear critic, which is probably where this post belongs.

[Alex]

Moving the post there, and...

 

One of the climbing rags just had a small review on ice climbing gloves, about 6 of them anyway. Some suggestions there.

 

I think every climber who has ever climbed ice has sought the perfect glove: warmth without sacrificing dexterity, waterproof without dexterity, and a purchase without sacrificing your wallet. Everyone has their favorites. Everyone has a different budget. Over the years I've worn

 

OR Pro Gloves

Mont Bell

Black Diamond

Patagonia

 

All of them were a compromise. Good luck,

 

Alex

[freeclimb9]

For the lower 48, either Vinylove, or Seal Skinz.

[cracked]

Nobody has come up with a perfect glove. Some people swear by thin, cold gloves w/belay mitts, others go for the vinylove, others go for something like the BD ICE glove. Others use Dachstein wool mitts with a cheap shell mitt over that. I have no idea. I am planning to try the Vinyloves. Good luck.

[iain]

only prob with the vinyloves is I sometimes get ice down the gauntlet, it melts, and then the things take an eternity to dry.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Nobody has come up with a perfect glove. Some people swear by thin, cold gloves w/belay mitts, others go for the vinylove, others go for something like the BD ICE glove. Others use Dachstein wool mitts with a cheap shell mitt over that. I have no idea. I am planning to try the Vinyloves. Good luck.

 

 

It's like a shoe. Depends on how it feels and what you are willing to compromise. Waterproof is a plus. Nothing is waterproof for long without maintenance.

 

I've been trying out marmot ultimate ski gloves with success. Not necessarily the best dexterity. But with a thin liner fine to take off the glove and make any super dexterous actions. Use snoseal on the leather palms regularly.

 

I also like to use a shitty shell with http://www.glacierglove.com/pages/iceclimb.htm in warmer than 0 degrees F temps sometimes.... Make some prunes out of your hands but usually warm in the temps I metioned.

 

Plus everyone's definition of cold varies.

 

A question like this is kin to who's your favorite politician. Ups and downs are evident.

[freeclimb9]

Neoprene gloves intended for flyfishing and other similarly silly sports are available at Walmart for cheap (I saw camo-colored pairs there for $4.95). But they're cheap.

The gloves with seams that I have I seal especially well around the little finger. It's that area that often rests against the ice and snow surface, gets wet, then cold, then solid, then colder. The sealant stuff never seems to last that long, though.

[miller]

i like climbing in tight-fitting, plain old leather gloves with no insulation. they get a little wet, but less sopping than thin fleece, and i find them warmer than thin fleece as well (although they dont dry as fast...). and they really come into their element if youre going to be doing any moderate alpine mixed climbing - great grip on rock. theyll feel stiff at first, but will soften up after the first good day. i just carry a warmer pair of gloves in case i really freeze, but honestly i rarely ever put them on. last weekend it was -15C in the alps and i spent all day ice climbing in just the thin leathers. sure my hands got cold, but never dangerously cold or to the point that i lost dexterity.

 

i tried the neoprene "glacier gloves" a few years ago, and theyre not bad, but i found them to be too sticky. they make getting in/out of your leashes harder, and theyre always getting stuck/hung up on biners, etc.

 

climbing in big gloves drives me nuts. i dont like to have to take them off/put them back on to place gear, and i have no dexterity if i leave them on.

 

i really dont like schoeller type gloves like the bd dry tool - the word "dry" is very misleading - most of them seemed like sponges to me, and they dont dry very fast either.

 

and those seal skinz that freeclimb9 talks about sound like theyre definitely worth checking out...

 

i think someone already mentioned that youll hear good climbers swear by many of the choices mentioned above. but i dont think anyone mentioned plain old leather gloves yet... one more choice to think about! good luck!

[Paul_detrick]

If your new to ice like you said than I would spend the money and buy a good pair, If you plan on climbing for a while. I too tryed most of the gloves stated. They suck, I hate cold hands, if your new you will over grip your tools until you get the hang of it, which may take awhile. I have the BD iceage, with padded knukes(ps). Once you get used to setting pro and rope handle you will be set. My .02

[dbb]

only prob with the vinyloves is I sometimes get ice down the gauntlet, it melts, and then the things take an eternity to dry.

 

I had the same problem so I modified my pair a bit:

 

Get some cordura/nylon/etc, sew or seam seal it into a gauntlet and duct tape/seam seal it onto the wrist part of the glove. This has two advantages: you can make the gauntlet as long as you like (thus avoiding the annoying exposed-wrist syndrome, as well as ice getting in), and two the grippyness of the glove no longer interferes with your leash. The second was a big problem for me when I used the BD twist leash.

 

The vinyloves are great for a few pitches, and ok up to a day long before they're too clammy/wet. They do take an eternity to dry, but if you invert them, they'll dry overnight. I heard of someone making a piece analogous to a ski-boot drier for them too. Just buy several pairs, they're cheap!

[Dru]

MEC mixed master works great. hands stay dry. can place screw and clip in with gloves on. last about 1.5 years if you climb ice all winter and use them for alpine in the summer. also costs about $60-70?? CDN (i cant emember the actual figure)so half price of BD glove.

[iain]

Get some cordura/nylon/etc, sew or seam seal it into a gauntlet and duct tape/seam seal it onto the wrist part of the glove.

that's a great idea, I definitely get annoyed by the stickiness of the wrist too.

Just buy several pairs, they're cheap!

I rotate through 3 pairs, all of which are in varying stages of dryness. Even inverted the fingers still are damp for awhile. Nice gloves though and the price is good.

[freeclimb9]

I've got a box that I cut a couple holes in, inserted cardboard tubes through, then duct-taped in place (3 minutes of faffing, and done). The gloves go on the tubes, and the box goes on a heating register. It drys the Vinylove in a couple hours. Attached photo for clarity.

[cracked]

I don't have any Vinyloves, so I'm wondering: how does neoprene take forever to dry? It doesn't absorb water, so . Do they have a cotton liner or something?

[dbb]

MEC mixed master works great. hands stay dry. can place screw and clip in with gloves on. last about 1.5 years if you climb ice all winter and use them for alpine in the summer. also costs about $60-70?? CDN (i cant emember the actual figure)so half price of BD glove.

 

Dru- I climb w/ the 2001 (?) model of the Mixed master as my belay gloves. This was when they made the waterproof layer part of the fleece glove. These gloves are pretty damn thick and the new version I saw at MEC this summer (which has a gore-tex shell now) is even thicker and more expensive. I tend to pump out even following in these gloves because of their thickness, but if it's cold out..

They sure are durable though, I seam sealed the seams and nixwaxed the palms and they've been taking rappels, belays and screws for two seasons now. look almost like new too.

 

I also tried the MEC "Glacier glove" this year, which is a BD Dry-tool looking glove made with Powershield (I think). Not bad for a thin leading glove at $32 CDN, but the leather on the palm/fingers is SO thin that it started tearing off the finger tips on the first use. IF they put a little thicker leather on these they'd be sweet gloves..

 

Also, the Vinylove gloves are rubber with a synthetic lining, not neoprene... sort of like alaskan grade dishwashers gloves.

[Dru]

MEC mixed master works great. hands stay dry. can place screw and clip in with gloves on. last about 1.5 years if you climb ice all winter and use them for alpine in the summer. also costs about $60-70?? CDN (i cant emember the actual figure)so half price of BD glove.

 

Dru- I climb w/ the 2001 (?) model of the Mixed master as my belay gloves. This was when they made the waterproof layer part of the fleece glove. These gloves are pretty damn thick and the new version I saw at MEC this summer (which has a gore-tex shell now) is even thicker and more expensive. I tend to pump out even following in these gloves because of their thickness, but if it's cold out..

They sure are durable though, I seam sealed the seams and nixwaxed the palms and they've been taking rappels, belays and screws for two seasons now. look almost like new too.

 

I also tried the MEC "Glacier glove" this year, which is a BD Dry-tool looking glove made with Powershield (I think). Not bad for a thin leading glove at $32 CDN, but the leather on the palm/fingers is SO thin that it started tearing off the finger tips on the first use. IF they put a little thicker leather on these they'd be sweet gloves..

 

Also, the Vinylove gloves are rubber with a synthetic lining, not neoprene... sort of like alaskan grade dishwashers gloves.

 

Dave, now that the liner is in the glove, not the insert, the glove is about 1/3 THINNER, not thicker as you wrongly suggest. Wow still on 2001's huh. Must be the seam sealer and Nikwax.

 

The only prob i have had with mine is gloved finger getting in the corner of the picture when taking pictures with the gloves on.

 

Maybe yours are sized too big?

[freeclimb9]

As for the ice-down-the-cuff problem of Vinylove (Atlas 460 gloves http://www.seamar.com/atlas/460.html), you can use insulated crabbing gloves, but then you've got ice-down-the-sleeve issues. Has anybody ever solved the ice-down-the-neck problem to avoid ice-chips-melting-on-the-belly?

[Dru]

neck gaiter

[Mer]

MEC mixed master works great

If you have small hands the mixed master gloves are a terrible fit. The fingers are far too wide. I don't climb with them anymore, I got tired of the floppy-woppy, oven-mit feel and getting the thumbs caught in the biners.

I bought some bright orange rubber gloves at a hunting/fishing store, cut out the fleece liners and use some wool gloves to line them instead. It's not a perfect solution, they're thrifty, dry, and I can operate stuff, but my hands still get cold.

[freeclimb9]

neck gaiter

Man, that'd be better than the duct tape, fersure.

[Dru]

MEC mixed master works great

If you have small hands the mixed master gloves are a terrible fit. The fingers are far too wide. I don't climb with them anymore, I got tired of the floppy-woppy, oven-mit feel and getting the thumbs caught in the biners.

I bought some bright orange rubber gloves at a hunting/fishing store, cut out the fleece liners and use some wool gloves to line them instead. It's not a perfect solution, they're thrifty, dry, and I can operate stuff, but my hands still get cold.

 

all i find, is that the two smaller fingers are about 1mm too long, otherwise they fit my hand really well. I thought I had small hands, because i can't really hold the Cobra grip properly?

 

[JoshK]

I've always thought I have small hands, but I really like the MEC mixed master gloves as well. I did tear through one of them, but MEC hapily replaced them. The mixed master is another perfect example of MEC producting brand name gear that is *useful* unlike REI's latest and greatest fleece.

[Mer]

OK, I confess I have girl size hands, but my mixed master gloves are still cut foolishly wide, and that attached string just seems designed to get sucked into the rappel device. Mine are a few years old so maybe the design is better now. Usually I love MEC gear.

Anyone else with little paws find something that works well in a small size?

[Illimani94]

Yeah, that's about the size of it. So far I've found a couple things that work reasonably well FOR ME

 

1. Cloudveil Icefloe gloves. These fit my hands really well. Thin and grippy; I can handle gear, clip stuff, etc. with ease. I've used them in pretty cold conditions (single digit temps - Farenheit) and they're surprisingly comfortable. I do swap into a pair of mittens for the belays, and warm the gloves inside my jacket. I have yet to use these gloves in wet conditions, and I have a feeling they aren't going to be very waterproof - or not at all.

 

2. Granite Gear Ice Raptor gloves. These are similar to BD's Ice Glove. I got them cheap, and found that they are a better fit on my hands. Reasonably good feel, pretty warm, reasonably water-resistant. I sometimes climb with these over a pair of Powerstretch gloves instead of using the stock liner. One annoying thing: they have this waterproof membrane insert that's not attached to anything. The theory is that if you NEED waterproofness this non-sewn membrane will keep your liners dry; if you don't need the waterproofness you leave the inserts out so they don't get damaged. In practice, adding the inserts trashes the fit of the gloves, for me anyway. But they're otherwise sturdy and warm and have survived abuse so far.

 

That's what I got. I love climbing in the Icefloes (BD Drytool would probably be similar, but different fit), but if it's seriously wet they're not going to keep it out. For a shelled glove, BD Ice Glove, the Granite Gear glove, something like that is the best bet so far. I keep meaning to try the Mixed Master; if they fit the price is a steal.

 

Or you could just climb in shelled mitts, which are warmer when damp anyway....