Best Ice Climbing Gloves?

[treknclime]

Best gloves for placing screws and messing with stuff? Warmth vs. dexterity? Padded? Ease of getting them on and off with damp hands? Removable liners (maybe good...or bad...if they pull out every time damp hands are pulled out)?

 

Thoughts....favorites??

[cicleclimb]

I like my cloudveil icefloe gloves. They are padded and warm enough for everything but the coldest temps (though I have never found them cold yet). Very good dexterity. I like to ski in them too. The only problem is the leather wears out fast, though I'd definately pony up for another pair if the price was right. BD ice gloves are warmer but definately sacrifce dexterity.

[Jens]

I still haven't found what I consider the perfect glove.

__

If you are ice "cragging" at one spot all day, a bag full of thin cheap gloves may be the ticket for you (depending on your blood circulation and susceptability to cold). I swap out a new pair for every pitch.

[cracked]

Don't buy the Ice Floe gloves. They:

 

won't dry

aren't warm

aren't water resistant

aren't windproof

aren't durable

fall apart

 

I used mine for skiing today until my hands got numb, so I switched to my cheapo mittens and was warm.

[Figger_Eight]

ummm...maybe because they aren't made for skiing?

[jja]

won't dry

aren't warm

aren't water resistant

aren't windproof

aren't durable

fall apart

 

I'm on my second pair and all this is true except for the "not warm" part. For how bulky (or not bulky) they are, I think they are pretty warm - and I get cold hands easily.

[hohm]

You might check out the Dry Ice by OR. I used a new pair this weekend on a very cold snowcamp, and they kept my hands toasty, and were dexterous enough for fiddling with snowshoe straps, ice axes etc...no removable liner though.

[jordop]

BD Drytool gloves seem quite durable but are pretty $$

[Bogen]

Cheap fleece gloves, put on your shell mitts at the belay, don't worry about being wet. It works great, really.

[thelawgoddess]

ummm...maybe because they aren't made for skiing?

i also vote for the ice floe. it's not the warmest glove out there, but it rocks - excellent fit, great dexterity, good sensitivity. they are padded - no sore knuckles, have a nice microfleece lining, and are easy to get on and off when wet. no liners. i will often bring another pair of warm fleecy gloves to wear when the climbing's done. i've heard guys complain about how long they last, but mine are still in excellent condition after maybe 30 days on ice. i restrict their use to ice climbing. great gloves.

[Big_Sky_Ry]

I've used Icefloe gloves since they came out - they offer great fit, and are very warm for their weight (5 oz) - when DRY. And that's where the problems start in - they really are only suitable for day trips. On a multi day climb in wet conditions, it's no big deal having wet gloves during the day, but you gotta be able to dry them at night, and the Icefloes just don't dry well. They absorb so much moisture that they'll still be damp in the morning after being in your sleeping bag.

 

And, as cracked said, they're not wind proof, and on a cold and blustery climb you're hands will get chilled - especially if the gloves are wet!

 

I wish they'd ditch the sponge like schoeller fabric and do these in Powershield instead. The nice thing about the fleece liner (non removable) in the Icefloes is that you hardly feel the annoying finger seams that plague most "dry tooling" gloves, and they are a really comfortable fit.

 

RJ

[thelawgoddess]

Cheap fleece gloves, put on your shell mitts at the belay, don't worry about being wet. It works great, really.

fleece gloves actually do work great. i "accidentally" wore mine on a climb and didn't even notice until i was done. good inexpensive alternative.

[rhyang]

Do you folks who use Ice Floe gloves wear liners underneath them ? Or is that a bad idea ?

[dbb]

Ice Floes, Marmot Ice Motos and OR's new glove like these are great for ice climbing if you're good at using them. They're thin, dextrous lead gloves. Put 'em on for the lead/follow, pull them off at the belay and put them in your jacket to keep them warm (because they're probably wet by now). Put on thick dry gloves for the belay and your hands stay warm. You can minimize the wetness of the palm somewhat by putting some waterproofing wax on them.

 

I wouldn't imagine that these would be good for multiday climbing in warm wet temps, but that's what shell gloves w/ removable liners are for. They're definitely not the "perfect" glove, and I almost prefer the insulated Atlas rubber gloves more, but they're pretty good.

[thelawgoddess]

Do you folks who use Ice Floe gloves wear liners underneath them ? Or is that a bad idea ?

no. they [are designed to] fit snug and aren't really "that kind of glove." i suppose if you got them looser-fitting you could, but what's the point?

[cracked]

I have to admit that my Ice Floes work pretty well for biking to school each morning. Props to Cloudveil.

[cj001f]

I wish they'd ditch the sponge like schoeller fabric and do these in Powershield instead.

Powershield isn't much better in my opinion. Dry time is the Achilles heel of all of the softshell fabrics.

 

I have the Serendipity glove (unlined IceFloe) Get something with a Gore-tex liner if you want to stay dry day after day.

[rhyang]

Do you folks who use Ice Floe gloves wear liners underneath them ? Or is that a bad idea ?

no. they [are designed to] fit snug and aren't really "that kind of glove." i suppose if you got them looser-fitting you could, but what's the point?

 

thanks, just a dumb newbie question.

[David_Parker]

The best ice gloves are the ones having the most fun!

[Dru]

the best ice climbing glove is a flipper. you ever see penguins come out of the water?

[treknclime]

That's a good one, Dru!

 

Thanks, yall, for your thoughts and ideas!