UKC

Reading the recent review of winter gloves I was wondering about the buffalo mitts - does anyone use these for belaying in? is the pertext not a little slippy for rope handling? anyone caught a fall wearing these?

any info/thoughts much appreciated!

thanks

In reply to somethingelse:

Yep, use them all the time, they are awesome, super warm and super light!

In reply to maybe_si:

great, thanks for your reply.

In reply to somethingelse:

They aren't very durable, I trashed a pair on curved ridge. However they are cheap and do keep your hands warm even after the seam round the thumbs split open

In reply to somethingelse:

Buffalo Mitts sizing seems to be too small
If you are Medium get Large, Large get XL and XL get XXL
I suspect they know they got it wrong simply by the fact that they are the few gloves / mitts which do XXL.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I also use these belaying,they are great, but after a while I've found they're getting caught in stuff more and more often, and tend to hole fairly easy on ice screws etc, but this hasn't affected their warmth etc.

With regards to their sizing, I think it's more that they have used one sizing system to cover both genders.

In reply to somethingelse:

thanks again to everyone for the replies. have those that have replied actually caught falls whilst belaying in the mitts? I only ask because i guess its perfectly possible to go winter climbing and never catch any falls… might be being overly cautious but am worrying about the pertext melting/letting the rope slip through…

In reply to somethingelse:

I don't think I've ever caught a fall belaying in the mitts, however, unless you're planning on catching it on the live rope there should be that much heat transmitted from the rope. I've held my belay plate after long abseils without any problems, which I would guess has a much higher temp, but I may be wrong.

Certainly don't think they'd melt at a lower temperature than that at which your hands feel burnt (have accidentally left them to try on a very hot radiator before with no visible affects), which mine personally don't after catching indoor/trad/sport falls.

In reply to somethingelse: Hiya, I have caught falls wearing these mitts with no problem. I also lead hard (for me) mixed and ice in them, and have no problems gripping my tools. I have wrist loops on them so I can whip them off to place gear, and they are easy to get back on one handed. I never get cold hands using this system.
Cheers, Ross.

In reply to ross:

Good point wrist loops, the mitts are very very light and get blown away easily. Either a wrist loop or a smaller loop and clip to rucksack shoulder strap when taking off.

In reply to somethingelse:

thanks for your replies, much appreciated

In reply to somethingelse:

The pertex is more likely to rip being caught between krab & belay plate, than anything else. They are fantastic, simple mitts, just there are others more suitable for belaying (outdoor designs summit inferno)

Stuart

In reply to somethingelse:

You can belay with them, but I prefer something with a palm. The montane mitts may fit the bill as they are similar in a lot of ways, though slightly warmer and with a rubber palm.

In reply to somethingelse:

These gloves might be a better option: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MTP-Goretex-Outer-Mittens-Medium/dp/B00FYQPGN6

I bought them on eBay for 11 quid posted and they feel brilliant. They have little rubber/PVC dots so they provide loads of grip. I did not have a chance to use them outside, but be aware that they are quite long, mine reach elbow.

In reply to somethingelse:

Never belayed in them and I wouldnt want to but if you dont have any then just get them and loose them in the bottom of your bag, you'll thank yourself when when your active gloves are wet and when its blowing like a bitch, these little beauties will do what nothing else seems to for the price - basically keep you warm and allow them to breathe