UKC

I'm looking for a thin pair of water resistant/roof, leather palmed, lightly insulated gloves for ice fall climbing mainly in Norway, has anyone got any recommendations? Looking at Arcteryx Alpha SL at the moment, anyone had any experience with them or Arcteryx gloves in general?

Using Black diamond gloves at the moment but I find their lighter weight gloves loose shape and the leather palm goes baggy.

Thanks in advance!

In reply to esoteric:

I'm hoping for a pair of these for Christmas: http://shop.snowshepherd.co.uk/epages/es122028.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Sh...

In reply to jonnie3430:

Looking for something a bit more dexterous, they look a solid rope work glove though, have you tried a pair before?

In reply to esoteric:

I love the dickies insulated work gloves, but the cuff isn't long enough, I moaned about this snow Shepard, so this may be a response. The dickies are the best summer alpine glove I know. I'll ask for a pair of these for Christmas to try them out.

In reply to esoteric:

I've been rather happy with OR Lodestars in Scandinavia, how ever they ain't even water resistant.

OR's Supervert or Extravert might be an option to consider.

As for the 'Ryx gloves, I'm sure they are indeed stellar... at least their older style gloves were topnotch, just über spendy.

In reply to esoteric:

Have been using Arc'teryx gloves for years.

Their alpha SL glove is ok. One thing I find with Arc'teryx gloves is that the opening for the hands are not so big and almost disproportional to the glove size. Makes taking some of them on and off a bit of a hassle, so watch out for that.

For ice climbing I use the Teneo gloves now, which differs only slightly from the Alpha SL. I have two pairs, one for climbing in and one stuffed inside my jacket keeping warm until they are needed. If I expect water then I have the Beta AR shell glove to wear over the top.

As for the Teneo, I thoroughly recommend it had two seasons out of mine so far and they still have the same shape and show very little wear. I find they are dexterous enough for handling ice screws and carabiners easily and warm enough to handle most temperatures, providing you don't get wet.

They also are fairly trim fitting which means they don't get caught in carabiners when you're clipping ropes etc, which I find happens very often with thicker gloves. The adjustable cuff is comfortable under a jacket and is low profile enough to not interfere with mid-layers. This also means that they work well as a liner glove underneath a shell, which was the original reason for me getting them in the first place.

With the sizing, try a pair on if you can and also consider getting a size smaller than normal. The articulation is excellent but you also get masses of dexterity with a smaller size too by not having excess at the finger tips, all depends on the shape of your hands and what you feel is comfortable.

Whatever gloves you do buy, get two pairs. It's pricey but totally worth it.

In reply to esoteric:

I use OR stormtracker and swap them out for a thicker pair or mittens when belaying

In reply to esoteric:

I have previously used lightweight leather Arcteryx gloves (similar to the ones you mention) for winter climbing. Very dexterous but lasted 1 season before ripping big holes around the forefinger and thumb. I think this was from rope work and abseiling more so than climbing. I repaired them and still use them as spares.

However, I have since used Mountain Equipment Super Alpine gloves. They appear to use a different kind of leather which is noticeably more tacky than the Arcteryx gloves which felt more like a traditional work glove. They have been going for a season and a bit (probably around 15-16 routes) and there is no noticeable wear on them. In addition, they are as dexterous (once broken after a day or so) as the Arcteryx pair whilst being warmer due to the long cuffs which cover the wrists better.

I would definitely recommend the Mountain Equipment gloves, in particular, as they should be a fair bit cheaper and, from experience, may last longer.

In reply to esoteric:

For me, I found that expensive gloves were the emperor's new clothes.

These are cheap as chips and absolutely fantastic. Try - you'll only waste a fiver if you don't liek them:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=argon+gloves&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&am...

In reply to esoteric:
£12 in Decathlon , had 2 pairs now for ice climbing and skiing.

In reply to esoteric:

For years of Finnish icefall climbing I used some Rab ones then BD punishers. For leading ice they can be 'medium' weight, not super thin softshell, but not the thickish warmest either. Don't use tiny krabs on your ice QDs as you need to be able to clip in midweight gloves.

In reply to esoteric:

I don't generally suffer from cold hands and really like the dexterity of the ME Super Alpine Glove. The Palm is sticky but they are not waterproof. ME make another similar glove that is Gortex lined however I've found my hands sweat up more in these and get quite cold as a result. I usually save these for wet ice climbing situations. My first pair are now coming into there 3rd season and looking a little tired but still useable just bought another pair for when the inevitable happens. As for Scottish winter, bigger, warmer and waterproof work better for me.

In reply to esoteric:

Last year, for Euro icefall climbing, I pushed the boat out (for me) and bought some Outdoor Research Illuminator Sensor gloves. I found them altogether excellent in that they're dextrous and warmer than I expected for relatively thin gloves. Like others I take a pair for climbing and a warmer pair for belaying + a third (old and tatty) pair as back up and for abseiling - I'm not abbing in £80 gloves! (NB there's also always a pair of Dachstein Mitts in the bottom of my sack for when all else fails).