UKC

Looking to buy a pair of general purpose winter mountain gloves.
I'm currently looking at three:
RAB Guide
Montane Resolute
or Mountain Equipment Guide.

Any thoughts on these, or something similar I've missed?

Cheers

In reply to Gordonbp: I have just bought a pair of these and I am looking forward to trying them out, the deal price is also a steal http://www.v12outdoor.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=50_60&products...

In reply to Gordonbp:

If you're a size small

I can recommend these :-

http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/marmot_alpinist_glove_2010

At that price they are awesome.

Sorry know nothing on the others.

cheers

Gaz

In reply to Gordonbp: Discussed extensively here: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=521930

In reply to Gordonbp: I aren't a big fan of waterproof gloves to be honest but out of the three you suggested ME guides are good value, not the warmest but they're ok, not tried the Montane's but they look good and along the similar line - pile lining, leather palm, quite dexterous. The RAB guides "look" really nice (i.e. flashy) but on my hands they feel pretty undexterous for the amount of insulation you're getting, much thicker palms and leather which may last longer but the ME/Montane ones will prob be more dexterous. Also not as keen on the fleece lining as the pile liners.

The two suggestions mentioned with links I'd personally avoid, regardless of the price. Gloves with a separate fleece liner are a recipe for disaster imo-bulky, cold and guaranteed to have you fighting your hands into them. Having said that I haven't actually used either of them.

In reply to Gordonbp:

General Purpose: http://shop.snowshepherd.co.uk/Venitex-Leather-Gloves-size-8

In reply to jonnie3430: Can second those actually, they're great. Although obviously not the most dexterous glove in the world. Really makes you appreciate features like a pre-curved palm and boxed fingers. If only they made those exact gloves with those features they'd be perfect.

In reply to Gordonbp: I have ME guides, they are excellent apart from I struggle to get my pinky finger in sometimes!

In reply to Gordonbp:

Throwing Skytech Argon's into the mix.

Not totally waterproof, but as long as you're not travelling ultra light, at £5 a pair you can take as many as you want and just use them for half a day each.

In reply to Gordonbp: ive got ME randonee's. warm, comfy and dextrous. only bad point is the short cuff but its not the end of the world really, i'll be getting some new ones when these wear out.

In reply to Sharp:

Lighter weight general purpose and excellent in the Alps in summer: http://www.dickiesstore.co.uk/dickies-workwear/accessories-and-safety/glove... (Short cuffs aren't such an issue in Alps in summer)

Argons are great for tech climbing too.

In reply to Gordonbp:

Rab Baltoro are amazing gloves. They have a nice thick pile lining on the back of the hands where you loose most of your heat because of the big blood vessels, and have supple leather palms with thin insulation which means you get loads of dexterity and durable grippy leather. They are a softshell glove, which makes the breath well, but not 100% waterproof, but that's rarely a problem in my opinion.
HIghly recommended and worth every penny!

In reply to Gordonbp:

Can't say I'd buy the ME Guides again, in fact I started a thread recently about Nikwax Glove Proof after finding their waterproof abilities distinctly lacking in mild drizzle. Just anecdotal evidence, but I have seen other people online complaining of the same thing.

It seems you either go the hella expensive route of buying top end gloves, which may or may not work, or experiment with loads of cheap work gloves. Still not sure which avenue I'm going to pursue.

In reply to Gordonbp:

Fit is really important for gloves, especially if your going to use them for climbing. If you havn't already go to a shop and try loads of pairs on, dont be afraid to try on womens gloves aswell if you have smaller hands like me. Ideally you want as little 'deadspace' at the ends of the fingers as possible and a really thin layer over the palm for the best dexterity.

FWIW the three gloves you have mentioned, I find the ME guides fit the best but are probably the least warm of the three. Only thing that lets the ME guides down are they are an absolute pain to fix if you pull the pile liner out to dry it (top tip if you get them - never pull the pile liner out).

If its for more general mountaineering rather than climbing, dexterity probably isn't as vital and you might be better off with a nice pair of mitts which could double as belay mitts for climbing. Rab Baltoro's or ME randonee's might be worth a look aswell, try go for something thats warm whilst wet such as pile with softshell outers rather than the waterproof gore-tex variety.

Have a look through older threads on here aswell and you'll find a load of opinions, just a case of finding what works for you.

In reply to Gordonbp:

Tried all of the above on today and I settled on the Montane Resolute. They might not have been the most dextrous in the shop, but I think this will improve with use due to the pile insulation in the fingers compacting a bit. Also I can use all he buttons on my camera, so that's as dextrous as I need to be really. It's the pile that really sold the gloves to me as they felt comfortably the warmest, especially at the fingers, which is pretty important to me as I suffer from raynauds and got a bit of frost nip last year. The thick pile on the front of the wrist also feels rather luxurious.

I doubt they will be as durable as the Rab or ME gloves due to the materials used, although the outer fabric does feel pretty tho considering how light and flexible it is. They will be getting a thorough testing next week on a skiing trip and I am hoping for toast fingers!

In reply to Gordonbp:
Several pairs of work gloves, these are my choice; http://www.xs-stock.co.uk/greglcmaster-artic-polar-extra-warm-extra-thick-e...

A cauple of mountain equipment guide gloves; http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/head_hands_+_feet/hands/guide_...

A pair of mountain equipment assaults; http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/head_hands_+_feet/hands/assaul...

In reply to Gordonbp:

The Resolutes are really nice, and very warm, but make sure you never pull out the liner. It's a bugger to get it back into the fingers. Almost got frost bite due to that.

In reply to Gordonbp:

BD ramblas. bit of a copy of the arcteryx ones at 1/3 the price. inners dont shift about, simple design with minimal seams, primaloft insulation. can even get arcteryx-competitive colours (citrus green or new born swine anyone?).

whatever you get, dope them well with wax applied to warm leather. well cared for gloves can last years and get better with age.

In reply to Gordonbp:

Check out Outdoor reserach. Not a fane of ME. Like Rab. Have the Latok but my fingers are not long enough. They are XL and the Large as too small.

I purchased the OR luminary glove. Very nice. Fibre inner with a Softshell outer. Long gauntlet. I compared them to Arc'teryx and felt these were better.

Also, got the Storm tracker as a do it all glove. Great fit. In the lakes this weekend will let you now. Guess it willl be cold and wet.