UKC

They're so warm, dextrous and well made that Kevin Woods struggles to find fault with Mountain Equipment's new Super Couloir gloves.

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In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

£125 for a pair of gloves? 

I recently got a brilliant pair of Simond gloves from Decathlon, £22 they cost.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/cascade-glove-id_8331057.html

 

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

ME definitely seem to be taking aim at Arcteryx with their prices lately. £125 is a big ask, particularly as in my experience they won't last more than a season or two.

In reply to planetmarshall:

To be fair to Mountain Equipment, they have a wide range of gloves available. The Mountain Glove comes in at £35, the Guide at £60 (just to name two). The Super Couloir is their top of the range glove, so it's hardly surprising that it's got the highest price.

From previous experience of using a great many gloves in Scottish Winter, you buy cheap you buy twice, maybe thrice, possibly more. Whilst I'm sure those Decathlon gloves are a bargain at £22, I'd like to see how they perform after a few outings. On cheaper models stitching tends to unpick rapidly, material wears away, and the general waterproofing (or lack of it) is soon felt. It's not unheard of to go through a few pairs of gloves such as this within a single season, which is a real waste of money - not to mention miserable whilst you're actually climbing.

With that in mind, just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's good, but equally just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's good either. However, Kevin certainly seems impressed and I'll take his word for it. Whether or not you wish to is another thing, but that's your choice to make (and I can completley understand why you might baulk at spending £120 on a pair of gloves because it is - before I get lost within an alternate reality - a lot of money!).

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

For £125 I'd expect a cure for hot aches - and to be honest, if you haven't suffered a bit, have you really even been out winter climbing?

On a serious note, I'm sure they are great gloves but more than double the price of ME's previous flagship glove? - £80 or £90 would have been more appropriate IMHO, considering they WILL eventually get wet, worn out and old. 

I got the £22 Decathlon gloves just before Christmas and have since done 8 winter routes in them this season, whilest they aren't perfect you certainly get alot for your money - They seem to be holding up pretty well but as you say, it will be interesting to see whether they see the end of the season. 

 

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

Anything with goretex will cost that sort of money. I can testify that they stay dry even in the foulest winter weather (not rain). Not something I can say of my decathlon ones which still good for certain times, but it is comparing apples and pears. A goretex gloves have its place in my view as a belay glove. My experience is a dry glove is a warm hand on belays. On lead, the thinner the better as heat comes comes dexterity and blood flow, not insulation as many believe, and any glove will become wet no matter what. So no need to spend £££ on a lead glove in my view. The trick is to have an efficient glove system essentially. I paid a small fortune for my Arcteryx beta AR glove 4 seasons ago and they are worth their weight in gold, specially on long winter belays with a lot of spindrift. I certainly wouldn't want to have a decathlon glove when the sh*t hits the fan

In reply to Ramon Marin:

I'd need to see it to believe it - Nothing escapes full Scottish! 

Time will tell whether they are worth the investment - I'll be holding off until they come down to an affordable price - my scumbag Decathlon gloves tick all the boxes for me atm! :P 

 

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

They do, no reason for making it up. I don't use them on walk ins, only belays, so they've never had to withstand rain, only wet snow. On belays they have always stayed dry on about 15ish routes in Scotland and about 10ish routes in France, Canada and Italy. My lead gloves (ME super alpine, amazing lead glove) get wet, but at arrival ay belay they go inside my jacket and stay toasty.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Have you tried climbing in them? - It's all very good saying they stay dry at the belay, but thats when your gloves have the least interaction with the mountain! 

Goretex-shmoretex, get them stuck into 3 or 4 pitches of Scottish and I bet they get wet! 

Regardless of this argument, if they work for you then thats what matters - If you can afford to splash out £125 then great, but for the average joe they are an expensive glove! 

 

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

I've a couple of pairs of the BD Punishers that are at least five seasons old now, and they're only now just starting to give in to the inevitable. But neither has ever really let in water as far as I can remember, and they're not even Goretex.
I'd be quite tempted to replace at least one pair with the Super Couloirs, if they fit me; the Punishers are the best climbing gloves I've come across, so if the ME ones can match them I'll be very happy (or at least as happy as you can be when £125 lighter)

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

I'm sure they are fantastic but when gloves cost that much I expect them to have, in addition to superlative design and build, a homing device for when one or both of them gets lost.

In reply to nufkin:

The BD Punishers look good - Similar in style to the ME Super Couloir - Would be interesting to compare the £70 BD's to the £125 ME's.

Totally agree, if they last 3 or 4 seasons, maybe more then its great value for money - Maybe I'm being a bit tight, but if I was investing that kind of money into a glove I really would want to see results well above what is currently available on the market. 

In reply to nufkin:

I'm impressed your Punishers lasted that long, even though I liked mine they never lasted more than a season. 

n.b. during those seasons I was averaging around 30-40 routes, so they were really getting a good hammering

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

I don't understand why you would want to lead with gore tex gloves.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

If I spent £125 on a pair of gloves, you bet I'd want to be able to lead in them - Goretex or not!

It's a glove, not a swiss watch, they should be multi purpose! 

 

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

I'm presuming you don't subscribe to having a dry/warm pair of gloves to belay in then? Assuming this is the case I highly recommend buying a pair, or reserving a current pair for this purpose, because it really is a game changer as far as warmth is concerned.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I generally carry 3 pairs of gloves and 1 pair of mitts when I go climbing, a thin pair for walk ins, and 2 warmer pairs of gloves for climbing - I don't normally swap them between climbing and belaying, I just change them over when I feel they have become too frozen up or wet! 

This may be due to the fact I've never had to belay for any real length of time, perhaps this is something I'd adopt when I start climbing harder routes and find myself at shivery belay's for longer.

 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:my punishers have held up pretty well, and thats for climbing, cycling to work and all sorts of random outdoor work, and are still pretty good in the wet.

i also have the Mtn equipment randonee which is much easier to get on and off than the punishers and very good except it gets wet, then cold.  If the super couloir fixes that then its a  winner, albeit prices

 

In reply to planetmarshall:

Did you miss this? 

https://www.ellis-brigham.com/products/mountain-equipment-tupilak-45l-rucks...

 

It certainly looks like a nice pack (I do have Force Ten Alpine 45 which feels very good), but I will give that a miss since my new acquired Montane Cobra 25 for £50 is quite impressive. Really surprised me as I have quite few Osprey packs and been their fanboy for few years now. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

I have an pair of the ME Couloir gloves (the old style yellow ones) that are coming to the end of their life - Anyone know if these Super Couloir ones are similar or warmer?  I get very cold hands and don't mind spending more if they are good a toasty! 

In reply to Ramon Marin:

On Belays I usually change into a pair of £25 Dachstein mitts, which I will take over your Arcteryx gloves any day of the week. I have never, ever experienced hotaches - though I suspect that is more down to biology.

 

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I must admit I've never been quite as busy 

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

I've got a new pair of these and tried them out last week. They are hands down the best pair of winter gloves I've ever climbed in. The sizing is tighter then other gloves but the gloves are warm, keep damp out of the cuffs and that pull loop is just killer. I don't see how they could make them better. I picked mine up for £90

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

If you find these too expensive then I recommend the Randonee glove, also by mountain equipment. Same shape, same leather palm, but no goretex liner so much cheaper (about £80 I think). They have an all fibre pile liner - a bit warmer and bulkier than these I think, but quite dextrous once it packs down a little. They do a glove and gauntlet version - the gauntlet is much better for a tidy fit around a jacket cuff. I'm on my second pair of the older generation and have just bought a new par of the newer design. I wax the leather regularly which stops them absorbing too much water.

Caveat is that I have used them mainly for skiing / Ski montaineering. I have done some climbing in them though and for me they are fine for that too.

In reply to Harrison_Connie:

I think we use gloves in a radically different way you and me. So yes, I don't think you would make the most of a goretex glove if you belay and lead with the same gloves.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Everyone has a system that works for them - I've never felt the need to swap gloves between climbing and belaying, sounds like a faff! 

However, if it works for you then thats the important thing.

I still really like the look of the Super Couloir's, they look great and I'll certainly be picking up a pair once they drop in price. 

Might be a hard one to explain when £125 goes missing and all I have to show for it is a pair of fancy pants gloves! :P 

 

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

"Whilst I'm sure those Decathlon gloves are a bargain at £22, I'd like to see how they perform after a few outings. On cheaper models stitching tends to unpick rapidly, material wears away, and the general waterproofing (or lack of it) is soon felt."

Ref the Decathalon Gloves after two seasons ice climbing in italy they are still good and are standing up to this seasons winter mixed climbing in the UK. They have stood up very well to everything I have thrown at them. Easily as good as my Rab Baltoro gloves but half the price.

Perhaps you could run a feature "entry point" gloves versus the top of the range?

In reply to starbug:

I've often picked up those Simond gloves in Decathlon, but no matter how many times I've tried them on it won't bloody change the fact that they don't fit my stupidly proportioned hands. I do exactly the same with the B'Twin enduro style bike helmet which is about a quarter of the price of all the other ones of that style - but, no, my head hasn't changed shape and it still doesn't fit.

So the Simond gloves look great, but may not fit if you have fat stubby fingers like I seem to! I do have the Simond softshell gloves that have been pretty good but I burst a load of stitching on them trying to take them off when they and my hands were wet. My branded lead gloves (Ortovox) are still working well after about 10 years of quite a lot of use, while the Simond ones broke on maybe their second season. I can sew up the Simond ones, but still - they aren't perfect despite the great price.

 

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Why belay in gloves? Even great gloves are freezing compared to big mitts.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Twenty quid Simond leather gloves still going strong after 2 seasons and 20+ routes...

In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Tip to make shell gloves last longer: paint the stitching with Seamgrip or whatever it's called now. Thin bead along the seams and work it in. It looks awful but your gloves will last a lot longer. I got the tip from an article in one of the mags by an Alpine climber, can't remember his name, very tall English guy well into his DIY gear. Anyway I've a pair of Outdoor Designs soft-shell gloves which are 15 years old and still going strong.