Looking for glove and mitt advance

Mark,
Me too; I have searched and bought many gloves, but I can not find #2 on your list. For liners I have a knit polyester pair, knit merino pair, and a fleece pair; they all provide more warmth, in that order..

It is the middle waterproof shell I can not find. Everything has failed a simple immersion test! Well, with one exception, my SealSkinz are waterproof down to 12in depth, BUT they soak up 140% of their weight (88g gloves becomes 218g) when wet. Below 0'F they would be 110gram blocks of ice.

As another example, my Montbell "drytech" shells were advertised as waterproof, but wet through in just a few seconds under running water.

The only goretex gloves I can find come with at least 100g thinsulate (or similar) insulation. I only need a waterproof shell, and I want separate layers for my insulation.

So I echo your request, does anyone know of a waterproof (tested and verified personally) shell glove?

I may not be reading this correctly, but you want to use a heavy liner glove like 200 weight fleece for most of the time, coupled with a waterproof breathable shell glove for snow work etc.? Then the insulated mitt for "resting wear" at camp, belay, rest stops, etc.?
Are you looking for something like the OR Arete system with a Patagonia Micropuff mitten?

I have never found a glove that is actually waterproof (except Sealskins, but as has been mentioned, they are terrible for how much water they absorb). But, I would never need one unless it is raining. For keeping my hands dry in snow, I've had good luck with softshell gloves like those used for ice climbing. The OR Contact glove fits me the best. I can tie my boots, put on and take of crampons, and do most other things while wearing them and they are very hard to saturate. I just got the OR Latitude system with a softshell liner and Paclite shell mittens. I can use the liner for 90% of my activities, and use the mitt if my hands will be in snow for prolonged periods or if it rains. Given the water-resistance of the softshell liners, it is easy to take them out of the shell mittens for short periods to do delicate work without getting them too wet. For extra insulation at camp, I use the primaloft inner mittens from my OR Alti-mitts.
I used to use powershield liners in a heavier mitt system, but found that when I needed dexterity such as putting on crampons, they got wet from any contact with moisture. Same thing with heavier fleece gloves. My softshell gloves don't do that.

-sorry if I am way off with what you are asking about, and if "snow work" means more technical stuff, my system may not work for you. Again, have you looked at the Or Arete?

Hi Michael:

Yes… you have got down how I am planning to use the gloves / mitts. Not highly technical… my shoulder is toast so climbing is out… just snowshoeing, skiing, winter camping, snowball fights with my daughter and her friends, etc.

I have looked at OR Arete. I would have preferred thicker liner and no insulating in the shell, but they seemed decent. Alas, the fingers were too short for my pinky and ring finger so they going back to STP :-( .

The Patagonia Mitts looks pretty much like what I was looking for in the "belay" mitts.

As Brett mentioned, most gloves won't keep external moisture out. I to found that sealskinz gloves are some of the more waterproof, but I didn't like they way they felt on my hands. Andy Kirkpatrick has kindly suggested on his pyschovertical site that that dishwashing gloves are waterproof but that's not quite what I am looking for either.

The best protection system I had used in the past was my old OR modular mitts which did keep my hands dry, which are some of the items missing. I could pick up a pair of OR Latitude Mitts which seem to be the closest thing to my old mitts. Alas, I found the stiffness of the latitudes shell (much like my old mitts) doesn't give me as much control as some other mitts I have worn, and are fair short of my gloves. I would like to find something that is an improvement.

Unless something pops up, I will stick with my MH Tempest Gloves. They have good dexterity, very low bulk, a durable palm, and ofter the right amount of insulation for most of my days. Combined with a part of powerstretch or powerdry liners they handle all but the coldest conditions in the sierras. Alas, they aren't taped, so the get pretty wet with a moderate amount of time spend working with snow and the conduit membrane slows down drying. I would compensate by bring chemical handwarmers to help me dry them out overnight.

>> 1: Inner glove which has a wicking liner (like powerdry or driclim), modest low bulk insulation, and highly breathable DWR shell. I want these to have enough dexterity that I don't have to take them off for common activities. I want to be able to dry them out overnight in my sleeping bag. While a bit bulky, something like a 200wt fleece glove would do the trick if they inter grated nicely into the shells, and they shells we extremely breathable.

Hi Mark-

Have you looked at REI's "All Season" Gloves made from Polartech Windpro Hardface? They're a good convergence of wicking, wind resistance, breathability, snow shedding, and water resistance. (I also have a pair of their now-discontinued mitts of the same material which I like even more than the gloves.)

Cheers,

-Mike