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Waterproof and tough Gloves for scrambling.


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  • #1296191
    Yes 1000
    Spectator

    @mamamia

    I need some tough gloves for scrambling but completely waterproof for our PNW rainy trails. I tried using Mountain Hardwear Power stretch with REI taped Mitts on a hike I went yesterday where it involved tons of scrambling and using ropes couple of places this combination failed miserably.

    #1929489
    Stephen M
    BPL Member

    @stephen-m

    Locale: Way up North
    #1929491
    Yes 1000
    Spectator

    @mamamia

    Thanks Stephen.

    Are these golves taped? on PNW it rains all the time and want to make sure its completely waterproof. Figured it as insulation as well which is a bonus. I looked into Rab Latok gloves but it doesn't say the seams are taped.

    #1929495
    Rick M
    BPL Member

    @yamaguy

    del

    #1929498
    Yes 1000
    Spectator

    @mamamia

    Unheard technology, any idea is some manufacturer makes any gloves using this fabric. I see the market is swamped by Goretex and Event.

    #1929507
    Rick M
    BPL Member

    @yamaguy

    del

    #1929510
    James holden
    BPL Member

    @bearbreeder-2

    no waterproof glove i know will last that long for scrambling … they all get wet anyways as there is one huge honking hole in all of em … the WPB shell inhibits drying as well … not to mention the fact that yr hands sweat

    i use these for everything from belaying to scrambling … http://www.mechanix.com/ … or a cheap pair of fleece gloves if its really wet … you can just wring those out …

    the key is to put yr gloves in yr puffy when not using em to keep em warm …

    #1929511
    Yes 1000
    Spectator

    @mamamia

    Eric,
    Mechanix has a several models, which one do you use. I want something which works in PNW which has worst weather possible for outdoor people.

    #1929515
    James holden
    BPL Member

    @bearbreeder-2

    i use the basic set … or a pair of cheap fleece gloves which dry faster ..

    if yr scrambling and bushwhacking in the rain your hands WILL get wet and yr gloves WILL get soaked eventually … its a fact of life

    the trick is to deal with it through proper technique … not fancy $$$$ gloves, which like goretex shoes dont solve the problem for those conditions … consider that many ski patrollers use basic workers gloves for their job …

    if you want something thats tough, cheap and works … look at what construction or outdoor workers are using for gloves … they need dexterity, durability, affordability and enough warmth for an 8+ hour day in poor conditions … and they dont care about those yuppie labels ;)

    #1929538
    Rick M
    BPL Member

    @yamaguy

    del

    #1929545
    Jonathan Rozes
    Member

    @jrozes

    Locale: Pacific Wonderland

    I've always rotated through multiple pairs of thin, light softshell gloves, but in sustained rainy conditions I'd find myself getting the gloves wet faster than I could dry them out. The Outdry stuff intrigued me, but I always balked at the price.

    Recently, I had the good fortune to acquire a pair of MH Hydra Pros for a song. The Outdry membrane is bonded directly to the shell fabric, so no seams to leak, and equally important, no sliding of layers and subsequent loss of dexterity. We'll see soon enough if it was money well spent.

    #1929560
    Rod Lawlor
    BPL Member

    @rod_lawlor

    Locale: Australia

    I hate to say it, but Eric's is the voice of reason in this one.

    You can spend the next couple of years, and a whole bunch of cash chasing the dream of dry hands, or change the way you think about it and start enjoying the conditions now.

    When people talk about having dry hands, they almost always mean they want warm hands. Especially if they're just out for the day, or if they're able to dry their hands out properly at night. If we go with this as a basic premise, all the rest changes.

    The two simplest ways to do this are fleece with a wind barrier over the top, or wind/vapour barrier with an insulating layer over the top.

    Option one is great. Go with a Powerstretch type layer. (I like my BD Midweights) Over the top of this goes an extra heavy duty gardening rubber glove. Conveniently these come in black. It can rain on these babies all day. You can dig in the wet snow. You will have reasonable dexterity. It will cost you about $25 (Because who would buy at full retail). For the total system though, a second pair of liners makes it perfect. These get kept in an inside pocket, and they get swapped out when the ones you are wearing start to get too wet. Because they will get wet, either from your sweat, or from water leaking in through the big hole at the top! Put the dry liners on, put the rubber gloves back on, squeeze out the wet liners, and put them in the inner pocket to dry/warm up. The only problem with this system is that it probably isn't durable enough for scrambling or heavy rope work.

    Option two is also pretty good. Pick up some nitrile liners. These are like surgical gloves, but much tougher and not as stretchy. They should be available in your supermarket for about $10-$15 for 100 gloves. These go on first. Over the top of these, go with whichever pair of the Mechanix type gloves match the temps you will be out in. Avoid anything with natural leather, as it is slow to dry, and less durable when wet. Their Winter Armour, Safety Fastfit or Material 4X Original all look pretty good. This combination will be a bit less warm, although the barrier/liner glove makes it pretty good, but a bit more dextrous and much more durable for scrambling. Not great for digging around in the snow though.

    Of course much of this was derived from Andy Kirkpatricks rant on gloves
    http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_truth_about_gloves
    and a couple of years and several hundred dollars worth of gloves used in Victoria, Australia, which is a bit like the PNW except wetter and with much crapppier snow. I now use option one when I'm wet in the snow, and option two when I'm wet in the bush. If I'm going to be mixing it up, I take both systems, without the second set of liners.

    This works for me from -15C to about 10C. Any warmer than this, and I generally don't use gloves.

    #1929594
    joe newton
    BPL Member

    @holdfast

    Locale: Bergen, Norway

    Andy Kirkpatrick with some salient advice on gloves and climbing:

    http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_truth_about_gloves

    "You can buy 100% waterproof gloves, but no matter how expensive they are, all of them have one major flaw in their drop-lined, seam-sealed and die-cut design… they all have a dammed great dirty hole in them that lets the rain in. Where you may ask? It’s the one into which you’ve got to stick your hand."

    #1929625
    David Olsen
    Spectator

    @oware

    Locale: Steptoe Butte

    I worked for a while as a musher in California. Always handling rusty chains and other
    wet/freezing tools. I liked the polyester or polyester/rayon blend white string knit gloves (many have cotton blends, avoid those). They were wet all the time of
    course, but durable and CHEAP and more dextrous than other types of gloves. A dozen pair for about $15. They kept my hands warm when active and
    avoided the cracked finger tips that came from trying it with no gloves. The coated nitro or latex palmed versions were too cold and not as dextrous.

    I had mittens for when behind the dogs.

    Something I have used for digging snow caves might work too.Tuck the gauntlet under your shell.

    http://www.safetysourceinc.com/GroupInfo/GroupID/3729
    or
    http://www.safetysourceinc.com/GroupInfo/GroupID/1119494224

    #1929634
    Tad Englund
    BPL Member

    @bestbuilder

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    David, post a link for the White String glove also so we have an accurate idea of what your are suggesting.

    I do like the red gloves

    #1929649
    David Olsen
    Spectator

    @oware

    Locale: Steptoe Butte

    http://www.qcsupply.com/wells-lamont-knit-string-gloves-12-pk.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CPSAlP7m27MCFad_QgodhScAiw

    These are $9 per dozen.

    I use them for running, as liners in leather or other shell gloves, for dirty jobs,
    and in each car for emergencies. Cheap enough you can give them away.

    There are versions with gripper dots on the palm that work well for hanging onto
    tool handles etc.

    They remind me of the old military wool liners, but are more durable and dry faster.

    #1929674
    Douglas Ray
    Member

    @dirtbagclimber

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I also play outside in the PNW, but I disagree with the OP. This is not the worst weather for doing things outdoors. 115 degrees would be the worst weather….

    I think I've tried pretty much all of the different approaches recommended in this thread, and I've decided that off-season outdoor stuff in the wet part of the world has more in common with paddling than any other sport when it comes to being wet. I've found that far and away my favorite gloves for most of the wet and not-to-cold that we get around here are neoprene paddlers gloves, these in particular.

    http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2406&pdeptid=944

    Nothing has ever kept my hands dry. The closest I've come were the rubber gloves used for concrete finishing, but they do fill up with sweat. The beauty of the neoprene gloves is that they do a pretty good job of keeping your hands warm wet or dry, it really doesn't make much difference. They are much more reliable than any other glove I have found in this regard.

    The one's listed above are amazingly dexterous, I can make a bic lighter work with them on. I can lead 5.6 trad with them on, tie knots, fiddle with ski bindings, dig in the snow, handle cold metal, and grab something dropped in a creek without chilling my hands all that badly. The palms and fingers have some sticky silicone that works very well, particularly for rock climbing.

    The mechanic's gloves and other gloves with that tough synthetic leather all seem to soak up water very badly and need to be wrung out often. Fleece and softshell gloves are similar. I usually don't wring the hydroskin gloves out all day. More waterproof gloves are usually to bulky to do a lot of things with, so they end up getting taken on and off and you get chilled hands from having them off and they get wet inside in the process.

    I find that these gloves make all of my cold and wet days outside much better, much like goggles make a blizard so much easier to bear. If I only take one set of gloves these will be the ones, as they don't ever really fail.

    The one downside is that your hands get all prunish if you wear them all day. Be sure to dry out and care for your hands, some other handwear for in-the-tent is essential for long trips.

    Further experiments with neoprene for PNW mountaineering are ongoing….

    #1929680
    Rick M
    BPL Member

    @yamaguy

    del

    #1929681
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    Synthetic work gloves with rubber gloves underneath?

    In colder rain I wear wool gloves. Wool stays pretty warm even when wet.

    #1929682
    Yes 1000
    Spectator

    @mamamia

    These Neoprene gloves looks interesting. Can you also state how durable these gloves with scrambling.

    I also tried by OR wind stopper gripper gloves for hikes where there is no need for scrambling, while the glove is extremely good to stopping wind, it wets out in our constant drizzle and your hands become hot as you warm up. With PNW there is a risk of hands getting numb due to cold and wind as you gain elevation (at least mine does) so some sort of gloves are always a must hiking in our area during winter.

    #1929686
    John S.
    BPL Member

    @jshann

    Read reviews on the NRS on REI and NRS website. Some mention not very durable.

    #1929687
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA
    #1929696
    Tad Englund
    BPL Member

    @bestbuilder

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    David, thanks.
    I also found them on Amazon for $4.99 (w/free shipping for me), I ordered me a dozen!

    #1929701
    Rick M
    BPL Member

    @yamaguy

    del

    #1929709
    David Olsen
    Spectator

    @oware

    Locale: Steptoe Butte

    every quickstop and hardware store carries the white string gloves around here.

    They are not warm enough for all situations by themselves, but often are and save my
    good gloves and mittens from hard use. You can even layer them up if you get some loose
    enough.

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