Who makes the most kickass waterproof gloves?

[Lord Thomas]

The title pretty much lays out the question. Need new gloves that are WATERPROOF, warm, and generally don't suck. What are they?? I'm willing to spend $ on stuff that doesn't suck.

LT

[flying_raven]

http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/...lpha-SV-Glove#

dont have it but want it

[skimaxpower]

I'm willing to spend $ on stuff that doesn't suck.

Be careful what you ask for.
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or...nd-gloves.html $320

[Rip'nStick]

Waterproof is great but if this is for skiing, and you're skiing hard, remember that your hands sweat too. Same rules apply as for jacket shells and layering.

I am pretty happy with some Patagonia gloves. If I am dealing with freezing rain, I have some OR mits that are waterproof and can go over glove liners. Don't know the model names so there you go.

[Stowelen]

Hestra gloves are the best I've ever used. Super fit and quality.

[Kai]

I have the Arcteryx Alpha SV gloves. They are nice, but not really significantly better than other high end gloves I've worn. Lately, I've been wearing Black Diamond Guide gloves for skiing. They're very warm and dextrous enough for skiing. For climbing, I use the Black Diamond Enforcer, or the Arcteryx Alpha SV.

[XXX-er]

Waterproof is great but if this is for skiing, and you're skiing hard, remember that your hands sweat too. Same rules apply as for jacket shells and layering.

I am pretty happy with some Patagonia gloves. If I am dealing with freezing rain, I have some OR mits that are waterproof and can go over glove liners. Don't know the model names so there you go.

^^^ this

I have taped gortex shells the OR and later the MEC and they get wet from the inside out when your hands sweat

On colder days last year which was -15 to -25C I tried a VB which were just poly disposable gloves, my hands were warmer and the gloves were absolutely dry at the end of the day

[Bobcat Sig]

LT, the real question is what sort of environment are you skiing (I assume?) in? Are you in the PNW slop-a-palooza or the inland Rocky Mountains or somewhere different?

[zeroforhire]

I have been really impressed with my mountain hardware gloves. They use a material called outdry, it seems to work really well.

[XtrPickels]

Kev-gloves bitches.

[Nobody Famous]

Be careful what you ask for.
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or...nd-gloves.html $320

$320.00 -- Holy Christ. I know where used cars sell for that.

[gramboh]

My Hestra Helis got wet a lot last year, the leather soaked through pretty easily on wet days around Whistler. Thinking I will re-bake them and give them another shot this year.

Wondering if the XCR model makes a difference? I'd assume it's the same leather, and I'm pretty sure that was the problem for me last season.

[RXPXSkier]

Hestra gloves are the best I've ever used. Super fit and quality.

Have to second this love mine.

[gregL]

The Scott SMS GoreTex glove is really nice. Not quite as anatomically form-fitting as the Arc'teryx Alpha SV and not quite as burly as the OR, but a fraction of the price:

http://www.evo.com/gloves/scott-sms....Grey_Image.jpg

[PNWbrit]

The spare gloves in your pack.

[Ted Striker]

^^^ this

All "breathable" gloves eventually wet-out. Non-breathable gloves make your hands sweat.

Two pairs of moderately priced gloves are better than one expensive pair.

[gregL]

Pisteoff and PNWbrit are right, no glove is totally waterproof unless it's made of rubber. But a good GoreTex seam-sealed glove will save you one glove switch per day, which makes a big difference.

[shirk]

My Hestra Helis got wet a lot last year, the leather soaked through pretty easily on wet days around Whistler. Thinking I will re-bake them and give them another shot this year.

Wondering if the XCR model makes a difference? I'd assume it's the same leather, and I'm pretty sure that was the problem for me last season.

How often are you applying the leather balm? I re-apply about every three weeks and my hands stayed dry all season in Whistler.

There is no membrane between the liner and leather in the Heli's so you have to keep up on the balm to keep them dry.

With no membrane you give up some waterproof in favour of breathability. The XCR gloves have a Gore membrane layer in them to keep any water that gets past the outer shell from wetting the liner. Liner is not removeable.

Most waterproof glove I've ever used is a full leather Hestra Guide Glove. Slather on lots of balm once a week and water will bead up on them in a full on rain. Lost my first pair, will get another pair this year.

[BoatBound]

H20-Proofness:
I'm trying the Mtn hardware Bazuka's this season. the problem is that with most gloves the h20-proof membrane is a separate inner membrane layer that only blocks moisture from getting to the hands, not blocking the moisture from getting past the outer shell and interior material. So you can still get soggy shells and any material inside the glove. Gore functions as a membrane, Outdry, Event, Neoshell and some others work on the molecular level so they are much more effecient at both h20-proofness and breatheability. Outdry is attached to the outer layer so the moisture does not permeate beyond the outer layer; it does not get inside the glove.

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/OutD...efault,pg.html

Wicking and transport: Gore just doesn't breath that well and the wicking and transport functionality is not that great. so hey a plastic baggie is waterproof but your hand will rot. the key is to have the moisture be wicked away and transported out of the glove.

[Jim S]

I put SNO SEAL on my Hestra mittens and gloves at the beginning of each season and it made a huge difference.
Truly a wonderful product:

[Sessiøn]

The spare gloves in your pack.

Spot on

[coreshot-tourettes]

No one's said it yet so...

Kinco 1927KW ($14) or Kinco 901 ($20) or Kinco 94HK ($20) plus 1 coat of Snoseal ($7/big jar so maybe $0.25 worth) plus nitrile gloves as a vapor barrier ($0.05).

You seriously owe it to yourself to just try this before laying down $$$ on SVs or even Hestras.

[GeezerSteve]

Listen to fellow PNW wet snow skiers XXXer, Pisteoff, PNWbrit and GregL. GoreTex, other PTFE gloves and urethane gloves will wet out, no matter how much $$ you spend. In wet 25F+ (common PNW) conditions, my primary gloves are neoprene. My backup pair are GoreTex or equivalent, which I use for stops and the last runs of the day. On very cold days, I use thin VBs under other gloves, as do XXXer and c-t. An old timer Austrian ski instructor at Alpy often skis with rubber gardening gloves.

[verbier61]

Bd used to have some gloves for ice climbing that were stellar. I guess the name was ice gloves. Too bad they were discontinued

[GeezerSteve]

I used BD Ice Gloves for several years -- until I left them on top of my car at Alpy Lot 2 They were great gloves but they wetted out in wet snow.