Who makes the most kickass waterproof gloves?

[gramboh]

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.

Shit, no wonder, I balmed them up maybe once or twice only, didn't realize you had to do it that often. Do you bake yours or just rub the balm in?

Do you use the Hestra stuff? Or is there a good alternative I can find locally and not have to order online. Would be nice to have a big tin of the stuff Jim S posted. Looked around on MEC's website and couldn't find any.

Thanks for the tip...

[shirk]

I use the Hestra stuff, but the Snowseal stuff works too.

Most of the Hestra shops in Whistler should have the balm, or get SnowSeal from Canadian Tire.

Just use it on the leather, don't slather it on Entrant main shell of the gloves. No baking really needed for the Hestra balm, but a little heat from the hair dryer helps open up the pores in the leather.

[old goat]

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.

Yep--I stay just as dry or drier in these as in Goretex if snosealed. I do fine with Goretex for jackets and pants but hands just sweat too much. Some days I get by with one pair, wet days 2. I have various sizes so I can use them by themselves or with thin or thick liners--I carry a couple of pairs. the downside is that they would be hard to dry in the backcountry on an extended trip. I don't mind chopping wood, shoveling snow etc with them. I destroy gloves with any nylon in them--the pigskin kincos last forever (not marmot proof as I found out this summer though--the marmots were REALLY hungry in the sierras last July).

I found the 94HK's online for 10 bucks--I think they're just as good as the 901's. Mountain hardware in truckee used to have a good price on the 94HK's.

[DasBlunt]

Burton AK Yeti.


Holy shit I need another pair, fuck.

[DasBlunt]

West coastal areas must be hard for finding the right gloves. Everyone runs a little warmer or colder, but add moisture....respect.

[1080Rider]

To answer the question on the first page, I ski in the PNW. On the east side, not the wet side. That said, our snow is not always wet but not necessarily dry. For the $ sounds like Black Diamonds are the shit. Or, am I full of shit?

I ski in N. Idaho and Eastern WA, I don't even use waterproof gloves on most days. I have a couple pair of fox cold paws or polarpaws, some thing like that. I wear them and my hands stay warm. If it gets really cold or wet i have a pair of dakine *ronco GT's (gortex) that I use. It is way different over here than the west side...

[kootenayskier]

For resort skiing, or shorter day trips, treated (sno-seal) full leather gloves are adequately water-proof, grippy, and dexterous. Generally, the more you pay the better they fit. I've found OR gloves to be good value, but Hestra Guides to be the top of the line. But no matter how much money you spend, or how over the top you go on the treating, there will be conditions when any gloves will get soaked through, and leather stays wet and heavy, which can be dangerous or at least miserable. On longer trips, when permanently cold wet hands are not an option, I go with gloves that will dry out in use, from the heat generated by my own body. You need some sort of synthetic palm material that won't absorb moisture, and light fleece or pile insulation that will wick and dry quickly. But because most people only want (and only need) leather, the choices are limited, but after years in my favorite (discontinued) Patagonia Pertex and Pile gloves, I've high hopes for the OR Arete gloves I'm getting for the coming season. MEC and Mountain Hardware also make options.

[Franz Klammer]

I used the PMGear KevGloves for the last 5 seasons for everything: skiing inbounds, touring, mountaineering, ice climbing, etc. I just looooooooooooved them. However, the constant contact with ski edges, sharp rocks and general abrasion finally did them in.

I am now looking for something that similarly durable. I don't care what it looks like, it just needs to be super-durable and needs to keep me warm. Any suggestions?

[Arty50]

I have the Hestra XCR shorts and absolutely love them. The leather outside can and will get soaked on really wet days, but the XCR barrier keeps the inside nice and dry.

[J T L]

http://grandoe.mwrc.net/en/product.php?product_id=40278

Best gloves I have ever owned.
They have 2 different chambers for your hands; one for warmth, and one for grip.

[Sessiøn]

West coastal areas must be hard for finding the right gloves. Everyone runs a little warmer or colder, but add moisture....respect.

The best pair of gloves is the extra pair in your pack.

[Snowy Spartan]

They work great as cheap VBs on cold days. Wear them next to your skin. Unlike some people, I also wear VBs (sox, top and/or gloves) in cool wet weather. In moderately cold temps, nitrile VB gloves confine your body vapors within the VB, thus keeping the insulating glove dry. There is no reason to wear VB gloves on warm days. (OTOH, VB sox keep your boot liners dry in all temps.)

As a 20+ year VB user, my advice is to experiment and see what works for you. Vapor loss can vary greatly among individuals so there are no hard rules re when VB's work for a given person, other than the general consensus that VBs add lots of warmth in very cold temps for anyone.

Don't your hands get all soggy though?

[reefphish]

best pair Ive ever owned is the Marmot Work Gloves. Keeps your hands warm and dry.

[neck beard]

I want a pair of gloves that has space shuttle material in the serious wear areas on both thumb and index finger - the wear areas that come from us being tool using humans. It amazes me how many gloves put stitching in those spots, particularly on the thumb. I have never once worn a hole in the palm of my hands.

[BoatBound]

Since these are using new materials and no one seems to be aware of them

[BrandonH]

^^ thats interesting.....are you using those?

[neck beard]

Interesting. Gloves still have a long way to improve. I'll watch the MH offerings in the future to see where they go. It was Mr Paxton Madison's name and haircut that really did it for me ( just teasing dude, who ever you are)

[rushbikes]

+1 for BD. I've used a handful of different gloves and mitts over the years and BD's have been the most durable and comfy. I've never been swimming in them, but I've never had them soak through.

[neck beard]

Really? I wore through a pair of BD King Pins and also Patrols with that soft yellow leather like it was nobodies business. The fingers are full of superglue plugging holes. And they got sopping wet in moist snow. And wax made the leather come apart. Never again BD gloves for me.

[XavierD]

Mountain Hardware new gloves

Idea sounds good, but I am interested to see what happens when they are used and abused. Having the outer layer as the water proof layer, means that any scuffs/wear/tear is going to be against the water barrier. With a membrane inside a tougher nylon or similar layer, you have the benefit that the membrane is not exposed to the same damage that the tougher material is.

I'm a fan of keeping a good DWR on all your weather exposed soft goods.

[rushbikes]

Really? I wore through a pair of BD King Pins and also Patrols with that soft yellow leather like it was nobodies business. The fingers are full of superglue plugging holes. And they got sopping wet in moist snow. And wax made the leather come apart. Never again BD gloves for me.

Sorry to hear, bud. Nothing but good luck w my mercury mitts. Have had them for years and hope to for many more to come.

[BoatBound]

I bought the bazukas and will use this season. You can snag these on e-omc right now for 114, and I think Altrec has the Medusa's for $80. the gloves are pretty much the same as far as the OutDry membrane. The difference here is this membrane is bonded (not glued) to the leather and fabric outer layer although the out most layer may get wet, it can't penetrate beyond that layer. The membrane is highly breatheable (it is based on Event, but not the same) I used them this past weekend during our EC snow-slush storm. I was outside several times clearing ice/snow off trees and it was very wet. These are brand new of cours so I would expect the DWR to be good, in about 3-4 times outside 1/2 hour at a time swinging a wrought iron pole they did not get wet at all; not even the outer leather. Even more imprerssive was that my hands stayed dry, they wicked and transported very well. I also like the reinforced palms. Time will tell but since I bought them from Backcountry, if they don't work, they will just go back.

Idea sounds good, but I am interested to see what happens when they are used and abused. Having the outer layer as the water proof layer, means that any scuffs/wear/tear is going to be against the water barrier. With a membrane inside a tougher nylon or similar layer, you have the benefit that the membrane is not exposed to the same damage that the tougher material is.

I'm a fan of keeping a good DWR on all your weather exposed soft goods.

[bbense]

^^^ 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.

True, but so far in the Wet Sierra I've found the Mountain Outdry stuff to stay dry longer than anything else.
Full retail isn't cheap, but they are widely enough sold that you can get them cheap at the end of the season.

Small pair cheap

You still need two pair though.

- Booker C. Bense

[gregL]

Anyone got a season or so in a wet climate on the sealed-seam Komperdell gloves? The reviews vary widely.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/kom...colorFamily=01

[183GotamasA/T]

I have been using the Burton AK ($150) fully taped gore tex glove for 7 seasons now.
They cannot be beat! I wear a liner underneath the shell and that's it.
The liners do get wet from my sweaty hands, so I just swap liners and I'm good to go.
I will never buy a glove that doesn't have a fully taped shell with and removable liner.