Let's start by saying I can DESTROY gloves. There is nothing more satisfying than buying, chewing up, and throwing away the lifeless body of hundreds of dollars worth of gloves every season! It's been this way since as long as I can remember, regardless of how much the glove costs or what brand makes it. I've assumed that gloves aren't and can't be durably made. Maybe...just maybe...I've been proven wrong.
If you and I haven't met make sure to checkout my Bio here. I have been guiding nearly full time for the past 5 years. I follow the cold from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Alaska to Washington state on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. It's safe to say I spend most of my year wearing gloves.
After burning through a pair of C.A.M.P Gecko Hots worth in the ball park of $150 retail I finally purchased a $30 pair of Showa Temres 282-02s off of Amazon. The qualities they advertised were pretty much same as the Gecko Hots. Waterproof, durable, extra grippy palms, cinch for keeping out water, velcro at wrist and blah blah blah. Well if I destroyed these babies they would only be a $30 hit and hardly a financial hit.
They arrived while I was still in Salt Lake City, UT so the next weekend we headed to the Uinta Range east of the city. Here in mid-November there is often early season ice, and more often than not...on the wet side. Perfect for testing a new pair of gloves.
The Showa's were impressively warm with it's low pile fleece lining; not so warm that they'd be my next Denali glove but warm enough for ice climbing, and then stuffing my hands back into my Mountain Hardwear belay gloves. They held warmth in by being completely waterproof due it's rubberized outer layer. The rubberized outer also leads itself to being more grippy than any other specialty glove I've used. It climbed so well with the perfect combination of stickiness and low bulk profile and a snug fit. I had no problems when my ice tool became wet or frozen. Matching hands on a single tool to move to the next was a breeze. These gloves have become my go-to climbing gloves. I have yet to rappel in them but I probably won't as they lack any leather of reinforced palm. But they are a great cost effective glove to have in the quiver!
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