When the old mercury drops I use Buffalo mitts and if its real bad I'll pop on some waterproof shells. I have tried a pair os seal skin gloves in coolish wet conditions and found them pretty usefull, ideal on the MTB.

I generally ice climb in gloves - with practice you can do most things with them on that you can do without - and have done in some pretty low temperatures. Mitts are generally warmer though because they expose less surface area from which to lose heat, you're insulating a plate rather than a series of tubes. Carry a light pair as back up and for walking when it's very cold.

For drying ease, look for gloves where you can remove the inner completely from the shell or they can take ages to dry out.

I have to say I havn't ice climbed but I find gloves arn't quite warm enough for me.

Personally I don't like the lack of dexterity with mitts. I've got a pair of MH Ascent gloves and use thinnies or P200 gloves with them depending on the temprature.

Most of the year I use Extremities Guide gloves, the old ones which are now discontinued.

Yeah mitts are definitely warmer but aren't great for dexterity. The Buffalo ones are brilliant back-ups as they weight nothing and are pretty warm and windproof. The Pertex tends to get trashed by ice-axe picks though, or at least in my experience.

The Extremeties Guide Gloves look great, but were unavailable by the time I knew they existed :-(

Still looking for the perfect glove!

The main problem I've found (apart from the fact that they ALL leak) is getting a pair that fit well, but are still easy to put on qwith wet hands (ie when the prev pair of gloves tart to leak too much). Is that just me, or do others find this as well.

I use Outdoor Designs fleece gloves, also Extremeties W/Proof(?) ones - can't remember name, and a cheap pair of F&T windbloc chappies. Always carry more than one pair of gloves if I think its gonna be wet / cold.

Si(C)

I use Extremities TUFF BAGS which use paclite with a tough palm fabric over my buff mitts in very cold wet conditions.
Extemities do make a shell mitt with a inner removable polartec mitt.

I actually own a pair of the serious Extremities mitts with the sticky dots and removable pile liner things and have rarely used them, even in the Andes on south-facing faces which are the equivalent of North Faces in the Alps. Horses for courses I guess...

I'll try them out for you if they're looking for a home!

Si(C)

I had some gloves (Sealskinz if I recall correctly) which became sodden in soggy snow.

Fortunately Bob had a spare pair of mitts in his sack and lent then to me. Gloves dried out nicely when worn inside the mitts... But I did find the mitts a bit, well, restrictive. And they did remind me of being about 4 years old...

Yep I know what you mean, but I find mitts the only hand wear that keep life in e'm.I do suffer with circulation in my hands I was diagnosed with RAYNAUDS SYNDROME some ten years back,My hands become pretty useless once they get cold they get numb and throb like you woudn't believe, poles & axes can become totally useless if I let my hands get cold. even at 60 degrees I quite often pop some thin gloves on.

My mother-in-Law has the same. She was the original owner of the Sealskinz, but didn't find them any use for her at all.

In fact she described them as a "pair of marigold rubber-gloves with some wolly stuff over them."

I like em mind. Still I don't really do enough extreme winter walking to justify a pair of mitts.

the seal skinz are ok for warmer weather, perhaps I should do the pots in e'm!I even have to wear mitts for work in the cold, I've got these old shrunken wool mitts were the finger panel folds back, they've lasted well got them from field & trek yonks ago.

This is one reason I don't climb as much as I used to.bummer! did some top rope stuff on the roaches this summer, I felt like a novice, its been so long.

Ouch, I half ripped the tip of my left thumb off a few years ago, trying to place gear with nerve damage was interesting to say the least... It's much better now though, albeit still a bit numb.

The mitts Alex mentioned are some M E ones in a large size. We carry them in winter; the size of them means that they will fit over anyone's gloves if the person is wet or cold or a casualty (or all three!).
They are not carried to be of any general use due to their inherent mitt-ness.

If u know what I mean!

them being mitt-like an all that!

I have a pair of Mountain Range mitts - Gore-Tex with removable fleece inners.
They're extremely warm and totally waterproof (I've even canoed in them and pushed ice out of the way of the boat, and stayed dry and warm). Yes, restricted dexterity is an issue, but you get used to it and I can do many tasks in them.
I use Extremities Sticky Thickies in warmer/drier weather. But these gloves are getting a bit old now and I want a new pair - anyone know if they're still made and available?

Extremities make a similar mitt, fleece and shell, I bourght some Extremities shell outers made from gortex pack lite fabric , jolly good bit of kit .check out their web site.

Jan,

Extremeties Sticky Thickies £15 a pair from Cotswolds. So, yep they still make 'em.

HTH

Si(C)