warm and sensitive

By Illimani94 Ranked #16 - Gloves January 22, 2011

Gloves in the modern style of "climb light and swap to belay mitts if it's frigid". I've used these down to about 10F in reasonable comfort. The fit is superb, and the combination of softshell outer and light fleece insulation makes for gloves in which I can handle gear, tie knots, use my fingers. The leather, fabric, stitching have held up well so far. I'd like to say that I don't need the "ice armor" on the backs, but more than once the foam has saved me from bruised to a hand or finger.

Negatives... They're not especially waterproof, but then what glove is out in the snow. They stay dry enough over the course of a day out on the ice. The fleece liner packs down quickly. I have yet to wash these, so the liners may refluff when I do. And the fixed liner makes the gloves slow to dry, which is problematic when living out of a tent instead of a lodge or hut. The real solution to points 2 and 3 is a modular glove with replaceable liner gloves. These seem to be out of favor these days, so BD is in the mainstream with this glove. Oh well...

Overall I like very much. Compared to the BD Specialist the Punishers have much better feel and dexterity, yet the Punishers seem fairly tough and reasonably warm. If you climb in the light-glove style these are a great choice.

View Details: Black Diamond Punisher Glove

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