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Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 12:26 pm
by dave54
I am deciding about hiking gloves. Not to keep my hands warm, but to protect them.

When off-trail or scrambling I use my hands more -- grabbing branches, pulling myself over rocks, etc. My hands get scraped and abraded.
So I thought about some protection. Leather work gloves are too hot for summer hiking, and must remove them to do anything dexterous with fingers.
On-line searches show winter gloves more about warmth. A few summer or sun gloves show up, but they look too flimsy and would get damaged easily. I saw a pair from Outdoor Research like that -- seemed rather thin but cannot tell from a web page thumbnail photo. I think fingerless or half-gloves would be sufficient for what I want.

My thoughts are biking gloves with no palm padding, or a pair of lightweight gardening gloves that I cut the fingers off myself. Any thoughts?

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:25 pm
by grampy
have you thought about Kevlar fabric gloves ?
Something like the model in my link; described as “uncoated” (not the ones rubberized on their “palm” side) - Kevlar is lightweight and extremely abrasion-resistant.

https://www.airgas.com/product/Safety-P ... JwQAvD_BwE

I haven’t used these for hiking, but some of my former aerospace coworkers used to use something similar when handling titanium sheet metal parts (with extremely sharp edges). You could still cut the fingertips off if you want.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:52 pm
by c9h13no3
My thoughts haven't changed. Just buy some cheap, thin work gloves. Sierra rock & brush will destroy them in short order, so no sense in spending more than $10.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 5:41 pm
by Wandering Daisy
I get my garden gloves at the Dollar Store. Now it is $1.25. They last one or two trips. I mainly wear gloves to keep mosquitoes off my hands and because I always get damage on the area where the strap of my trekking pole crosses by my thumb. I also have some very thin, soft leather "driving gloves" (women's dress gloves) that I cut off the finger tips. I used these as belay gloves when I climbed. I got them at Goodwill.

I saw a fellow this summer who had gloves that are specifically designed for trekking poles. They were a lot like bicycle gloves. He told me where he got them, but I cannot remember what he said.

I would think Kevlar gloves may be too slippery for climbing. You want a glove that grips the rock.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 6:37 pm
by grampy
Daisy might be right about Kevlar being “too slippery”, but at $6 per pair, I wouldn’t call that “expensive”. Maybe I’ll pick up a pair at a nearby welding supply store (to avoid paying shipping), and report back later.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:56 am
by paul
I use light knit work gloves with a coated palm, to save on sunscreen on my hands and to protect them from the abrasive granite when talus scrambling. Plus I find my skin does not dry out so badly. I use the same type gloves at work a lot, so I have tried numerous brands.
These are the most breathable I have found:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/West-Cheste ... lsrc=aw.ds

And pretty hard to lose, given that color!

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 7:00 pm
by bobby49
I use light knit work gloves just like the previous poster showed, except I bought mine at the dollar store.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 12:21 pm
by gary c.
They might be a little warm but there are many styles of the Mechanix gloves to choose from. Try some different ones on and see if you like them.

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-Wear-Du ... 185&sr=8-6

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2022 1:18 pm
by scottmiller
For my last trip, I bought some gloves exactly for that purpose. I was really glad to have them. Usually my hands are really messed up after a trip, but they worked well.
I bought the Outdoor Research Melody Sensor Gloves. Unfortunately, they were expensive and started to wear out quickly. I'll probably get one more trip out of them, but I will try something cheap instead. I looked for durable thin hiking gloves, with fingertips, and couldn't find any. Climbing gloves would probably be durable but they are very expensive.
Anyway, your idea to get gloves is a good one.

Re: Hiking gloves advice requested

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:46 pm
by BrianF
I use biking fingerless gloves with a small amount of padding in the palm and stretchy material on the back. also keeps the sun off the back of my hand