Thursday, November 12, 2015

Black Diamond Torque Mixed Climbing Gloves--Disposable World Cup Stuff?

According to the Black Diamond web site:

Torque Gloves
A durable, slim-fitting glove with a super-sticky palm ideal for drytooling and mixed cragging, the Torque’s lightweight construction provides incredible sensitivity without palm rolling.



Description
Built for high-end mixed climbing and drytooling, the Black Diamond Torque Glove features a super-sticky palm and low-profile construction for unmatched grip and dexterity. The softshell fabric protects your hands from the elements while remaining highly breathable, and the soft tricot lining adds just enough warmth for the WI5 hanger above the business.


  • Abrasion-resistant woven softshell
  • Slip-Stop palm for unparalleled grip
  • Laminated, brushed tricot lining
  • Articulated neoprene cuff with hook-and-loop closure and carabiner clip loop
  • Compression-molded EVA padding for impact protection

 I can agree with the sensitivity, fit, and sticky palm comments. They are a pleasure to slip in and out of leashes. But the durable adjective is provably misplaced.

After two 30-foot M6 climbs and one 30 lower, the rubber was gone from the right pinky and holidays were evident on the ring finger. Just one short lower.

I called Mountain Tools and they sand "but you've used them." Black Diamond said "they aren't for rappelling, just climbing." However, the company literature does not SAY they are too delicate for any of the realities of climbing.

The next day I went to the same places, climbed 3 times as much and lowered 3 times as much, wearing a pair of 10-for-$3.99 disposable work gloves ($0.39 each, or about 140 times cheaper) and had less wear. Pretty comfortable, too. Perhaps the Torques climbed a little better, but only a little. I may have to start keeping a stack of the discount gloves in my pack. I can loose a lot of them for 39 cents.

2 comments:

  1. Yeah, I wrecked a nice pair of ski gloves because I took a rope tow instead of hiking up from the parking lot... once. When I first started skiing, all there were was rope tows, and the gloves would last an entire season - not just one trip

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  2. The next day I went to some of the same places and climbed twice as much in a pair of 10-for-$3 cotton/vinyl disposable work gloves. About the same amount of wear.

    Just pitiful.

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