For 2012, Mountain Hardwear updated their Minus One Glove with all the latest weatherproofing technology. Combining an OutDry waterproof membrane on the inside with Q.Shield treatment on the outside, the Minus One Glove now performs even better in full on ice, mixed, or alpine conditions.
A technical climbing glove, the Minus One features an OutDry membrane that is directly bonded to the glove's outer shell, eliminating the ability for wind and water to penetrate through the sewn seams, keeping your hands drier and warmer. New for this year, Mountain Hardwear has treated the outer goatskin palm and fingers as well as the nylon stretch fabric with Q.Shield to keep them from wetting out, supposedly a common problem in the previous version.
Q.Shield uses P2i's ion-mask technology that fuses extreme water repellency directly into the shell fabric making it extremely durable and water repellent without affecting the look and feel. Q.Shield lasts as long as the material itself and is not compromised by everyday wear, marking a big design improvement for the Minus One Glove in 2012.
A light amount of padding on the back of the hand protects you from any errant knucklebasher. The sticky Pittards reinforcements on the goatskin palm help you keep a good grip on your tools when climbing or the rope when rappelling.
If you have sweaty hands, the gloves are going to wet out a bit on the inside but they do dry nicely overnight. I bought a pair of the Minus One Gloves at Ouray Mountain Sports when I first arrived in Ouray, used them for two weeks straight of climbing, and they have so far held up great.
The Minus One gloves offer great dexterity for lead climbing where you need to be able to place ice screws, clip draws, tie knots, and other fiddly tasks. The gloves are also great for keeping you from overgripping your tools.
The Minus One are not the warmest climbing gloves, but they can help delay the pump and keep your hands warmer since you won't be gripping as hard. I personally prefer the most dexterous waterproof gloves I can find, especially when leading.
I highly recommend trying these climbing gloves on first or ordering two sizes to see what your prefer best. I am between an XS and a S, so it was a tradeoff between cold hands from being too small or trouble clipping biners from being too long.
The Mountain Hardwear Minus One Gloves retail for $110 and are available now.
