Towa Active Grip Advance - work gloves

I've mentioned before my on going search for the perfect work glove, balancing durability with cost and dexterity, well the search may well be over...

These as the title may suggest are Towa Active grip Advance work gloves and they are brilliant, super grippy (even wet wet), close fitting and with good dexterity they are ideal for climbing.

The rubber grip is imbedded into the fabric and doesn't pull off or get caught up in your hitch like other gloves in the same style, I think I paid about £3.50 or something for these, so they definitely meet the cost criteria. And as for durability...

This is the ware after nearly 2 months work, wearing them for most climbing jobs, at least 4 days a week as well as some ground work. Needless to say I'm pretty impressed, I kept expecting them the start to disintegrate or for more holes to appear, but they just kept on going! 

That said I took these photos about 2 weeks ago and since then they have definitely entered into a downward spiral, but are still wearable, but for £3.50 I think they have done pretty well, especially when compared to more expensive gloves. 

I particularly like the long cuff on these gloves that gives you a bit more protection on those scratchy trees, and also seem to aid in keeping the gloves fitted snugly on the fingers. 

The ultimate test…would I buy them again? Well I'm currently trying to find somewhere that will sell me a box of 24, so I don't have to worry about gloves again for a long time…

Every day carry Items part 2

Just a quick follow up to a previous post where I mentioned that I carry one of these Petzl Bucket bags with me on every job

 

Here's a photo of the contents

 

 

 

So there is the Crampon bag and tool roll that I have mentioned previously as well as the following:

- Couple of pairs of gloves

- Set of ex military Gore tex over trousers, quite good for climbing 

- Pair of leather heavy duty gauntlets, for those spikey trees

- Dry bag with spare T shirt and socks, encase the water proofs fail!

- Another pair of water proof trousers, only these are salopette style ones, made from cheaper flexothene material, ideal for ground work on those proper wet days

- Hi vis

- First aid kit,

- Felling wedge, there is usually a high lift one in here as well

- Gore-Tex jacket (not shown)

 

I find these items cover me for most eventualities, the bag doesn't take up much space, I always know where everything is, its always kept together and I can always have it with me.

I still have to take another bag with my lunch and drinks in, but it means the bucket bag can stay at work/in the van and I only have to take my lunch bag in with me every night.

 





Beal Assure Max leather gloves - Review

Always on the quest for a decent work glove I decided to give these a go. I got them at the start of the year and have used them on and off for the last 3 weeks or so both on the ground and for climbing.

First impressions were good, they were comfy right off the bat, a good fit with nice dexterity. Being quite a short glove, with a loose cuff, means that they do have a tendency to accumulate sawdust and bits of dirt, which inevitably work there way to the finger tips and effect the comfort some what. 

That said it does make them easy to slip on and off, making them safer for chipping and would help with staying cool in the summer months. 

Made from quite a thin soft leather they still manage to provide a reasonable amount of protection from thorns and rough bark whilst maintaining flexibility and a good range of movement, but unfortunately this softness is also there main flaw. 

I think the pictures speak for themselves here. This ware is from less than 15 days worth of use and at £20ish/pair not really great value for money! In there defence they are not really designed for tree work but aimed more at mountaineers and big wall climbing that said they do advertise themselves as being "designed for the most demanding rope work around" which to my mind should definitely include tree work. 

I have no doubt if you used these for mountaineering and the like and only wore them for a few hours here and there then you may well end up getting years of use out of them but unfortunately they are not really durable enough for tree work. 

When looking for a good work glove it can be a bit of balance. You either need something cheep and cheerful that you're happy only to last a week or so. Or if spending a bit more you expect the quality to increase as well as the durability, I'd happily spend twice what I spent on these if I knew I'd get at least 6 months out of them. 

By cutting the finger tips off I may well get a few more weeks work out of them! Shame really as they were a really comfy glove to wear day to day. 

Oh well the quest continues...