Customer Reviews Outdoor Research Splitter Gloves

I got these to practice crack climbing generally, but most importantly in the gym. It's a huge hassle to tape up for one or two pitches of indoor crack when the rest of my workout is bouldering or regular gym climbing. These make it easy for me to hop on a few crack climbs and train throughout the winter. I just got them and have used them on a handful of pitches. They jam well, although some tape around the base of the hand over the gloves can be helpful. The gloves do not cover the outer portion of the hand that contacts the wall during a fist jam.

I went through a lot of tape before I found these. Enjoy crack responsibly and keep your hands pretty. I'm a small gal and the x/s was a little tight around the wrist, fit but for sure a true x/s.

does the job it's supposed to well. Good crack gloves

I love these gloves, especially as a quick option for the occasional crack pitch. They are thin and sticky. For long days jamming, bring some tape to cover the top of your hands along the knuckles. Crack gloves are awesome, but they still shift around and you can lose some skin from that friction. I've tried the Ocun gloves and I like these better. They are more sensitive, and I feel more confident in them.

I used Ocun gloves for a few years. These are better. So thin I can keep them in the pouch on my chalkbag and pull them out when needed. They don't interfere with face climbing at all. Just enough protection to keep the back of my hands from looking like ground beef

Im not usually one for superlatives, but Ive owned both the Ocun gloves and the OR Splitter gloves and the Splitter are the best on the market. Heres why: They are thin. This means your hands can still stuff into tight hands cracks without pumping you out. They provide protection without adding to the pump. Ever made a tape glove too tight and you quickly regret it on the climb. You get more pumped out not having freedom of movement in all your hand muscles. Some competitor brands of crack gloves also contribute to the pumpy feeling in my experience. With the right size, OR Splitters dont! Speaking of the right sized glove, most people fit into the S/M. I am a 53 tall woman with thick meaty hands compared to many women, and I wear a S/M. Similarly, I know a guy who is 63 and 220lbs with pretty big hands and he also finds the S/M to work best. Unless you have really small/narrow hands or really big, wide hands, the S/M is best. Better to have them a little loose in my opinion than too tight and get pumped out. They cover part of the wrist too. These gloves come down longer than competitors, past the back of the hand and onto the wrist. This helps protect your wrist in larger cracks. The Velcro closure seems to stay put better than competitor brands. Its in a better location than other brands too. All this said, the one potential gripe is the durability. As reported by others, they tend to fall apart, usually where the Velcro is stitched. However, I used them for a week at Indian Creek for every climb and then all summer on granite cracks and its now October and while I see the stitching starting to come apart, I havent had to call on the infinite guarantee yet. If you want to protect your hands without potentially leaving tape waste at the crags and residue on your hands, or if you want the ability to protect your hands for only some pitches and then take the gloves right off and back on again whenever, then these are your crack gloves!

I bought these gloves when they first came out last year, and the synthetic leather patches and wrist velcro bits quickly started separating from the glove just after a few pitches. Definitely not durable. I returned them to OR for their latest iteration of these gloves, and the velcro bits are now sewn onto the glove, and the leather patches appear to be staying put (after several days of climbing in Joshua Tree). Yay! These gloves are different from the other brands as they don't add very much volume to your hand. They feel nearly as thin as taping which is what I prefer. I have super small child size hands, and the XS fits perfectly.

I'm an office/worker weekend/warrior, meaning that try as I might, I don't have tough hands. Unprotected, the backs of my hands are typically shredded by only a few hand/jams. And my skin doesn't deal with tape well. I absolutely love these. I can slip them on for short cracks, and easily remove them en route if I need (or not, as they're not too bulky and fine to climb face in too). Pure gold.

I have been on two trips to Indian Creek, as well as a day on Potash Road in Moab, and haven't had to bring out the tape once. Have to say, after hearing about other climbers using "Hand Jammies" and how they were not impressed, I was every so slightly skeptical of my liking toward them. But, I was wrong! My partners were continuously surprised that I would be ready to climb much faster because I didn't have to deal with taping. They were curious about them so, naturally, I let them try them out / they loved them as well and commented on the improved style compared to the Hand Jammies. The concept is great / I use gloves for belaying as well and it had always been difficult to put gloves on over my taped hands. With the use of the Splitter glove, I have enjoyed being able to quickly transition from belaying to climbing and vice versa. It's so much nicer not to have to pull off layers of sticky tape off of sore hands at the end of the day. I especially like that I don't have to waste a bunch of tape in the process of climbing. What I like: Durability: Despite them being so thin, I am very impressed with their durability. I've done about 10/15 climbs with them now and the only change in appearance is the layer of white chalk that has been collected from the climbs. Performance: Not once did I feel like they were preventing me from jamming or causing me to slide out of a jam. They are comparable in thickness to the two or three layers of tape one typically wraps with, which is perfect because they don't change hand size like other crack gloves out there. Fit: The coverage around the hand was perfect / they wrap around the sides of the hand well and I did not have any problem spots when climbing cracks ranging between tight hands and loose fists. The main finger holes are placed well and, contrary to my initial thought, the wrist strap was not in the way at all. I like how minimal the velcro strap is and I am very happy with their comfort while I climb.

Being a paltry, office/worker female, hand jams were my worst nightmare. Small, fragile hands that ended up scabbed and bleeding after a few jams. I'd basically search for anything else, even a fingernail crimp was preferable... Enter OR splitter gloves! I am now a crack convert. These gloves, thin as a piece of leather over the back of my hands, provide just enough protection while still being tactile. Low profile around the fingers too, not restrictive at all. Super happy. My ability and confidence level on lead went up a few grades almost instantly. They make crack climbing so pleasant I'm sure many would consider it must be cheating, but I don't care. If you're in that camp go climb with hemp ropes and bare feet. They're particularly convenient for me, as I can get allergic to tape, am only a weekend warrior, and don't want to waste tape for the few crack lines we have around here. I can't speak to durability, having only used them one weekend, but they still look brand new. Some early runs sound like they forgot to sew on the velcro on some sizes, which subsequently delaminated (an easy fix, and remedied now), but I haven't heard of other issues. And sure, they may be one of the more expensive crack gloves out there, but OR has done a really great job on these, so consider it a donation to support local design and innovation. Overall, they make climbing more fun, and thats what its about!

Although I've only been using the prototype versions, I have to say, I like these better than I do tape. Some climbs I don't want to tape on, and so these are a piece of cake to take off. No destroyed tape glove. When I get to the crag, I want to climb, not sit around for 20 mins and put tape on my hands. Also, when a tape glove blows out, you've got a a big mess that just may blow your send. These don't blow out, stickiness is good, they are thin, they stay on your hands, and they come off easily! Bingo! Done!

These are better and cheaper than taping, the velcro closure dose seem to be a bit weak and wears out. I just close it with tape or ignore it if its a short or easy crack.

I see complaints that these are too baggy, but if you don't overestimate your hand girth they fit like a glove, there I said it. Dropped down to 4 star because of the super thin finger holes, will probably sew some thicker leather on myself.

Better thumb coverage (but still not great for fist jams) with some reinforced finger loops. Still quite thin so I have my doubts as to how long it will last, particularly after seeing the wear incurred from doing several crack pitches in the gym

These are perfect minimalist gloves. Lots of friction and enough padding to keep your hands from tearing apart. There isn't a lot in terms of protection for sides of your hand or base of your fingers. But I'll just tape up if I need that much protection.

Solid crack gloves for the price.

Good

Good crack gloves. Not the most durable. The finger loops break eventually. The wristband wears through at the velcro, but a single wrap of tape around the wrist every time you put them on will prevent this.

They feel great! But I have some concerns about how long they will last.

I've used these for about 10 days of crack climbing in Indian Creek and Moab, and I love how they feel and pad my hands, but the velcro strap on one side is about to sever, which is a little disappointing considering I haven't used them all that much. Five stars if they were a little stronger.

I'm on my second pair now (my first pair lasted several seasons, but I tore a finger loop on a branch on a descent). These aren't the most durable option, but they are nice and thin for maintaining great sensitivity on the rock, which I like. And your perfect size hand crack remains true to size, while other crack gloves make your hand noticeably fatter. These also extend further down on the wrist which is nice.

Comfortable and provide good protection in hand sized cracks. They're especially great for easier stuff and for training. For harder cracks I still prefer tape

After destroying the back of my hand during my first successful fist jam, I decided I'd like to save the skin on the back of my hands on future endeavors. These have worked great for that purpose! I have rather sweaty hands, so tape always ends up just falling off, besides it is wasteful and a mess! These are a great, reusable alternative.I give them 4 stars only because I am worried about their longevity. The loops that go around your fingers seem fragile. I've only worn them a handful of times and so far so good, but I am curious to see how they'll hold up.

I was skeptical of crack gloves for a long time but they're too fast and convenient not to use. They're great for throwing on for short sections of crack when you don't want to spend the time making a full tape glove. They are pretty thin and sensitive. They don't feel as solid as a good tape glove but they climb just as well, and are way easier to throw on.

Some of the crack gloves out there are super thick but these are thin and feel almost like tape gloves. They seem a bit pricey, but if you use tape all the time it adds up pretty quickly. I have been climbing constantly in Squamish for three seasons and none of the finger loops have broken on me yet. So for me they are durable but they sure look delicate!