Sticky fingers
Product: Outdoor Research Alibi Glove
Price: $59
Online: www.orgear.com
With the onslaught of mindset-altering leashless tools has come an accompanying wave of drytooling-specific gloves. Outdoor Research, a company known more for its expedition handwear, has entered the field with a winner, the Alibi Glove. OR has constructed the glove with warm, flexible neoprene on the topside and decidedly sticky polyurethane on the palm — if for some reason you lose grip while wearing the Alibis, you’ll have only your poorly trained forearms to blame. Carefully positioned rubber bumpers guard against knuckle bashing, and a gel pad runs along the pinky side of your hand for extra cushioning when you’re yarding hard.

Product: Gordini Lava Utility Glove
Price: $45
Online: www.gordini.com
If you need just a bit more warmth, take a look at Gordini’s new Lava Utility Glove, which features Gordini’s toasty Lavawool, a proprietary blend of natural and synthetic fibers. Originally designed for construction-site nail-bangers, this paw covering transfers well to “recreational” tool swinging thanks to its padded knuckles and sticky palm.
—Matt Stanley

Fresh lid
Product: Kong Spider helmet
Price: $84
Online: www.libertymountainclimbing.com
If you’re looking to buy a hardshell helmet these days, pass on the
yesterday’s-news, salad-bowl models. There are now several better-fitting, more ergonomic models, including Kong’s new Spider helmet.
The Spider’s centerpiece is its fit-adjustment “Run System,” which changes the fit via a dial located on the back of the helmet’s suspension. Some dial-based adjustment systems I’ve used have left me with a nagging pressure point right on the back of my head; the Spider, however, did an excellent job of distributing pressure throughout the band. The retention strap system did take a bit of fiddling to adjust, but I was able to get a good fit in the end. Most importantly, the Spider sat very well on my noggin while I was climbing; not once did I have to tilt it fore-aft
or side-to-side. Instead, it mirrored the natural movements of my head.
The Spider’s polystyrene inner cap was comfortably and trimly padded. The helmet’s headlamp-retention system was simple and easy to use, always a bonus when you’re trying to fiddle on your headtorch with frozen paws. A well-protected ventilation system tops off the feature list.
—Matt Stanley