Big hand for smart-gel gloves
By
LFTO Gear Team
Gear news
27 February 2008 16:52
If you were on the edge of your seat watching the film X-Men and their quick-changing superhero powers, the latest ice-climbing gloves from Black Diamond will be on your wishlist when they hit the shops later this year.
Two designs – the original Punisher and the new-for-08 Enforcer – have been rammed with a genius gel called d3o that you could say provides the wearer with superhero strength and protection; it becomes rigid instantly on impact and re-jellifies immediately afterwards.
This chameleon padding replaces the original closed-cell foam for roughly the same weight, to offer mountaineers more dexterity and flexibility until protection is needed.
Protection
The Punisher glove (£60) will benefit from a new d3o palm pad, which turns rock-hard when you slam in an ice screw, when it reaches the shops in March 08.
The new Enforcer, out in October 08 for £120, uses the gel on the knuckles to protect your finger bones from whacks when swinging your axes on a frozen waterfall climb.
This smart gel is a British innovation and the biggest users at the moment are high-impact sports junkies like mountain bikers, skiers, snowboarders and motorcyclists, but the technology is now entering the mountaineering world.
Will the gel revolutionise climbing helmet design or help you hammer that tent peg into really stubborn ground with gloved hands? We'll be trying them out soon...