Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves – review

Anyone like me who likes to climb trad as well as sport and boulders knows that jamming your hand into a crack can be painful without proper crack gloves. 

Fit Overview: The Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves present a unique challenge in terms of sizing. The size ranges overlap significantly, making it difficult to determine the ideal size based on measurements alone. It is recommended to aim for the middle size when across three size ranges. Those on the border of two sizes tend to benefit from sizing up. The gloves can be overtightened, cutting off circulation, but the long wrist strap offers flexibility in finding the right fit.

Hand Coverage: While the gloves offer average to slightly above-average coverage, thumb protection is notably absent. Knuckle coverage is good, but your wrist might be a bit exposed if you have smaller fingers and thus a smaller glove size. Sizing down may get a better fit for the finger straps, while mid-sized gloves provide betterprotection for the wrists. Supplementary tape is necessary for those using the gloves in (teacup) fists or some stacks.

Comfort & Feel: The Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves are made with thin, soft suede that provides good stretch and comfort for the fingers. The material remains in good shape and does not stiffen or roll up during use. Finger holes are average in size and accommodate most climbers comfortably if you find the correct size. The gloves have a semi-soft stiffness due to the addition of 1mm of rubber, striking a balance between volume, padding, and flexibility.

Padding: Compared to other thin gloves, the Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves offers some nice padding. This extra padding is beneficial for filling hand jams and providing absorption. The gloves perform well in sharp cracks, where the thickness of the rubber aids in protection.

Build Features: The Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves incorporate several notable features. Silicone dots on the gloves reduce slippage during jams, particularly when the gloves are oversized or in hot and sweaty conditions. The narrow, tapered wrist strap ensures comfort and adjustability, and the cutaway at the bottom of the glove allows for natural wrist movement. These features make the gloves comfortable to wear and enhance their overall performance.

Performance on Rock: The Red Chili Jamrock Crack Gloves excel in splitter hand jams and even cracks, where their thickness and flexibility contribute to excellent performance. They offer good grip and padding in conglomerate and sharper irregular cracks. However, in flaring jams and wide cracks, they can be lacking in thumb protection. Undertaping can improve their performance to some extent, but they still fall short compared to thicker gloves. On slick jams, the gloves provide a decent grip and the silicone dots do seem to improve the grippiness to the back of the hand, especially when sweaty or in wet conditions.