Very comfy glove, excellent for Scottish winter and Alpine skiing. Schoeller outer provides a high degree of waterproofing. Once wet, they are not warm at all though. Which is fair enough. Good value for money. Easy to tie knots with.

Gloves are fickle things to deal with, especially winter climbing gloves. They take a lot of abuse - climbing, abseiling, ropework - they have to keep your hands warm, they have to be comfortable so you want to keep them on, they have to be dextrous enough for you to be able to tie knots, use krabs and thread belay devices, they have to protect your hands from knocks against the ice, they have to deal with moisture both from inside and out...

In short, finding the perfect pair of gloves is impossible. However, having just use the ME Randonee gloves for several days of (gorgeous!) cascade ice climbing in constant sub-zero conditions, I struggle to believe there is a much better glove out there for that purpose.

The outer of the glove is a thick Shoeller softshell which feels like it will take a beating while also repelling water (but it is not waterproof!). The palm is a lovely supple leather, with well-placed seams that don't get in the way. There is a medium-length cuff with a good velcro closure (with non-snag velcro!). The liner is a fairly thick pile fleece, rather like you'd find in a traditional pile-pertex jacket. It is quick thick, resulting in a snug fit when you try them on. The pile does pack out a bit in the palm and fingers, resulting in almost a custom fit. I highly recommend wearing them for a day or two before climbing in cold temperatures, otherwise you may find they are too tight and restrict bloodflow a little, giving you cold hands.

The compressible liner, stretchy outer, sticky leather, pre-curved fingers and well-placed seams all come together to make a surprisingly dextrous glove. You can tie in with a figure 8, tie clove hitches and set up belays without too much difficulty. This is surprising when you consider the warmth of the glove - these things are warm! Climbing in temperatures of -5 to -10 Celcius I often found my hands getting a little sweaty and on occasion I had to switch to a thinner glove.

Climbing with them is a joy. Using leashless tools (2011 Quarks) they climb like a dream, offering excellent grip and dexterity for matching, swapping tools, etc. The thick pile provides good padding for the back of the hand and knuckles from bumps against the ice. They are also quite insulating, keeping hands warm even when touching the ice or daggering in soft snow.

The softshell is not waterproof. The gloves well get wet inside eventually - possibly due to your own sweat, too - but the pile lining keeps things warm. You can literally wring the water out of them, throw them back on and you won't be suffering. That's pretty exceptional.

So, any issues? A seam has busted inside one of my gloves, opening up a gap between the lining and shell, but it's not a big deal. Also they can be a fiddle to get on, especially with already cold hands, due to the snug fit and slightly clingy liner.

All things considered, these are top-shelf winter climbing gloves and I am confident they will last me many years with the proper care.

The randonees are a very warm and comfortable glove. The softshell and fibre pile combo really works well here. They can be tricky to put on with wet hands, much more so than the Couloir glove by the same company which is also pile lined.

I usually preempt seam blow-out (good expression by the way!) as almost all gloves begin their leaking career at the seams.

The best solution I've found is to put a layer of McNett Seam Grip over wear points and along stress areas of stitching. It can be unsightly, but so what if it extends the life of the glove and keeps you that little bit more comfortable for longer. I do this as soon as I buy the glove.

The pile is quite thick, but it does compress over time, so make sure you break these gloves in before really relying on them.
The leather is a little less hard wearing than on the M.E. Couloir glove, but for a glove that is half the price of the Couloir that's not surprising.

I have not used these gloves for climbing, I have others for that, but for a general winter glove that won't be expected to take a huge amount of wet they are ideal. And as it says on M.E.'s website if they do get very wet, just ring them out and keep wearing them. I've had to do this on a few occassions and it works.

Would recommend them readily to anyone and would buy them again. Great value!