Good gloves change what you can concentrate on.
When your fingers hurt, the climb becomes a negotiation with the pain. The right glove leaves more attention for movement, grip and what comes next. That is why gloves matter so much in this setup. The aim is to get through the motions with control, rather than spend the outing struggling with the equipment on your hands.
The Black Diamond Stone gloves were the first pair, bought when they were widely recommended. They lasted for years and remain useful. But as the climbing asked more of my grip on steel cable, a detail in the construction became difficult to tolerate: the rounded stitched edges at the finger openings roll and press into the fingers. Under a hard grip, that has caused a lot of pain.
Full fingers opened up a different option.
I bought more gloves to test, including full-finger alternatives. The Edelrid SKINNY GLOVE II felt thinner and more natural than the Petzl gloves tried. There was room for my large hands, the fingers felt less confined, and the material let me feel holds and cable grip well enough to adopt the gloves easily.
That did not make full fingers the answer to every route. Natural rock and camera operation bring different demands. What I wanted was coverage where cable work needed it, without giving away all the fine contact that exposed fingertips provide. Finding the Edelrid WORK GLOVE CLOSED II made that requirement visible in a single pair.
Why the 2+3 pair became the all-rounder
The CLOSED II leaves the thumb and index fingertips exposed and covers the other three fingers. Those two fingertips preserve the detail of a natural hold and make it easier to work with zippers, camera controls, screens and buttons. The fit was right immediately. Over time, the pair took over most of the work previously given to the Stone gloves, and I bought it again.
For mixed terrain, uncertainty within familiar capabilities and serious routes that remain in my control zone, this is the starting choice. It provides the most useful balance. The leather is thin and some pressure from the steel still comes through. Making it thicker might reduce that feeling, but could also remove the feel that makes the glove useful. That is a compromise I can work with.
When the full-finger pair takes over
The SKINNY pair comes out when 2+3 coverage will not be enough: extreme cable demands, especially an extreme and unfamiliar route, a hard return early in the season when out of shape, or very cold conditions. The condition of the climber belongs in the choice just as much as the route. A climb that is manageable later in the season can ask something different at the start.
Extreme does not automatically mean full fingers in every situation. Here the reason is substantial gripping and friction on the cable. On difficult natural holds, the 2+3 pair can remain the more useful option. Coverage is selected for what the hands will do. Thin full-finger leather is still thin leather; coverage alone does not settle insulation in severe cold.
Why the Stone gloves still have a place
The Stone pair now belongs mainly to relaxed, familiar summer routes: enjoying the views, climbing with friends and taking an outing that does not demand sustained hard cable gripping. The gloves already exist, still work in that role and allow more of the hand to breathe. Replacing them just to duplicate that job has not been a priority.
The half-finger gloves here are Black Diamond Stone. I do not own or have testing experience with Edelrid WORK GLOVE OPEN II. The three-pair choice is Stone for the easier outings, CLOSED II as the 2+3 all-rounder and SKINNY when full coverage is needed. Affordability, availability or a demonstrably better experience could change those choices. At present, each has a reason to stay.