so i was thinking. i have this plastic mesh that adheres to it's self amazingly when heated with a heat gun since it's practically made out of the same stuff hot glue sticks are (i can even cut it into strips and use it in a glue gun). so what i was thinking is that if i had some really heat resistant gloves that could withstand up to about 100+C then one could practically mold this stuff into whatever frame they needed and have a light frame that's half the weight of fiberglass.
Harbor Freight has them, I think. Nomex comes to mind as the material in US-made gloves. Not sure of the imports. Kitchen supply places also have them. John
Have a look in a good tool suppliers, they will have welders gloves/gauntlets, no problem at 100+ degC, but they may be a bit unweildy (sp?) and thick.
They are usually made of leather and proof against brief contact with red hot steel.
We went down the middle of the arch to the right of the river (actually on the far side of this picture), from the top of the arch to the ground is about 90 feet. One of us actually worked at a factory where they make bricks, so he borrowed a pair of asbestos gloves - and we did the full distance in one single drop, braking desperately at the bottom with the glove protecting your hand!. Then, VERY quickly, you unclipped the figure 8 descender off the rope, and dropped it in the river to cool - as it was hot enough to melt the rope
Now they have signs up saying "no absailing", but back then no one had thought to ban it!.
I would not trust oven mitts with my life. Can you imagine what will go through your head as the silicon oven mitts disintegrate as you rappel down a cliff?