Mammut Artic Mitten

Mammut’s Arctic Mitten features a combo of 600-fill goose down and synthetic fill. Together, the insulation is designed to keep your hands toasty regardless of the temperature or type of adventure.  I am a good mitten/glove tester because my hands are typically colder than most, even when sitting around the evening fire. Therefore, I have been putting the Arctic Mitten to good use on some early-season alpine skiing and snowshoeing outings.

The Arctic Mitten is super lightweight and highly compressible, making them a perfect mitt to stuff in your pack for when the temp really drops. The mittens weigh in at 290 grams (10.2 ounces) and are able to save weight with the combination of goatskin and Pertex Quantum fabric. The goat skin covers the palm, delivering enough stick to easily hold onto ski or trekking poles. The upper is made from Pertex Quantum; for those of you unfamiliar with this fabric, it is Pertexs’ lightest, and offers the best strength-to-weight ratio. One trade-off is its abrasion resistance; while tougher than it appears, this fabric is more prone to tears. After about 2 months of use, I don’t have any tears, but I have been cautious with how I use and store them. I like the combination of the two fabrics, but wish that the goat skin came up and over the fingertips, which would offer a little more wind protection to your tips when skiing downhill.  Note that, while these mittens are water-resistant enough for snow sports, they are not waterproof.

The mittens are available in sizes 6 to 12 (European sizing).  Below is a chart with coinciding American sizes – extremely helpful for finding your fit.

I tested out a size small, which corresponds with the lengths given in the chart, so the Arctic Mittens run true to size. Even with the appropriate size, these mitts are best suited for activities where there is not a lot of need for hand dexterity due to the high loft of the insulation. I typically wore a liner underneath and slipped off the mitts to zip or unzip my jacket or pit zips. The mittens feature a nice gauntlet cuff to go over top just about any jacket, and easy pulls to cinch and seal the mitten. There is also a velcro tab over-top which also helps decrease the bulk a tad, however, even at the tightest position, I required more Velcro to get a proper, snug fit.  I would have also appreciated a wrist loop, so instead of holding them when I took them off, I could let them securely dangle while I fussed with my jacket zipper or phone.

According to Mammut, the Arctic Mitten is optimally suited for expeditions. If you are more weekend warrior than arctic explorer, you will find the Arctic Mitten equally suitable for your next hut trip, backcountry day trip, skiing at the resort on a cold day, or even shoveling the drive. These mitts kept my hands plenty toasty and I didn’t have to use hand warmers with them, which is a rarity these days.

The Arctic Mitten MSRP is $149.

POW is a Seattle based glove company that produces three major hand wear lines: ski, bike, and golf. This ski season we have had a few testers wearing the POW Feva glove, designed for women.

For starters, our tester felt that the sizing was a bit snug; while testing out a medium, she was wishing that she had a large. The goatskin leather is rather tight in the beginning, but after a few wears the leather starts to loosen up, but not fast enough per our tester’s response. The Feva is a low-profile glove without a lot of loft or fluff, this allows for great dexterity and the ability to pick up a piece of paper, operate zippers, and dial in the GoPro helmet cam while wearing the gloves. As for insulation, the Feva features 200g Thinsulate® and is best suited for temps above 15 degrees and up to the 40′s. Our tester felt most comfortable in the Feva’s when the temps were in the 20′s-30′s for downhill adventures. However, they also work great for a skinning or climbing glove in colder temps. The goatskin leather is nice and grippy, allowing for good ski pole control and the construction of each seam appears durable. There is a velcro closure at the wrist to seal out the cold and customize the fit. There is no loop or “idiot cord” as some brands call it, to loop your hand through to prevent dropping them on the lift, and there is no wrist gauntlet. These gloves are definitely designed to be a minimalist glove for more on resort pursuits, as opposed to back or sidecountry use.

As for looks, the Feva thankfully offers more than your standard leather work glove. The Feva offers some flair and features a two-tone striped pattern and is available in 3 color combos: black w/white, blue w/white, purple w/white. The Feva also comes in a mitt version for those of you that like to keep your fingers a bit warmer. Please see the photo below.

The Feva’s retail for $70.

Outdoor Research touts their Women’s Remote Glove as their warmest glove within the newly created sidecountry product category. Sidecountry gear is designed for those that may stretch the limits of their resort skiing and take an occasional backcountry or out of bounds adventure. The Remote Glove is available in Men’s and Women’s models. As a gal with cold hands all year long, the Remote Gloves have met there match and in this review I hope to provide a first hand account, no pun intended, on the pros and cons of these gloves.

For starters, the Remote Glove features a Gore Tex insert to keep your hands dry when you find yourself in thick-wet snow. After 6 hours of skiing at Breck (Breckenridge, CO)  in Pacific Northwest like conditions, my hands were just about the only thing that remained dry all day long. The outer shell is made of combination of stretch nylon over the back of the hand and all the way up the wrist with a gauntlet cuff. While the finger tips and palms are made from leather. The leather at the tips and palm allow for great control with ski poles, trekking poles, or even a shovel. I was able to zip and unzip my jacket and pack while wearing these gloves. The stretchy nylon helps eliminate bulk that you would otherwise feel with a 100% leather glove.

Next up, the fit. I followed the size guidelines and ordered a size medium. I feel that I could have done with a small and benefited from some increased dexterity of the glove; the fingertips are a tad roomy on me, with greater than average room found in the pinky area. Going a size smaller, I believe I would still be able to slip a liner in if needed. With the side medium, I was able to wear my merino wool liners and even use a glove heaters with some room to spare. SO, from the list of items I was able to fit under the glove, one can gather that these did not keep me 100% warm all of the time. They did do an above average job, however I still had to pull out some of my tricks such as Nytril gloves (like you see in hospitals), liners, and heat packs. With that said, perhaps a mitt model would be more up my alley! Once again, the warmth department is something that is hard for me to judge. I am most comfortable in a down-leather mitt, which obviously sacrifices on dexterity. Enough said.

Other features worth mentioning include the guantlet cuff, which I really liked because I was able to fit over just about any jacket cuff and seal out the snow. In addition, I found the dual draw cords super handy to tighten and then loosen around the cuff for easy on and off. OR has included what they call an idiot cord, rather a loop for you to place your hand through to prevent mid-lift glove drops; once again a nice feature when you are juggling liners and heat packs on a cool day. The thumb region on each glove is super soft and can be used to rub your goggles or nose clean.

OR’s Women’s Remote Glove pack features and maintain dexterity and most likely warmth, if you aren’t a super cold handed gal. Worth your time and energy to look at, as they are also well made. The Remote Glove for men and women retails for $145.

I may not have grown up on the slopes as a ski racer, however I have always wanted a pair of leather mitts to look like one. Fortunately, Kombi’s Downy Mitt fits the bill and then some. The Downy Mitt is super warm and looks pretty stylish too. The Downy Mitt is available in white, brown, and of course your basic black as well.

The Downy Mitt is made from top notch goatskin leather that is super-soft and flexible on the first wear. The palm of the mitt has two horizontal stitch patterns that helps you grasp objects such as ski or trekking poles. The Downy Mitt also features an adjustable wrist strap to seal out the elements and get a customized fit, as well as a cord lock cinch closure to tighten around your forearm. Only thing missing is a an extra loop to put your hand through to prevent you from dropping your mitts when on the lift and mucking with your goggles and the like. I typically wear my jacket cuffs over the Downy Mitt to seal out any powder that may sneak in, as the cuffs on these mitts do not have a super long gauntlet cuff, which I am totally okay with. Sometimes gauntlet cuffs get to be a bit too much and get bunched up; the Downy Mitt’s cuff is about 2-3 inches or so.

The membrane of the Downy Mitt features Kombi’s own WATERGUARD® FLEX, which is designed to keep the elements out and therefore, your hand warm and toasty. So far, the mitts have done just that during some early season snow storms in Colorado. However, where the Downy Mitts truly performs is in the warmth department. I am a cold handed and footed gal, so mitts of any kind are usually my thing. The Downy Mitts feature high loft goose down insulation that has kept me as warm as I think I can be on a below zero ski day. Wearing a pair of liner gloves is a cinch and adds a touch of warmth. There is no dedicated pouch for hand warmers, which I am glad for, that way I can move my fingers around the hand warmer when they are inside my mitts.

Kombi’s Downy Mitts appear to be built to last, with tight stitching and high quality leather. With that said, if you are in the market for a super warm mitt, these are definitely worth a look.

Available in sizes small to extra-large

MSRP $80

As the temperatures and the snow has started to fall, the Mountain Hardwear Hydra Glove has come to save your hands and fingers from the cold and the wet.  With an Outdry liner, these gloves are sure to keep out water and moisture, keeping your hands from getting damp, wet, and cold.  Outdry is a waterproof liner that is welded to the outer shell of the glove which keeps moisture from getting in between the outdoor glove shell and the liner.  By keeping moisture from getting past the shell of the glove, moisture isn’t able to sneak in the glove and make your hands and fingers damp and cold.  This is different from the typical waterproof liner in that a waterproof glove typically has a shell and then a waterproof liner that is inserted into the glove creating a separate layer within the glove.

The Mountain Hardwear Hydra glove is a lightly insulated glove, so it is best for activities where you exert more energy and create more heat.  The activities we found best for these gloves were snowshoeing, hiking Colorado’s 14′ers, and early and late season skiing when the temperatures weren’t so cold.  When the colder temperatures did set in, we used a thin glove liner and that did the trick to keep our hands and fingers warm while skiing.  While testing the gloves hiking Quandary Peak, we experienced 60 mph winds and temps in the teens and twenties and the gloves kept our hands and fingers plenty warm.  The Hydra glove is made of a softshell material on the outer and a leather goat skin palm to help with dexterity. To Keep snow from getting up the cuff of your glove, there is a cinch cord that allows you to tighten the glove around your wrist or the outside of your jacket.  This also helps a little with keeping the warmth in the glove.

Overall, we have liked the glove for high exertion activities since the glove has less insulation that most gloves.  If you are one of those people that gets cold hands and fingers easy, we suggest checking out a glove with a little more insulation. For more information, please visit MountainHardwear.com

While the outer shell is your basic Nubuck leather and a cotton/polyester jersey, it’s the insulating layer that does the work. The inner insulation uses X-Loft to insulate and Waterguard Plus to keep out both water and wind. It is also lined with Accu-Dri to help keep your hands from becoming a sweaty mess. Helping with keeping your hands dry is the fact that Waterguard Plus is incredibly fine, allowing water vapor to escape, which is a fancy way of saying it breathes really well too.

Sliding my hand into this glove the first thing I noticed was the feel. The inner lining is very plush and comfortable. The jersey material allows for good movement, but Kombi smartly keeps the index finger in leather, knowing it takes the most abuse. Instantly you can tell it a glove that will keep you warm in the coldest weather.

I tested this glove out skiing, shoveling and clearing off my car. After a big snow storm my car was covered in more than 8 inches of new snow. I slid on the Lifty and proceeded to use my hands to clear it off. Despite the wet, heavy snow the Lifty did not absorb moisture, keeping my hands dry. While shoveling my driveway the breathable liner wicked away moisture so the glove didn’t get soaked from the inside.

I like to test ski gear on the upper slopes of Breckenridge because you get some serious wind and cold temps. While riding the T bar up on a particularly cold day it stopped and I was stranded in the middle of a raging wind. The Waterguard Plus kept my hands toasty as hung on for what seemed like forever. During a long day on the slopes the only time my hands got chilly was after taking a spill in some chopped up snow. Even then, they warmed back up by the time I was back at the lift. The long cuff fit tightly and acted as a gauntlet sealing out unwanted snow.

While I did lose some dexterity due to the insulation, I was still able to buckle my boots, zip up my shell and snap up the buttons.

The Lifty is perfect if you want that low-key, ski bro look, but also want something that will also keep you warm and dry. Plus at only 29.95 it’s better than buying three pairs of gloves from the hard ware store.  For more information, please visit Kombisports.com

www.kombisports.com

The Brooks Pulse Lite Glove is an excellent light weight and breathable glove for fall, spring, and even mild winter days. The Pulse Lite is made from Podium Waffle Mesh which provides a light layer of warmth and excellent moisture transfer when your hands start to heat up. Testers enjoyed the wide wrist band because they felt it helped to lock in heat and prevent the entrance of cold air while on the run. Testers also liked the retractable thumb pad that allows you to change your tunes without having to remove your entire glove. Another nice feature is the sticky finish on the thumb and index fingers which can help you track your splits and operate your watch with ease. The Pulse Lite comes in three colors and is a perfect layer for cool runs. For more information, Brooksrunning.com

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvNLR3X_c7o

Features

• Polartec® Power Shield® Jaquard 100% Polyester
• GripTec Reinforcement Material
• Falcon Grip Articulated for Dexterity and Ease of Grip
• Polartec® Powershield® Polartec Powershield
• Reinforced Palm For Durability
• Softshell Fabric-Wind and Water Resistant

The Marmot Andromeda is a perfect glove for when you need protection from the cold while staying active. We tested these gloves out while skiing, snowshoeing, and cold weather running. The gloves worked great in all activities except when the temp was below 30F for the gloves don’t have a lot of insulation.  The best performance came while we were snowshoeing and the worst performance came when we were skiing in 10 F degrees conditions.  You can find out more about the Marmot Andromeda at Marmot.com

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCbnBgfRSg

Features

• Waterproof, breathable
• Articulated molded fit
• Wrist cinch
• Chamude wipe on thumbs
• Gauntlet shockcord cinch
• Carabiner finger clip
• Cuff leash

The North Face Patrol II is one of the best performing gloves on the market. We’ve tested this glove out in temperatures from -10 to 40F degrees and out hands stayed warm and dry. As you may be aware, it is important to have a glove with good dexterity as well. The North Face Patrol II has by far the best fit out of all the gloves we tested. The majority of this glove is leather based, which will keep this glove around for years to come.  The glove does come with a red carabeener loop that looks cool, but we didn’t find a lot of functionality to it.  For more information on The North Face Patrol II, please visit TheNorthFace.com

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5x2ijg9yYk

Features

• Waterproof breathable insert
• Durable cowhide palms are soft and water resistant; goatskin-reinforced fingertips extend wear
• Soft Nose-Wipe on the back of each thumb
• SimpleCinch™ one-handed gauntlet closures make it easy to seal out snow and cold air
• Cuff Leash

The Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno is a glove that not only looks great on the mountain, but it is also extremely functional. A few of the activities we used the gloves for were skiing and snowshoeing. We found that Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno performed excellent while staying active. Our hands did get cold on the chair lift when the temps were 10F and below. The leather palm allowed for a great grip on ski poles and trekking poles while snowshoeing. Given our knowledge of Mountain Hardwear’s quality, we feel these gloves could be something you will keep around for years to come. You can found out more about the Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno at MountainHardwear.com.