Montane Extreme Mitt - AW22

Product Information

Warmth-wise we found these Nebula Mitts to be perfectly warm enough for Alpine winter, Scottish belays and probably beyond.

There are however some methods that you can use to determine a product’s quality without needing to physically have it. One thing is for sure, there isn't a bad mitt in this bunch, but some were better than others, and some were more suited to specific tasks. Read on to find out which mitts won our best in test, and why. We did come up with a negative for the Nebulas though, and that was fit. You can't go far wrong with mitts, as they aren't the most complex of designs, so of course the Nebulas went over our hands and kept them warm! But if we are looking closely then we thought that the mitt itself was slightly too narrow in shape, and the thumb section was hard to find with the thumb, and slightly too high up the mitt. Also we found the insulation or lining behind the hand on just one of the mitts seemed to fold over slighty, as if the inner was wider than the outer and didn't have anywhere to go. It could just have been our test model, so we'd say try before you buy. You do pay a premium and give up a little breathability with increased waterproofing, so we’ve included a few non-waterproof gloves in this test. These are more suitable for winter walking/running where you’re spending little time with your hands on snow. The liners felt great, with a micro-fleece on the palm side giving a warm touch and also quite a lot of dexterity, and a puffier thermolite insulation behind the hand for added warmth.Helly Hansen have designed the Ullr Leather HT Glove as a ski glove, but, like the Columbia option here, that doesn’t mean that it’s unsuited to a winter walking or climbing environment.

On further inspection it becomes clear that where the ME Pinnacles differ slightly from the BD offering is in the fit/sizing. The ME mitts are slightly smaller sized, with a very slightly smaller sized cuff. They are a little more technical in their fit, and hug the hand well. The down insulated Ulvetanna mitts from Berghaus are by far the warmest in this test and are clearly aimed at extremely cold temperatures and high altitudes. They are overkill for Scottish winter, but could be a finger saver in the harshest of Alpine winter conditions. But they are best suited to the Greater Ranges. These mitts are fat, very fat. These mitts are warm, very warm. These mitts are not hugely dextrous due to the previous two facts, but you can't have it all! It essentially comes in two parts. There’s the outer Pertex Shield waterproof shell, then there’s a removable inner liner (the insulation). This liner includes a divider for your index finger which adds some points for overall dexterity. Overall, however, the the high-loft fleece lining does still make this mitt a lot less dexterous than a glove. That’s generally a given though. It has touchscreen usability built into the finger and thumb and a generally dexterous and light feeling meaning that phones can easily be held and used.

All in all, this will be a great companion to go with one of the mitts lower down in this roundup, or just for use during those adventures at pace. Full Specifications Gloves have individual fingers that allow you to move each finger separately. Mittens usually only have a separate thumb (although there are some on the market with a separate index finger that gives you increased warmth with decreased mobility. I've only had them out on a couple of day hikes so far but I do know one thing: these puppies are WARM! Really warm. The Primaloft insulation and pile lining mean almost instant warmth when you pull them on. Because they don't have a membrane they also breathe far better than most manufacturers 'Big Dumb Mitts'. My only concern with their design is how the Primaloft insulation handles any moisture build up on longer trips. The Meteor is a modular mitt, a lightly insulated weather-proof shell with a detachable fleece inner. You're effectively getting two pairs of mitts for the price of one (a fair price too), and this gives you three different options for maximum versatility. Aside from the choice between a mitt or a glove, insulation also has a big influence on how dexterous a glove is. In short, more insulation equals more warmth, but that trade off is a less flexible glove. You’ll have an idea yourself how much insulation you require.

We imagine that this will begin to soften off over time as we use the glove over a longer period, but still, it might be worth considering sizing up here. The warmth was excellent, easily up to the job in Alpine winter, Scotland and we would love to take them to the Greater Ranges, confident the UKC review budget would take more of a battering than our hands would in these warm, tough and fairly dextrous mitts.PrimaLoft Gold insulation / Pertex Shield / Kevlar stitching / split-finger lining / BDry waterproof insert. A no-fuss beast of a mitt – you know something has been built with durability in mind when the stitching consists of Kevlar (the same material used for bulletproof vests). A tough outer fabric and strong goat leather across the palm both combined with a blend of pile fleece and PrimaLoft Gold for insulation make this built to take on the harshest of Scottish winter belays. Nothing is going to get past it. To give that price some context we then looked at all of the products available from Cotswold Outdoor in the gloves category. We found 37 items in total. What’s the price of gloves?