Highly breathable shell mittens (or trigger mitts)?

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

Does anyone know of any highly breathable shell mittens? (Or system mittens with a removable liner mitten)?

A trigger mitten would also be ok.

I am looking for something, ideally gauntlet (over the cuff) style, that I can wear over a liner glove or mitten for active use in winter.
Every mitten I have or know of has a (PU?) coating on the inside of the shell fabric, is fully WPB, waxed poly-cotton, or leather. All of those fabrics have poor breathability.

What I’d like is a leather palm, shell mitten with the backhand made of breathable softshell or microfiber fabric.

Knitted liner gloves or fleece ones, are often not warm enough, especially if there is wind, and they offer no resistance against moisture when touching snow.

The other option would be VBL mittens, but the ones I have (the medium weight ones from RBH) don’t work great for me.

I find that my hands get cold in them, because my liner glove gets damp, and there is a lot of dead air space in the VBL mitten, because (like every warmer mitten I have ever tried) they are very wide in the fingers (meant for the 6 and 7 fingered people it seems).
This means that when I take my hand out of the mitt to do something, the damp liner glove really cools my hand rapidly, and then when I put it back in the VBL mitten, the excess space and lack of “puffiness” means it doesn’t really warm up.   (Also because I have Rainaud’s).

Just like we wear highly breathable shell jackets for active use in our torso, I want the same for my hands.

Any recommendations appreciated!

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

I just saw Wintergreen, which is local(ish) to me makes some nylon shell mitts.

https://www.wintergreennorthernwear.com/products/shell-overmitts?variant=37173764620&srsltid=AfmBOopMAYLUX_WOOvxwiiF9AAQiFvvy6gaA8qiYtJgYwZApZVFR0s6uKVw&gQT=1

 

For $100 I would like the palm reinforcement to come up over the tips of the fingers and thumb though.

[David D]

Looking for the same, but waterproof.   If you need waterproof, Ryan recommends WPB Pertex OR Revel Shell Mitts or Goretex Tuff Bags vs the old MLD WPB 3L eVents.  Came across Hestras

I was also looking for flip mitts as a solution, discussed here.  These Monthbell Powder Zip may be closer to your needs.  WPB.

Non waterproof, I tried a few and nothing breathes better with good warmth that I can find than old school rag style (I use these snowshoeing, hiking).  Lots of give for a liner underneath.  I find them warm enough in wind but they may not work for you digging in snow.  Your snow requirement sounds like it forces you to WPB

To avoid damp liners, try latex gloves as the base layer

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

I’m not concerned about digging in snow (I will bring WPB for the rare case that that is required).
I’m talking about grabbing your skis or other items, and they have some snow on them, or snow falling from the sky.

For that, a plain leather palm works and woven fabric back works well enough for me.

So, I specifically do NOT want waterproof. I have plenty of those if needed. But, of course they don’t breathe very well.

 

[Bill Budney]

Windbreaker mittens: I like it! I would use something like that (over wool/fleece mittens over liner gloves). Doesn’t have to be leather palms for me, but some kind of grippy and abrasion-resistant fabric would be good.

The mittens you linked look good. For that price, I would think that you could get someone to custom-make exactly what you want.

[David D]

Those Mark’s gloves or equivalent would be perfect (they are for me).  I find them fine when touching snow, if you’re not digging around

I have a pair of winter riding gloves exactly like you spec’ed (softshell back, full leather palm) but this construction IME is not that warm at all.  A mitt would be warmer than a glove but haven’t come across any built that way. Maybe look for fat bike riding mitts

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

Yes, 45NRTH, a fat bike accessory company used to make their gloves with Neoshell and maybe even plain Schoeller soft shell, so I got a pair last year. They don’t say what the construction is anymore, but experience tells me it’s not very breathable. I suspect they use a PU coating like most everyone else.

I also bought the BD guide trigger mitts, because they are described as having GTX on the removable liner, not in the shell. Which is true. But what they don’t mention is that they used PU coated fabric for the shell… ;-(

[Paul McLaughlin]

Mitten shells are pretty easy to sew. I can send you a pattern

[David D]

Hmmm, having gone way down the rabbit hole on mittens myself, the only other thing I can think of to try is fleece like these black diamonds

I used something similar for the last 10+ years.  They handle liners well if you size up, and the combo is warm on the move.  I switched to the Rag style just this year as my fleece ones were kaput.  Turns out the rag work better for me, they’re warmer, more breathable and hold onto perspiration less.

The fleece may be a more happy trade off for you as they block wind better at the cost of less breathability. You gotta pay one way or the other: higher wind blocking or higher MVTR.  The magic mitt with both doesn’t exist

The waterproof zip style like the Montbells can be unzipped to vent and I bought something similar this year but it hasn’t been cold enough to test them yet

 

[Brad W]

I use these https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/waterproof-overmitts/ and really like them but they are not what I would call ‘highly’ breathable. They are low to moderately breathable.  When I am really trucking uphill, at just about freezing,  I put my bear hands in them and it can get just ever so humid. For most of the time they build up no moisture though.

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

Hi Brad,

Yes, I have those BD shells. I like the cut.

But just like we wouldn’t wear a WPB jacket (at least one without vents), but instead breathable soft- or wind-shells, it seems logical to do the same for our hands, since they are quite sweaty parts of our body.

Yesterday, at just above zero, but minimal wind, I wore Defeet liner gloves with BD Softshell mittens over the top. That worked perfect. The thin softshell means snow doesn’t stick and blocks enough wind to work in a wider range of conditions.

Leather palm for grip, durability  and water resistance.

The drawback is that the leather doesn’t go over the tip of the fingers, so they wear prematurely there.

The other issue, for backcountry use, is that they don’t have a gauntlet and wrist strap, so they don’t fit with big sleeves as well and are harder to take on and off quickly to use your phone or other tasks that require finger dexterity and touch screen capability.

The knit cuff is fine for XC skiing (or running I assume).

[Brad W]

I find lately, hiking in snow, my pole handles and gloves are getting snow on them or transferring moisture from the wet cork handle. Even water resistant gloves seem to absorb moisture from the palms in this case. For this reason I use a shell and like you said it does trap heat but for my conditions that’s the trade off for dry liners.

MLD makes shells that are advertised as highly breathable. Not sure about palm durability-maybe one could modify or reinforce the palm and seal the stitching from the inside.

https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/event-rain-mitts/

 

[Bill Budney]

Tjaard, maybe you could help us to better understand how you would use these windbreaker shells?

As others suggest, wool mittens are super breathable and can handle a small amount of snow. When I need to work with more snow, then I put on one (or both) waterproof shells.

What are you doing that requires leather palms and snow-resistant shells for extended periods? Is this for technical climbing?

There is such a thing as getting someone else to make MYOG things for you. Dry cleaners often have seamstresses available. There is even a Reddit sub: r/MYOG commissions.

Regarding the VBL issue, keeping the layer next to skin reduces the chilling problem by allowing you to keep the gloves on for most of the day. I like thicker nitrile gloves (5+ mil). I cycle between a couple of pairs, turning them inside out to dry. I don’t have to take them off often because they somewhat work with touch screens, except for extended typing.

Ryan has suggested food service gloves as VBLs. They are even lighter than nitrile gloves, but but do not fit as closely.

 

[Author]

Posts