Montane Extreme Mitt - AW22

Product Information

These gloves are definitely ski and snowboard focussed but they should make for a very capable winter hillwalking option.

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? The main downside to it is the price but then if you really suffer from cold digits throughout the day, perhaps you’ll find it money well spent. I’d otherwise argue that you’ll be slightly better suited going for some of the slightly lower cost variants in this roundup.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. You can tell these are a well-thought-out product, and the little extras like the red loops to clip them to a harness (upside down of course) and the slight curve to the palm to follow the natural shape of the hard, means they aren't just a big bag full of down. 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. Pertex Quantum / 100g PrimaLoft Gold / DryActiv pile lining / goat leather palm and underside of fingers / gauntlet style / adjustable hem closure / adjustable wrist cinch strap / elasticated leash / stuff sac. Weighing in at (for the size) a fairly light weight of 307g the Ulvetanna mitts are are not waterproof, but are windproof and filled with a hydrophobic down, so do offer some wet weather performance; however they are designed for temperatures where water will be in a white, frozen form, not in the rain type form! They have a leather palm for added grip and durability, and this, combined with a good fit (for a fat down mitt) does add quite a bit of usability to the mitts.

The downside to buying online is that you can’t actually get hold of the product to try it out first. 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. The palms are reinforced with a grippy, rubbery material that is fairly robust, but not as tough as leather. We wouldn't want to climb tens of rough Cairngorm routes in these. We’re really pleased to have scored Montane Extreme Glove so highly, givimg it 9.5 out of 10, making it well above the average for all gloves. Used on its own we've found the inner is good for fair weather walk-ins, gearing up and camping. The 300-weight polyester fleece feels very snug, and comes a long way up the arm for super wrist coverage. However the fabric provides no wind protection and of course wets out instantly in damp above-zero conditions.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. 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! I’ve gone through heaps of gloves following my time spent crashing around the mountains. Almost all the failures have involved the palm or fingers wearing or splitting apart. This makes sense, of course. The palm takes the brunt of the wear whilst out in the mountains, so it always helps to have gloves that have a high quality leather – or something equally durable – in that area as well as clever stitching methods to avoid the seams splitting open.

Robert Pollhammer is the founding director of the notoriously challenging Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra, billed as ‘the world’s toughest and coldest ultra’. Whilst Montane athlete Jordan Wylie has taken on several polar adventures, including the Yukon Ultra and, most recently, the Antarctic Ice Marathon. That got us thinking though, that we’re looking at every possible item from Montane so it would be good to narrow our search down even further and only look at Montane branded products within the gloves category. The cost of Montane gloves The idea of carrying two gloves is to keep the warmer pair as dry as possible. When winter climbing, on particularly wet days, I’ll travel with a third pair that I can switch over at belay stances, or when my main gloves become a little too damp to perform.There’s so much information available online when we’re shopping now, that it’s easy to find lots of detail about products like Montane Extreme Glove. This is of course really helpful, but there’s almost too much information available, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for.

We've some of the best mitts on the market in this test, and although mitts generally break down really into two different types; the rugged waterproof Mitts that you can actually use for technical climbing (obviously not as technical as gloves), and the super-fatty pairs for those who are either wheezing up at high altitudes or want something for winter Alpine bivvies (masochists!), we've mainly covered type 1. The exception to this is the super lofty Berghaus mitts, which are very fat and very warm, but not dextrous. Read the review for full info! 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. My 'system' comprises of a couple of pairs of liner gloves, the Montane Extreme Mitts and some great big Gore Tex shells that will go over everything if necessary. This gives me loads of potential combinations. Liners, liners & shell, liners & mitts, mitts, mitts & shells or even liners, mitts and shells in serious weather.

Pages

Insulation-wise, Helly Hansen have chosen PrimaLoft Gold fill – 80g of it – which means good insulation even if moisture has managed to creep past the waterproof liner. They’ve coupled this with a very comfortable microfleece lining. Full Specifications If you’re unsure then I’d err on the side of caution and go for a slightly warmer glove than you imagine. There’s nothing worse than a numb pair of hands halfway through your day. Rab’s own attempt to uphold the reputation of the guide name has the classic shape of the ‘gauntlet’ style glove, with a long cuff to keep any snow and water from leaking into your wrists. It’s been given a little toughening up with reinforcement in the palm and thumb, providing sustained durability and the potential to really abuse it. You can definitely feel this when handling and using the gloves, more so than with something like the Salewa Ortles which is also featured in this round-up.