Layering is the greatest way to keep warm in really cold conditions. Outer mitts, as well as mittens, will be part of your layered system.
Your hands will be kept warm by the inside layer, while the outermost part will protect them from snow and rain. In cold and damp conditions, waterproof mittens are a good bet.
Here are the types of mittens, their materials, and how to choose the ideal one.
What to Consider when Choosing Mittens?
Mittens, like other forms of insulating clothing, must be fashioned from materials that retain their warmth even after being washed. Most mittens comprise synthetics like fleece, wool, mixes of wool and synthetics, and leather, in that order.
When deciding on a pair of mittens for protection from the cold, performance should take precedence above comfort. When you know what kind of mittens you need, it’s much easier to choose the right materials and technology.
Types of Mittens
Mittens for chilly weather come in a variety of styles. The following is a list of the most common varieties of mittens you may find and use to stay warm while it’s extremely cold outside.
1. Heated Mittens
Heated mittens powered by batteries are becoming increasingly popular. Designed to keep your hands warm in cold weather, this style of mittens has different levels of heat so that you may change them according to your needs.
Each mitten contains a zipped area for lithium-ion batteries that are also rechargeable. Well-made heated mittens are created utilizing top-notch configurations. The heating components cover crucial portions of the hands (at the back, the fingertips, as well as the thumbs) for even dispersion of the heat.
Leather palms, as well as fingers, are commonly used for greater grip and weather resistance, as well as for additional strength and durability. It is possible to utilize smartphones and tablets with touch-screen-compatible leather thumb tips in some designs.
Many similar issues arise when utilizing heated mittens as there are when using heated gloves. They can be utilized for skiing, and even for work in the harshest of weather. You’ll be able to appreciate a whole day of your chosen outdoor winter activity if you purchase an additional battery pack.
Those who suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome may also discover that power mittens keep their hands toasty even on the coldest of days.
2. Touchscreen-compatible mittens
In recent years, touchscreen-friendly mittens have become increasingly popular. For the most part, these mittens come with touchscreen-friendly fingers and palms. It is possible to erase them while using your smartphone or tablet’s touch screen.
3. The Shell Mitts
With a shell mitt, you can keep your hands dry in snowy and wet conditions by protecting them from water. As a result, the shell mitt needs to be light, flexible, robust, quick to dry, and compressible for simple storage when not in use or transporting.
For starters, shell mitts must be able to do their job. Most of the time, they’re paired with mittens that are thicker than the shell mitts they’re designed for. Polyurethane, nylon, polyester, and spandex are among the most common synthetic fabrics.
Among shell mitts’ most desirable characteristics are velcro straps, loops, and elasticized cuffs. Cross country skiing, climbing, trail running, and boating are just some of the outdoor sports that benefit from shell mittens.
4. Traditional Mittens
When it becomes really cold out, you need a pair of thick, insulated mittens to keep your hands safe. They’re designed to keep your hands warm and dry while protecting them from the elements. The best mitts have enough room for a second layer of gloves.
Solid winter mittens are typically made of nylon, polyester, polyurethane, polyamide, and spandex, among other synthetics. Also, the shell is made of leather and synthetic leather, and the palms and fingers are reinforced with synthetic leather.
Good winter mittens should have a durable and scratch-resistant outer shell. Down, polyester fleece, Thinsulate, and PrimaLoft are some of the most common insulation materials for winter mitts, exactly like in the case of winter gloves.
Keep hand warmers handy in the event the temperature drops much below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Inserts that are both wind and water-resistant to keep your hands dry are important characteristics.
Polyurethane, Kevlar, and high-quality leather are typically utilized to stiffen the palms and fingers for greater grip and to withstand rigorous use.
Traditional mittens provide:
- Large, easy-to-operate gauntlets made of elastic.
- The mittens are held together by a wrist strap.
- Winter mittens are designed to keep your hands warm and protected from the elements, so you shouldn’t be shocked that they tend to be very hefty.
- As a result, they are even more restricted in their movements.
- Heavy-duty materials might be pricey, but mittens can withstand the rigors of the highest peaks.
5. Wool Mittens
For a variety of reasons, this material has been included in outdoor clothing:
- Wool is durable because of its elasticity, which is due to the fiber.
- Because of the air pockets in the fabric, it is both warm and pleasant to the touch.
- It’s a superb insulator because it traps air.
- Wool can both absorb and expel moisture while remaining somewhat permeable.
- Because of its naturally occurring antimicrobial qualities, wool is impervious to unpleasant body odors.
Because wool is a natural fire repellent and therefore does not ignite, dying it is easy, making it an ideal material for textiles that need coloring. All of these properties make wool ideal for use in the production of gloves and mittens for use in cold climates.
Merino wool is the most popular type of wool for making sportswear because of its high quality and unique features. Merino wool gloves and mittens, for example, are exceptionally warm and luxuriously soft on the inside and the outside.
Because of the high cost of Merino wool, mittens created from high-quality Merino are out of reach for most people. Furthermore, Merino-based waterproof gloves and mittens are extremely unusual. Despite the existence of Merino mittens, this is not a common material for mittens.
As a side note, you should note that Merino mittens are rarely manufactured entirely of Merino wool; rather, they are usually a blend of wool and a variety of other fibers that help manage insulation, ventilation, wicking, and absorption.
6. Synthetic Mittens
When it comes to man-made gloves, a fleece glove is the most common. There are several good versions of fleece mittens available that are warm and pleasant even in subzero temperatures, even though they aren’t extremely popular.
The thickness of a windproof glove is an important consideration. The more dexterity they provide, the thinner they are. Of course, there are disadvantages to this as well.
Due to their smaller weight and increased flexibility, thinner gloves are often preferred over thicker ones because of their superior dexterity but at the expense of reduced warmth.
Because windproof fleece gloves and mittens are more brittle than regular fleece gloves, they often have reinforcements on the fingers and palms. For the most part, these reinforcements take the shape of a covering composed of a variety of polymers and elastomers.
When it comes to protecting your hands from things like abrasions, water, grease, and more, synthetic materials like PVC, neoprene, and rubber are superior. Synthetics are malleable when heated beyond this point; they stiffen and break if cooled below it.
Because the qualities of most synthetic mitten materials change with temperature, it’s important to stick to the recommended temperature ranges and follow the manufacturer’s directions when selecting gloves or mittens. Synthetic materials tend to harden and shatter at low temperatures and soften or harden at higher degrees.
Thermoplastic polyurethanes (-50°C), rubber (-25°C), and Neoprene (-10°C) are the best man-made materials for extremely cold temperatures.
When temperatures drop from a comfortable room temperature to -20°C, rubbers begin to harden. Because most materials stiffen at freezing temperatures, they are more resistant to cutting, piercing, tearing, and abrasion.
7. Leather
For chilly weather, leather gloves and mittens are a popular choice. Climbers frequently use leather gloves for rope handling, such as rappelling and belaying, because the material retains its pliability even at low temperatures and provides a good grip.
Leather mittens are also water, puncture, and abrasion-resistant. Leather gloves and mittens are ideal for cold weather since they can withstand temperatures as low as -180°C, making them an ideal choice. Some drawbacks to wearing leather mittens are as follows:
- Unless coated with a water repellent, leather is not waterproof.
- Leather mittens harden or soften when wet, depending on the temperature (at low temperatures). This effect is directly related to the amount and content of absorbed water.
- The animal from which the leather is derived determines the mechanical qualities of the material.
- Leather has abrasion resistance and is easily cut.
- After getting wet, leather mittens and gloves will not keep you warm because of their sluggish drying time and lack of insulation.
In addition to real leather, synthetic (fake) leather is a common choice for glove makers. It comes in a variety of forms, each with its own unique set of characteristics. Some synthetic leathers, including PVC-based synthetic leather, are waterproof.
There are several downsides to this material, the most significant of which is its sensitivity to environmental aging and the fact that it is completely impermeable (polyurethanes). Therefore, breathability will be an issue here.
Mittens Characteristics
Mittens for cold weather have several important characteristics:
Resistance to Water and Wind
High-performance gloves and mittens must be water and wind-resistant to operate well on and off the groomed trail. In some cases, the waterproof-breathable membranes in gloves and mittens make them both partially and completely waterproof.
Having a pair of waterproof mittens is a good thing since they protect you from the elements. On the other hand, if the material isn’t permeable enough, moisture may build up within the gloves and compromise their ability to keep your hands warm and dry. It also:
- Reduces their ability to insulate against heat loss
- Gives off the unwelcome scent of a wet rag
To combat the problem, one option is to wear gloves with partially permeable membranes that protect against water from the exterior while allowing moisture from the inside to be transported to the outside. The application of a hydrophobic coating to the glove’s outside surface can also improve its waterproofness.
Breathability
When it comes to chilly weather, water resistance and breathability go hand in hand. To prevent overheating, a material must be able to permeate enough air and transfer moisture (in the form of water vapor) out of the glove, ensuring that the wearer’s hand remains dry.
To get the best out of your gloves, you need to find the correct balance between air permeability and the capacity to keep cold air out.
Efficiency
Usefulness and convenience are intertwined when it comes to mittens.
A decent glove’s most important feature is that it’s functional. Glove dexterity is necessary for the proper performance of jobs at low temperatures, according to experts in a variety of fields.
When the temperature drops below a particular point, the human finger loses some of its sensitivity, making it difficult to do fine tasks. When the temperature drops below 19°C (66°F), for example, fingers lose their capacity to sense surfaces. This has been linked to an increase in the number of accidents.
Mitten Thermal Insulation
The ability of a material to trap as much air as possible within its structure is critical to its ability to provide warmth and thermal insulation. Even though lining a mitten with such material will keep your hands and fingers warm, it will also reduce the mitten’s agility by making it bulky.
With mitts, mobility is restricted, but they are designed to keep fingertips warm in temperatures below freezing. When the temperature drops below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, thermal insulation is essential.
Flexibility/Dexterity
With increasing material thickness, dexterity decreases. Glove dexterity is typically hampered by the difficulty of handling small things when wearing thick gloves. When it comes to dexterity, both the stiffness (which rises at low temperatures) and the fit of the glove have a role.
Overly loose gloves, on the other hand, are unsuitable for activities requiring high levels of performance. Winter gloves must fit properly for you to get the most out of them.
Mittens aren’t designed for dexterity, but rather to keep hands warm. Because of this, using your mittens for tasks that demand fine motor skills is a bad idea. It’s not uncommon to come across mittens that are particularly well-suited to belaying while ice climbing.
Even though it’s a personal preference that is largely influenced by fit (but also, to some extent, by the lining material, breathability, and range of motion), your level of comfort while outdoors is critical to your total enjoyment.
Consequently, you must take comfort into account while purchasing gloves and mittens for cold protection. In general, most individuals can tell if a glove or mitt is comfortable just by looking at it.