MLD rain mitts look like a great product. Any other options out there?

Coming soon - BlackRock breathable cuben rain mitts...

If I didn't have some Paclite Extremities Tuffbags from overseas, the new OR Revel Shell Mitts would be high on my list. The stuff coming out of the cottage guys generally requires manual seam sealing and, IMO, aren't very durable. They're more for emergency use.

Edited by simplespirit on 09/07/2011 19:15:41 MDT.

Mark and Ben, that looked kinda choreographed guys... ;-)

Edited by rayestrella on 09/07/2011 19:14:55 MDT.

pics or specs?
price?

Weight?

With rain mitts, you might want to think about the desired texture. If you are gripping something like trekking poles, the texture is important.

--B.G.--

3.9 oz, which I suspect is for a L.

I love my OR Vulcan mitts,their bicycling split mitt, fully taped gortex with durable palm 1.8oz in size small unisex I bought for for $48. Thank goodness I bought several before they stopped making them last year.

Probably not entirely useful as don't know cf USA distribution, but Mammut do some which are ~50g/pair: http://www.mammut.ch/en/productDetail/109001731_v_0001_7/Cover+Mitten.html

No reinforced palm (as on picture) on mine but decent cuff and nice places to tighten them.
Haglofs will very likely do something of that sort of weight too (Gram mitten), but they only really do gloves in winter and haven't updated their website quite yet.

Edited by MartinCarpenter on 09/08/2011 11:58:26 MDT.

How about this option - no rain mitts. Wear a poncho with sleeves that cover your hands.

The problem with mitts or gloves is they all have a big hole in them (where you put your hands) which invariably fills them with water. I suppose you could hold yur arms up so that the hole is facing downward, but that's inconvenient.

With a decent mitten you've got a longish cuff - plentiful overlap with your shell jackets sleeve - and two places where you can draw it tight to your arm. So that hole is really pretty well protected :) (of course I'm sure some can still find a way in horrible weather because it does but still.).

Meanwhile overlong sleeves, while useful, really won't be protecting your fingers properly. Or blocking the wind out in the same this sort of mitt does.

I have a pair of 2-3 yr old MLD Rain Mitts that I have also seam sealed.

They are well made, but I found that while gripping my hiking poles, the pressure of gripping the poles pushes water through the fabric of the mitts and my hands get soaked.

Not the fault of the rain mitts, just my style of hiking.

That said, someone from BPL posted a solution to this problem....wearing latex or non latex gloves.

I have worn them inside my MLD Rain Mitts and it seems to do the trick.

I carry the latex gloves as a part of my med kit, so maybe double duty with the latex gloves?

I guess I could try to skip the rain mitts and use the latex gloves, but I think that the rain mitts are providing abrassion protection to the latex gloves to keep them from getting holes in them.

So the combination seems to work for me on the few times I have been in the rain.

Hope this helps.

-Tony

Perhaps not exactly what you're looking for, but OR announced a shell/liner combo called Versalayers due out this Fall for $45. They're pictured in part 3 of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market here on BPL. The men's large is 3 ounces and the shell has a silicone pattern on the palm for grip.

The Versaliner is a glove. Just FYI.

I just glued some ToughTek onto the parts of my MLD rain mitts that would get the wear. Still kept it under 3oz a pair for the larges and know I they are still breathable while being able to take the punishment. And if the ToughTek starts wearing through I just scrape it off and reglue a new piece on.

You'll have to check out my Rain Mitts when they come out Chris. Each pair is seam taped for a mitt that's truly waterproof, not just made with waterproof material. No seam gooping anything on when you get it, each pair is good to go straight out of the box. The seam tape also makes for an amazingly strong seam that is no longer a weak point. You'll wear out the actual material before you ever tore a seam out. Our first set off the line up is the performance model and is simply the lightest WPB mitt on the market. So it's geared toward the XUL hiker wanting a reliable full functioning mitt at their disposal on long hikes without the weight.

When will these be available?

@Evan Cabodi - I only just discovered your company (due to the a post further up this thread)And am severely tempted by; 2 x black rock hats or hadron hats (Do these differ much other than the weight? Ie, is the water resistance similar?), 2x under mitts and 2x over mitts for me and my wife.

I've actually seen mitts from the first WP/B cuben made by a friend. I take it this is a new batch of material? IIRC, the original was tested as neither waterproof nor breathable.