MEC Logan Mitts Review

     I typically have colder than normal hands and feet.  All through high school many of the times I went downhill skiing ended up at the end of the trip with me writing in pain while my appendages thawed out.  But these are the warmest mitts I have ever tried, I think they will be serving me on many adventures and ski trips to come, they are jam packed with features most other mitts don’t have and are very versatile..

     The shells have a generous amount of heavy leather on the palms and wrap around on the edges.  The shells also have insulation on the inside on all sides and they are protected by a waterproof/breathable GoreTex Pac-lite membrane.  I have not yet had the opportunity to test the waterproofness, as I have only used them in very cold temps so far.  The gauntlet cuffs are very long and have an easy to use cinching system and silicone MEC logo pads on the inside to grip your jacket sleeves.  With this you are able to completely seal off snow from getting to your cuffs, no matter how much snow you are in.  In addition to that it has reflective strips for high visibility, small plastic clip to be able to clip the mitts together, as well as tether strings to attach the mitts to your pack, luggage, or carabiner while on your expedition.

     The removable liners are a great feature for both adjusting the level of insulation you need, and for quicker drying.  In fact I think a removable liner is a must have when you have this much insulation, otherwise it would take forever to dry out.  The liners are attached to the shells by two pads of Velcro on each liner.  No fiddling is required to take the liners in or out of the shell, I could just pull the shell away when I wanted to just have the liners on for more dexterity.  The liner mitts feature primaloft insulation, have a textured silicone pattern on the palms for grip and are pretty warm in their own right.  They also have two internal dividers, the purpose of which I don’t know, but at the same time didn’t bother me at all.

     As I mentioned previously, these are very versatile, you could even wear liner gloves and use the shells as a warmer to remove them when you need more dexterity.  Of course these mitts have been designed for the coldest possible scenarios and therefore are a little bulky when fully together with the shells and the liners, but you just have to deal with it.  They kept my hands nice and warm while winter camping in sub -20C temps.   

      This product is clearly well thought out and designed and I am very happy with these.  I happened to get them on sale for $95 from MEC, regularly $135.