10 Jan 2013

Extremities Inferno Mitt, a short term review

I always have cold hands, whether it's summer and 20°C, when I shake hands with someone, they are always surprised of the cold touch. Now it's winter and when temps sometimes drop to a mild -3°C (although we've been having 6° to 10°C lately!) I like something a bit warmer than fine windproof liners.

In comes the Inferno Mitt from Extremities, and I have been them for some time in when it was cold in November/beginning December. So let's see how they performed so far and I'll keep you updated.


Extremities Inferno Mitts


Extremities is a sub brand of Terra Nova, a UK based outdoor gear manufacturer. I am inclined to say they are one of the top-notch brands and well known for their tents like the Laser Comp.
Recently their website got a welcome update, it now suits the quality of the product line more than the old site.

I have had my eyes on some new gloves since my Decathlon pair is now 4 years old and starting to lose heat. I've felt this in Berlin where it was around -20°C for one evening and even with liners my fingers went numb.
A mitt also has the extra bonus of keeping the fingers together, that way they warm each other.
I actually don't miss having my fingers apart. When you think about it, you don't need so much dexterity when walking or biking. Things change when setting up a tent / working on your bike chain that dropped when you slipped and fell because of ice / operating stuff and writing.

Plus Sides 

I love that thing!
The Buckle!
  • Toasty warm, so they live up to my expectations. Not having fingers have their (minor) downsides but the warmth is more than welcome!
  • Weather resistance, in snow or rain they don't wet in. The outer fabric does stay wet for a long time in a room temperature of about 19°C, but put them on the heating for half an hour and kapow, they'e dry!
  • The buckle, I love the buckle! All other gloves just feature a small plastic hook and it's so tiny and not flexible I almost break my fingers prying them loose. Just imagine doing that with cold and numb fingers. It's a huge design fail and I just can not see why other manufacturers are still doing this.
  • A soft inner makes you immediately feel some warmth when putting them on. The microfiber inner does 'scratch' a little when you have rough hands (but that's what you get from working like a beast :))
The inner lining

 Down sides

  • Reflective detailing: This is more of a 'want' feature (Dutch speakers will get the pun) but as a biker I feel that every square inch of reflective material can save my life, so I'd like to see some reflective details on there. It could be the orange logo or the two grey dots on the glove. Just to keep some peace of mind. 
        Update (see further below): I think Terra Nova solved this in a newer version. Many thanks!
       

Lot's of space to put reflective details on
  • Squishy grip: These aren't biking gloves but I use them for it and when biking I find the grip a bit squishy. Holding the handlebars feels like there is some sort of gel cushion between your hand and the bars, this is caused by the thick layer of Primaloft. Changing gears is also a bit less responsive due to this. 
  • Moist when working hard. Primaloft was definitely a good choice for the glove because my hands sweat in them. Towards the end of my bike ride they are moist inside and they feel strange. If I grip my handlebars, the outer layer of the gloves stay in place but I pull on my handlebars and so the inner layer does move.This results in a weird twisted and tangled feeling, probably due to the thick insulation. Biking always makes me warm, so I forgive them.
Again, these downsides are for biking only and the Inferno Mitt isn't a biking specific glove.


The Specs

    Velcro closurealso on the thumb
  • They are filled with 140 gr. of PrimaLoft One.
  • They pack up surprisingly compact. You can squish both mitts in one fist
  • They are water-resistant, windproof and breathe enough in my opinion.
  • They have a velcro cuff which is nice and big, so operable with the mitts on (important!).
  • The palm and inside thumb area feature a grippy and durable surface.
  • Weight: 132 for the pair (size M)




Disclaimer:
I bought these gloves with a 12€ coupon and the rest of the amount (€30) I paid for myself.
(so yes this is still an unsponsored and thus unpopular blog :D )

Update 22/01/2013
Well, apparently Terra Nova is a great pupil. Just today I walked into the local AS Adventure and saw some Inferno Mitts there. It seemed like an updated version and yes, the logo is now a bit smaller and reflective. It's high up the wrist where the big X used to be.
A quick search yielded no pics at the moment, sorry, you'll have to believe me.

Thank you for listening, Terre Nova UK.

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