Hestra CZone Mellow Mitt

Mistral is a 3-layer polyamide fabric. Hestra specifies it as windproof, waterproof and breathable and uses it on the back of the hand. The palm, where you grip, is impregnated hairsheep leather. Under the shell are the CZone insert, the Primaloft Gold and a brushed polyester lining. Hestra's spec doesn't call the lining removable.

The feature list is short. Elastic at the wrist snugs the fit. A Velcro closure at the cuff tightens the opening once the mitt is on. Attachment points take handcuffs, Hestra's name for wrist leashes. With leashes fitted, the mitt can hang from your wrist when you pull it off.

This is where a mitt earns its place. The four fingers share one compartment and warm each other, while the thumb keeps its own. Primaloft Gold and the brushed polyester lining hold that warmth in. The cost is dexterity: zippers, buckles and anything fiddly take more effort.

For wet days, the CZone insert is the waterproof layer, and the Mistral backhand blocks the wind.

Black, Navy and Beige each run from size 6 to size 11. Hestra sizes are numbers.

Pick it if cold fingers are your main complaint and you can live with less dexterity. It's unisex, and it belongs to Hestra's Alpine collection, which Hestra describes as "developed with the recreational skier in mind."

Need separate fingers? The CZone Mellow is the five-finger version of this mitt. It uses the same Mistral backhand, hairsheep leather palm, Primaloft Gold insulation and CZone insert. There, each finger has its own space; in this mitt, the fingers share one compartment.