After a bone-chilling hike in a downpour @ 38 degrees a week and a few days ago, forcing me to throw my poles into my pack and bury my hands in my pockets, I immediately decided that I needed some lightweight shells to protect my hands in ultralight style! What better excuse, er reason, to send $45 on some new MLD eVent Rain Mitts! I recognize that I could have simply worn my possomdown gloves, letting them get absolutely soaked, but that would have required me to shed my pack, exhume my gear pouch, and sort through my all of my packed clothes!

As is typical for accessory purchases, I received my mitts in less than a week from Ron @ MLD, and received them prior to my next weekly 6am hike with McLovin! Constructed entirely of eVent fabric with an ergonomic shape to reduce seam strain when using poles, I was immediately impressed with the construction and weight (in size medium) of less than one ounce for a pair!

I wore them on a ~7 mile hike on Friday morning and found that they kept my hands really, really warm in ~40 degree weather. In fact, they kept me so warm that I shed them about half-way through the hike! As would be expected of eVent fabric, there was absolutely no condensation at all, even though I created quite a humid environment inside.

Items required for seam-sealing: McNett Seam Grip and Talcum Powder!

Seam Sealing:

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE seam sealing? If I didn’t, I meant to. To strengthen the seams and make the mitts fully waterproof, it is recommended to seal the seams of these mitts using McNett Seam Grip. To do this, you need to flatten the seams by packing the gloves from the inside out using paper towels, newspaper, cloths or anything that’s handy. I loaded the mitts with paper towels and tightened the cordlocks, preparing it for seam sealing. It’s a pain and nearly impossible to get totally flat seams, but it’s worth the effort otherwise it will be extremely to do even a moderately professional job.

Running a thin line of Seam Grip along the edge and thumb seams was difficult at best, but I was able to effectively seal them in a messy fashion. I threw out the idea of having a real professional look when I first opened the mailbag and saw the sealer . . .. Oh well, I was done and all that was left was to hang them overnight to dry.

Sealed and ready to go!

Got Baby Powder?:

Seam Grip, once dried, creates a very rubbery seal on the mitts that sticks to itself. This can cause the sealer to pull apart if the mitts are stored together, which I’ll note, is the only way to store items that are intended to be used together! To prevent this, all that’s required is to lightly dust the seams with talcum powder. This prevents the seams from sticking and completes the mitts for use!

Parting Thoughts:

• Yet another well thought-out and constructed product from Mountain Laurel Designs!
• They weigh an extremely light 1.25 oz when sealed, which is very light for a product that can replace gloves for most backpacking use. I’ll note that these are only a few tenths of an ounce lighter than possomdown gloves, so depending upon the weather can either be used by themselves or in conjuction with gloves for use in freezing conditions.
• Did I say that I HATE seam sealing?
• I highly recommend these mitts for backpacking use! They work very well in conjunction with hiking poles due to the ergonomic shape and it’s easy to tighten the cordlocks with the mitts on!