Mountain Laurel Designs eVent Rain Mitts Review

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

My hands were far beyond having any type of dexterity, and as such the water that spilled over my hands and fingers as I filtered water that evening only made the situation worse. Returning to camp, I promised myself that I would find a better solution upon returning home. Obviously I needed something with both better versatility as well as performance. Enter the Mountain Laurel Designs eVent Rain Mitts. Combined with a lightweight liner glove of your choice, you’ll end up with a highly versatile system that should come out to about the same weight or lighter than a single pair of “Do it all” gloves. When the weather is on the brisk side and you just need to take the edge off, wear the liner gloves alone, which will also be suitable for high exertion activities on the warmer side of glove weather due to their extreme breathability. If the temperature drops further, a rain shower rolls in, or if you simply need to take the wind chill out of the equation add the MLD Mitts.

Evaluating the use and effectiveness of these lightweight eVent rain mitts from MLD - Read the full review below in Issue #2:

Mountain Laurel Designs eVent Rain Mitts Review

Issue #2 Page 1

[Abela]

This was a really good review.

eVENT is one of the better materials out there right now for breathability - at least material that is being used by the cottage hiking industry.

I have been using and testing the Overmitts from Black Rock Gear since they were released and have a full review of them ready to publish, I am just waiting on BRG to have them back in stock. At 19 grams they are significantly lighter than the MLD gloves, and they are made of material that is nowhere near as durable, and testings have shown that the WPBCF is still far from what eVENT is (in regards to breathablity). However for those who are looking for the truly extreme lightest of the lightest they are a wonderful pair of gloves and are tape bonded so no seam sealing.

Something I do not think the article addressed on the MLD eVENT Gloves is whether or not the listed weight was pre or post applying seam seal - that should be noted within the article.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Hey Abela, thanks for taking a look at the review! The Black Rock Mitts look great, I definitely like the built in elastic around the wrists. I have also been meaning to check out the latest waterproof/breathable cuben mitt option from ZPacks, but at the same time it's hard to give up the eVent mitts from MLD - They're just so breathable.

Sorry for any confusion on the weights before seam-sealing and after - I can definitely see where consolidating the before and after weights from the separate pages of the article onto the same page could have made things clearer. Just to recap, here are the weights both prior to and after seam-sealing for the medium & large sizes:

Before sealing:

1.25oz (M)

1.30oz (L)

After sealing:

1.4oz (M)

1.6oz (L)

Of course, the after sealing weights will vary depending upon just how much sealer is used...We used what ended up being the least amount of sealer that still resulted in a fully waterproof product. In the end, the mitts are great - I definitely find myself reaching for them whenever the forecast looks a bit grim no matter the outdoor activity.

[Jolly Green Giant]

I've had a pair of these for around three or more years now. The fit is a little sloppy, but beyond that they serve a purpose. They replaced a pair of ULA Mitts made of Dri-Duck material which I was using. They pack small and are durable enough.

Funny story - when I was seam sealing them I had hung them to dry over a trashcan full if grass clippings. I just happened to have a hook there. Sure enough, one of my kids slammed the garage door too hard which caused the gloves to drop into the clippings. When I pulled them out, they looked like hands which belonged to Oscar the Grouch. It took me about two hours with tweezers to get them back to normal.

[Stick]

I have some of these mitts...actually they were my first purchase from MLD about 2 or more years ago. However, I have only actually used them a few times. I agree with Jolly's comment about them fitting sloppy...I just find them to be quite big. But I have always chalked this up to the fact that some may layer a thicker mitt beneath it. I have only ever used a pair of OR PL150 gloves beneath them, and they did not fill the void too much. Regardless though, the few times I have used them I liked them.

I have had the privilege of checking out the mitts that John has from BRG, and all I can say is wow! They were light..I mean wispy light. However, as John mentioned, in terms of durability, the BRG has nothing on the MLD mitts. Although, if you are easy on your gear and do not intentionally put your gear through the ringer, I think that the BRG mitts would be a great addition to your pack...but I also remember them being much more pricier than the MLD mitts too...

Then Joe released his WP/B over mitts...and I jumped on them! (The price has actually come up since I got mine...). Being that it has been too warm for me to need overmitts I have decided to leave them at home for the time being and have yet to use them on a trip. I liked that they do not need to be seam sealed (he tapes these) and at 0.7 oz/pair, the weight is half of the MLD mitts! Fit is a bit more snug though. They are considerably smaller than the MLD mitts. I find them to actually fit my hand much better, and with my OR gloves beneath them, they fit me perfectly...except in the thumb. If the thumb was about 1/4" longer, then they would be perfect. But as it is, if I grab something like the handle on my hiking pole, then I can feel the tip of my thumb pressing into the tip of the thumb in the mitt. It is not enough pressure to cause any damage I don't think, but it is enough to let me know it. If I could afford it though, I would order another pair from him and ask him to make the thumb a hair longer...

Here are some pictures:

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Funny story - when I was seam sealing them I had hung them to dry over a trashcan full if grass clippings. I just happened to have a hook there. Sure enough, one of my kids slammed the garage door too hard which caused the gloves to drop into the clippings. When I pulled them out, they looked like hands which belonged to Oscar the Grouch. It took me about two hours with tweezers to get them back to normal.

That's hillarious - I can imagine that being quite an ordeal!

Regarding the sizing, I actually tried to get away with the medium MLD mitts - I have what I would say are fairly average sized hands but while the fit was more streamlined, I found that it became bothersome when trying to perform tasks that required any type of dexterity while wearing them. (There wasn't really any room to open my hand) The large size does seem pretty big at first, but for me while the fit is loose, my hands don't seem to get the same claustrophobic type of feeling. With a light glove on underneath, the fit is perfect...Though I can't stand to wear them without the hairband elastic around each wrist to keep things in place.

[Jolly Green Giant]

How breathable are the Zpacks gloves?

[Stick]

I guess I should have clarified, my MLD mitts are a size large. Of course the ZPacks are one size fits all.

As far as breathability with the ZPacks mitts, I cannot comment on that since I haven't been able to use them yet... but from reading some other's reviews of the WP/B cuben, it is not as breathable as eVENT.