Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Integral Designs Down Mitts > Kelli Wise > Long Term Report

Personal biographical information:
Name: Kelli Wise
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 0" (152 cm)
Weight: 135 lb (61 kg)
Palm width: 3.25" (8.3 cm)
Hand length (wrist to tip of longest finger): 7" (17.8 cm)
Email: ciyd@comcast.net
Location: Western Washington, USA
Date: June 1, 2004

Backpacking background: I've been car camping and hiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, but am new to backpacking. My backpacking style is not ultralight but lightweight and I am striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort. I have started going for overnight and short trips with the goal of doing an extended trip next year. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington so I get a lot of wet weather experience.

Field information: Western Washington, coastal, lowlands and winter snowshoeing below 3000' (915 m).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Integral Designs
Model: Down Mitts
Year of manufacture: 2003
URL: www.integraldesigns.com
Size: Small
Color: Red
This product is available in 3 different sizes: Small, Medium, and Large. All weights and measurements are for the size small.

Listed weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Measured weight: 3.7 oz (105 g) with stuff sack, 3.4 oz (97 g) alone
Note: My postal scale is only accurate to the tenths of an ounce, so I measured this product in both ounces and grams. The metric weights are measured, not converted from empirical numbers. I felt that this would provide a much more accurate weight measurement.
Listed packed size: 3" x 5" (7.6 cm x 12.7 cm)
Measured packed size: 3" x 5.5" (7.6 cm x 14 cm)
MSRP: $50 US

Features: The Down Mitts are designed to be used in camp to keep your hands warm. The shell material is Pertex Endurance, a waterproof breathable fabric, and the insulation is 750+ European goose down. The down mitts are baffled to keep the down in place and the wrist closures are shock cord and drawcord closures to keep in warmth.

Field Report
Refer to my Initial Report and Field Report for more test results.

I have continued to use the Integral Designs Down Mitts over the winter and into the spring. Our spring would be considered cool and wet by most people’s standards.

After 6 months of use, the down mitts do not appear to have lost any loft. During this time, they have been repeatedly stuffed, flattened, and crammed into bags, sacks and whatever available space is in my pack. The seams do not show any signs of wear or stress despite the less than gentle treatment. Despite the small flaw in one of the seams (see my Initial Report for details), I have not seen one feather or piece of down work its way out of the Down Mitts. The fit of the Down Mitts is just right and I have never had to use the drawcord to keep them from falling off of my hands.

At home or in the field, the Down Mitts have refused to absorb moisture even in high humidity environments. They pack down extraordinarily small and are light as a feather, forgive the pun, so deciding to bring them along has been easy. I have not been using the provided stuff sack when heading out on trips, but have been putting them in another waterproof bag that I was testing for BGT. I’m also glad that I got the bright red fabric - it makes finding the Down Mitts in my pack or shelter easy.

So after 6 months, what do I think of the Integral Designs Down Mitts? These are little furnaces for your hands. My hands get cold easily and take a long time to warm up unless I’m using these mitts. Within a few minutes of sliding my hands into the mitts I can feel them getting warmed. Pulling my thumb into the main area with the rest of my fingers helps it warm up more quickly. Who needs chemical hand warmers? I use them to warm my hands after I’ve performed camp chores. I use them when first getting into my sleeping bag to warm my hands. I use them to keep my hands warm when sitting outside in the cold. My only complaint, and it really isn’t a complaint, is that the Down Mitts are too warm. I cannot sleep in them all night, my hands get too warm, but I will use them as extra insulation in my sleeping bag and the bright red color makes them easy to find if I need them. I can put them in the foot of my sleeping bag, place them on a shoulder or near a knee, anywhere that I might be experiencing a cold spot, and they add just enough insulation to make sleeping comfortable.

Even with the high humidity and rain I’ve experienced, I’ve never noticed that the Down Mitts got damp or lost loft. In the Pacific Northwest, this is our typical weather and a lot of hikers shy away from down for fear of getting it wet. I wouldn’t wear these in the rain without some overmitts, but then again, I wouldn’t wear any insulation layer without protecting it from direct precipitation. They worked fine by themselves in the snow. The Down Mitts are probably too warm to use in summer, our dry season, but they are just the thing I need for the other 3 seasons: warm, water repellent, and comfortable.

Like most mittens, trying to operate zippers, tie cords, or perform any task that requires fingers is not really possible. With longer zipper pulls, I could use the Down Mitts to adjust the zipper on my sleeping bag, but I currently just pull the mitt off, do whatever task needs doing, and slip the mitt back on. Since I don’t use the drawcords to keep the mitts on, slipping them on and off is pretty easy.

Summary:
I’m still very pleased at how quickly my hands warm up just by putting the Down Mitts on. For someone with perpetually cold hands, these are a great piece of clothing. Their compressibility and ability to loft back up make them easy to pack. They haven’t lost any loft or leaked any down nor have I noticed that the down has migrated within the chambers. For the colder 3 seasons of the year, I will be taking the Integral Designs Down Mitts along with me but will leave them at home for warm weather trips. If you suffer from cold hands, I can recommend the Down Mitts.

I would like to thank Integral Designs and BGT for the opportunity to test the Down Mitts.

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Reviews > Clothing > Gloves > Integral Designs Down Mitts > Kelli Wise > Long Term Report