Seirus MagneMitt Summit

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When the wind is whipping and the mercury is falling toward zero, a solid pair of mittens can make the difference between enjoying your winter adventures and spending the day massaging your frozen claws back to life. The problem: As soon as you need your fingers, the mitts have to come off. Enter the MagneMitt Summit, which mixes an insulated leather design with a nifty closure that lets you easily free your digits.

Here’s how it works: A diagonal slash across the back of the hand is held closed by a flexible, magnetic seam. When it’s snack time (or ’Gram time), just pop your fingers out of the slot; we found it easiest to prop the slit open with the thumb of our other hand. Once you’re done, pull your fingers back in and the closure will snap back into place on its own—no fiddling required. (The magnet will also seal out slush if your hand takes a brief dip.) A built-in, touchscreen-compatible liner keeps fingertips warm while they are exposed. (The MagneMitt also comes in two other versions which are less warm, less technical, and less expensive.)

Beyond the nifty features, the MagneMitt is just a plain great cold-weather mitten. It shrugged off wind and precip on ski tours around Montana’s Gallatin and Bridger Ranges when temperatures dropped as low as 10 ° F (credit the 140 grams of Heatlock, Seirus’s proprietary synthetic insulation). A proprietary waterproof-breathable membrane seals out moisture, the goat leather outer shell never wetted out, and a cinchable elastic cuff keeps out powder. The MagneMitt is a durable investment, too: After 100 miles of hiking, biking, and skiing this season we didn’t notice any problem areas, and we expect it to keep our fingers warm for years.

$160; 12 oz. (m’s L); m’s-S-XL, w’s S-L