Hestra Army Leather Patrol Mitt

Hestra rates this mitt 7/8 for warmth — its word for that level is "Extreme" — and rates it "No" for waterproof. It is a warmth-first leather mitt with no waterproof membrane, and Hestra says so in writing. $175.

Fabric, and the missing membrane

Palm and exposed surfaces are impregnated Army goat leather. The backhand is a three-layer Hestra dobby polyester melange — 97% polyester, 3% elastane — which Hestra calls a "flexible and weather resistant softshell fabric."

Weather resistant is the ceiling word. Hestra states the limit plainly: "The glove does not include a waterproof membrane. It may offer water resistance from its outer material but is not designed to keep hands dry in sustained wet conditions." That resistance is an impregnation — a surface treatment on the leather, which wears and needs renewing with balm.

Warmth, and what the mitt shell costs

Warmth is 7/8, "Extreme", and the shape is where it comes from: four fingers share one chamber and warm each other. The G-Loft insulation sits in a removable brushed-polyester liner that pulls out to dry overnight.

The cost is rated, not arguable. Mobility is 3/8, "Moderate", the lowest of this mitt's four scores; durability is 6/8, "Rugged". Buckles, zips and phones all get harder. The five-finger Army Leather Patrol is the same $175 at 5/8 warmth and 6/8 mobility — same leather, same money, same missing membrane. You are not paying for the mitt shape, you are choosing it.

Fit and sizing

Hestra sizes by hand circumference in numbers, never S/M/L. Size coverage is not equal across our two colours: PTO stocks Navy in 7 to 10 and Charcoal in 8 to 10, so size 7 is available in Navy only. The cuff is a short neoprene collar with a Velcro strap, made to sit inside the jacket sleeve — not a gauntlet, so snow control passes to your jacket cuff.

Who it is for, and who should not buy it

Buy it if you run cold and ski cold, dry snow — mid-winter resort days, long static exposure — and you will keep treating the leather. Do not buy it if you want a waterproof glove: for wet coastal snow Hestra's CZone Mountain Mitt carries a real membrane at $125, and for Army leather with a membrane the Army Leather GORE-TEX is $230. And if you need to work a buckle without pulling a mitt off, take the five-finger Patrol.