I've been having a hard time deciding between getting, from Black Diamond, Stratos gloves, Patrol gloves, or Mercury Mitts. I'm partial to gloves. Anyone have any of those gloves? (I know Mercury Mitts are common.)
What are the mitts being used fore? I snatched a pair of the BD mitts after comparing the quality to OR's offerings. They just look a lot warmer. I will be using mine around camp, and above treeline. Mitts are a must have if you spend a lot of time above the trees in winter.
My vote is for the Mercury Mitts with a good glove liner underneath. You will likely find that with an insulated glove, you will often have to remove the glove to do things that require more dexterity. When you remove the mitt, you'll still have the liner glove on underneath and should be able to do just about everything you can do with bare hands with the liner glove on. The Mercury Mitts are versatile too, in that the primaloft liner can be removed for use in milder temps.
I have the Mercury Mitts and Glissade gloves. I used the Glissade gloves on a cool day, got them wet (from perspiring hands) and it took a week for the fleece liners to dry. I think they would be best for summer alpine climbs.
The Mercury Mitts are great for really cold weather. I like the removable liners and can also use wool gloves in the shells instead of the Primaloft liners.
I find the Mercury Mitt shells are much better than the old OR Mt. Baker shells (I have both), but OR has recently redesigned its line of mitts to be more like the Mercury Mitts and they look very similar now.
I to love my mercury mitts.I had a pair of marmot expidition mitts which were warm but the insulation sliped when I tried to do anything with them on so I had them off alot.The mercury mitts are fantastic for belays(good control/feel on the ropes),above tree line(warm when wet,sweatand a good feel on polls or ax)winter camping or hanging out on the summit.BD ice glove for ice,and TNF (light linners)(denali ?)for hikeing and aproaches.Mercurys are quite often on sail in mgear.com