Black Diamond Mercury Mitten - Men's - 2009 BCS

I always carry these for the days when it's 15 below zero and the wind is pumping at 85 mph. These or something similar to these is a frostbite preventive that should always be carried. These are not dexterous and they weight more like 12oz a pair but they are WARM. And BTW these feel like a cloud when you put your hand in them.

For anyone that plays in the cold mountains, needs a very warm belay mitt or simply has a need for an emergency mitt - this one is hard to beat. I have found the BD Mercury to be very durable and amazingly warm. I use this mitt in the coldest days in the Adirondacks, Green and White Mountains. This mitt most recently kept my fingers warm on Mt Mansfield in Vermont, in neg 25 temps with neg 50-60 wind chill temps. My fingers were starting to trend towards cold, but I was able to tag the summit and get back in the trees before they really cooled off. One very small bummer is that the gauntlet is hard to cinch tight around the forearm when new. After using a few times, I found this wasn't as much of an issue. Great mitt at an awesome price. I found this mitt runs a bit large. I normally wear a size large but found the medium fit me perfectly.

Take the description literally - the INSERT is waterproof, but the SHELL is NOT waterproof. The material on the outside of the thumb soaks up any water immediately on contact. The rest of the shell is water repellent, but the seams are not sealed. They do advertise the mitten this way, so I only have myself to blame. I should have read more closely.

The lack of a waterproof shell reduces their versatility. With the inserts in, they are TOO warm for most "normal" activities. One reason I was attracted to the mittens in the first place was the removable liners, hypothetically meaning I could use the shells alone in cool/rainy conditions, the shell with liner gloves in sleet/33F rain, or use the mercury liner/mitt for really cold temps. Sadly, since the insert is waterproof and not the shell, they aren't effective for anything but bitter cold.

I also found the "trigger finger" liner to be uncomfortable. Putting my index finger in the main section with the rest of the fingers helped, but that was also a bit uncomfortable because the liner wasn't designed for that.

Honestly, these mittens deserve at least a 3-star rating, probably 4 stars. They were designed for bitter cold, and as everyone else has noted, they do a very good job of keeping your hands warm. If you are looking for an alternative to the Alti Mitts for extreme temps and mountaineering, these might be a good bet (but I can't say from experience because I'm not into that stuff).

I rated them this low because I was just so put off by the non-waterproof shell. It seems rather pointless to have the insert be the waterproof part. You can't even use the insert unless it is below ~10F, and at those temps you don't need to deal with rain and sleet anyways. I guess I just feel a bit mislead is all, and they weren't what I expected.

I rarely use these due to excess warmth. Granted the majority of use for these is in the wasatch so its not super cold. People may complain about water proofness, but these gloves are designed for temps way below freezing, thus you shouldnt have water problems most of the time. Heavy snowfall has never penetrated the mitt when ive used them. Nor the occasional direct water contact.

These are amazing. My hands are the only part of me that really gets cold, and these mitts solved that problem. These are for cold weather though - don't bring these on a 40F spring skiing back country trip or you'll sweat 'em out! The sizing is a little on the large side but doesn't much matter. Index-finger thingy in the liner is fine, whatever - the point is that they're really warm.

These are the most comfortable, warm, and functional pair of mittens i have ever owned. Anyone who asks about the mitts i tell to stick their hand inside and they end up buying them. The inside is a combination of a fuzzy material (like the MHW MonkeyMan) and a nice fleece entrance. The super soft hand pads are so smooth you wont know what to do with yourself. The culmination of these features, i would recommend these mitts to anyone from my mom to my friend who works on Denali. These are the best mitts you can buy for the price, and you wont regret spending the money on them.

These are made for *Cold* weather. Not warm wet weather. If you use them for what they are intended for they are awesome. I use my for belaying when out ice climbing. The palms are super tough. There is a trigger finger in the mitt which makes belaying and rope handling much easier. And most importantly they keep my hands warm when it is cold.

In my previous review I said what I do. Rather then the reasons for doing so. I forgot the big debate of previous reviews. When I was instructed in making snow caves in WA we were told to bring butcher gloves or rubber type dish washing gloves. The point is that if you have wet snow on the outside and sweat on the inside you will have wet gloves. The substituted liners are work gloves into themselves and wetness with not faze them much. So you have a tough outer glove with a soft thinner glove good for car keys etc. AND you have the original warm liners in your pockets for those cold days/nights. Actually their solution to wet gloves was to bring 2-3 pars.

If you want something that will stand up to everything get this type of glove/mitt. Just pick your warmth model. Leather sticks like glue compared to cloth. I like the removable liner for drying as you really can't use the liner in the field, too delicate, but you can use the shell by itself. You can buy a wind proof or a more breathable light weight glove and use them for liners too. Great for downhill but just to bulky for the run of the mill xco skier. PS what ever happen to the thin goretex sic mitts and poly/wool liners that would dry out when worn by them selves on good days.

I have cold hands. It's in my nature, they are always cold. For that reason these mitts are perfect. BUT BE AWARE! If you are not comfortable with your hands being in near sweating temperatures these are not for you. Personally I would rather put up with the extra warmth in exchange for certainty that I will never be cold.

Also, I love the fact that this is a long mitten. I can put the cuff over my jacket, bite the handy elastic pull cord thingy and not worry about snow getting in my gloves ever again!

A note about the waterproofing. My biggest test of these gloves was when I spent two weeks with them in the Absorokas, just north of Jackson Hole. The snow there is not super wet and I found that in everyday life the shell was sufficiently resistant. However, I wore the shells while I was digging out a quigloo and after about five minutes it was quite apparent that my hands were wet but these still get five stars because I got out of that snow cave put the shells on my shoulders for 10 minutes under the sun, and these gloves were back to being their normal toasty selves.

Bottom line: Great product, be aware of what you are buying.

If you need a worm pair of mitts. These are so warm. tried them out on a blustery 2 degrees day up in windy Vermont. My hands were almost sweating. I suffer from Raynoid's syndrome and didn't have the slightest problem with these mitts. They are a little bulky and could use some more waterproofing. All in all I am very satisfied. They run a little small. I usually wear a L with these, a M. Being that they are Black Diamond, you know the quality you are buying.

Peter Anderson has a good point about the mitts not having a waterproof shell. However, I think if you are going to be skiing in dry, Utah blower, or Montana cold-smoke, these would be just fine. If you're not dragging your hands in the snow, and it's not a warm, soppy day with a chair-lift dripping on them, you'll be fine.
I haven't had a chance to use mine on any wet days yet, but in fresh powder on cold days, they keep your hands toasty.
I like mittens that come up over my wrists and jacket, so that I can take 'em on and off easily. The Mercury Mitts are easy to use when hands are cold, and they warm fingers right up when you get them back on.
The liners aren't easy to pull in and out as there is some pretty solid velcro attachment, but I don't use the liners alone.
They could potentially grab some moisture from the snow when it's warm out, but you don't need these for days that aren't bitter cold anyway.
I also put snow seal on the stitching and places where I thought water might condense. I have had no problems with moisture coming in yet. The shell does a good job of keeping the liners dry as far as I've experienced.
So, I think as long as you are not skiing Cascade concrete, and wet coastal snow, these will be fine.

I just inaugurated my BD Mercury Mittens high-mountain skiing at Finse, Norway last weekend, and am very pleased with them! First day was cold (-25C) but due to these mittens I hardly noticed. Relatively good breathability although I was toasting inside by the time we reached the peak. Next day was slightly less arctic (-10C) but with high winds. That day I (as usual) donned a lighter pair for the first part of the ascent and switched when the wind-chill set in further up the mountain.

I’d say this is a first class mitten in terms of cold and wind protection. Good proportions, good protection around the wrist and easy to use with ski poles. Straps can be adjusted with mittens on. The trigger finger adds to dexterity, but don’t expect miracles; I could plot the GPS with the thumb only, and normal zippers can be hard to operate. Opening snowboard bindings etc will however not be a problem. Although I have no intention to take out the inner liners except perhaps for drying, it seems a bit fiddly to put them back in place.

I immediately fell in love with these mittens. I endorse that they must be “built for the deepest, coldest days of winter” and they will be my pair of choice for the harshest days out skiing and snowboarding. On wormer or wetter days I will however use another pair.

Great mitts. Can't say much else. My hands tend to get pretty cold and they were sweating with an air temp. of about 10F and a wind chill below zero. Bomber.
Note: they run slightly large.

I bought the 2007 model to use in Canada. The temperature is very cold at our mountain. My fingers were frigid each day from skiing with gloves. These mittens solved that problem. Now my hands, especially the fingers, are always warm. This is a very good mitten at a very good price. I thoroughly endorse this mitten.

I use these in Southeast Alaska for snowboarding, within and out of bounds. Conditions here range from below zero to 33 and raining, and these mitts have kept my hands warm and DRY in all conditions: the first pair I've had that really performed. I don't even notice the trigger finger:I'm too busy being happy that my hands are warm. The shell getting wet hasn't been a problem for me, and I like the goggle wipe material on the back of each thumb. The only thing that annoys me about them is that if you have them strapped to your wrist, they suck the snow inside when you take them off and let them dangle. But that's basic gravity, so, not really a criticism.
You'll want something lighter for spring back country activities.
I'd buy this one again in a heartbeat, even at the high MSRP.

I bought these for Alaska riding after wearing my old Mountain Hardware beaters past the "one more season" point. These gloves are very warm and waterproof even on sleety Southeast Alaska days spent on the mountain. Goatskin shell is NOT waterproof, but my hands haven't gotten wet at all, and have stayed warm down to about 20 degrees so far. Liners are easy to remove. I haven't had a problem with them being too warm. The trigger finger doesn't bother me (I don't even notice it) and the shell is very grippy, if you need to grip stuff. I like the long gauntlets for keeping out the powder. All in all, a quality glove half-way into their first winter. Worth the money: I'd buy it again.

I bought these for my teenage son who seems predisposed to cold fingers. They helped solve the problem. They can be too hot on warmer days, but that is a different issue when warm hands is the goal.

....worth the money......

My hands are always cold. When camping in the snow, I use my regular gloves to set up camp. My hands start to lose feeling, so I pop on the mitts. My hands are toasty in 5 minutes. Switch to the gloves and finish setting up camp. Put the mitts back on and I am good. Sometimes need to take mitts off to cool down.
Don't trust these to be waterproof. Ran them under the sink for about 30 seconds and the water was coming through.

Got these for really cold skiing and backcountry days in Colorado. So far this winter I've only had to use them once, but they were nice: extremely warm, and they seem really well made. My only complaint is that they run really large. I usually wear a large glove or mitt, and the large in these is way too big, which makes them a little clumsy. I may try to trade them in for a medium, but I'd like to find somewhere to try the medium on before I pay shipping to send these back.

I have had these gloves for over year and they are the warmest gloves I have ever had. My boyfriend was jealous so I bought him a pair. I would highly recommend these gloves.

I always have cold hands no matter what. These have been terrific - hands always warm & dry - perhaps the only complaint is -- too warm.

I bought these for winter camping in Michigan(with my Boy Scout son) and after reviewing dozens of others (including the Alti), I figured that at 20% off of the $86 price tag, if they aren't all that warm, then I'll give them to a young family member whose fingers don't get as cold as mine do. As it turns out, I cannot imagine a warmer, more comfortable pair of mittens. With the trigger finger design and overall warmth, these remind of the leather shell, lambs wool-lined mittens that my dad wore in WWII as a Merchant Marine sailing at times during winter storms that required heavy-duty warmth.

Since, like everyone else, I want or need some dexterity at times, I simply ordered a size up and where liner gloves (O.R. PL400's) beneath and I am literally covered. My liners slide in and out with ease and mate perfectly with the Mercurys. For now, I can only imagine that my particular combo will keep me comfortable well below zero (Farenheit).

Also a tip/trick, if I only need the liners for a time and don't want the mittens exposed and dangling from their "idiot cords", I crafted a way to keep the mittens warm and secure inside my jacket by adding Nite-Ize size #2 S-biners to the loop ends of sport eyeglass Chums, then attaching the mittens to the biners and hanging all this from around the collar of my base layer. This set-up makes my coat a little puffy around the chest area, but it keeps me and the mittens warm and protected from the elements.

The bottom line is that the Mercury mitts are incredibly warm and well-made at any price. To Black Diamond, thanks for a product well-done, but please continue to keep the price down, I still have my wife and kids to buy these for.

Hella-warm! It would be almost impossible for your (or anyone's) hands to get cold in these. Like most other expedition style insulated mittens, they have sufficient (synthetic) insulation in a separate liner, and a waterproof shell. Trigger finger is cool, but it is still pretty difficult to handle anything small in these mittens, but that is the case with any exped style mitt. Great quality construction as well. I dont see why you would pay 150+ bucks for other style insulated mitts when these are 85 and just as warm. You could use these for 8000 meter climbs in my opinion. I have used these in 0 degrees with 60mph winds and my hands were not at all cold. Maybe a bit heavier than Down insulated mitts, but trivial.

What can i say i have suffered from cold hand syndrome ever since i started riding and these things are the BOMB, kept me toasty riding Jap backcountry for a month the season just gone and have been able to brave the discusting aussie backcountry (wet slush) recomended to anyone.
Only downside is using GPS and other such equipment is near impossible, so i thing i'll be purchacing some BD gloves for those aplications.
Enjoy the parth on your hands coz it just wont stop