The best thing about these mitts are that they are built to last. For the past several years, I've blown through one or two pairs of gloves/mitts each winter. I needed something that wouldn't fall apart with intensive use (I work outdoors daily in winter, plus recreating).

As for the dexterity comments others have raised, the loss of dexterity is a small price to pay for warm fingers. I keep a pair of winter work gloves (actually, OR's Extravert gloves) handy for a quick swap if I'm going to be doing anything needing nimble fingers.

These mitts are perfect for snowboarding, too.

I'm working outside 5 days a week in winter, and playing around in the snow on my days off...These gloves have become my everyday wear. I'll carry a warmer mitt or glove if it's really cold, but often they stay tucked away. I find the dexterity good enough to easily place ice screws or fumble through my harness.

(Oops, I meant for this to be a review for the MEN'S glove, but the women's are probably just as good!)

This is a great idea. I used it for a 19 day bicycle tour of Ireland where I knew we'd get some rain. It does a better job keeping my stuff dry than I expected. I got the 15L size for a summer weight down sleeping bag, and it was more than enough for that plus a towel and pair of socks. I will be taking it on all my backpacking trips in the future--no more trash bag around my sleeping bag. Another feature that drew my in was the stitching on the compression straps being nice and sturdy.