The North Face Montana Mittens - Women's Review

The North Face Montana Mittens are cozy and cost-effective. They feature Heatseeker™ Eco insulation and a long gauntlet cuff for extra warmth and protection. They're treated with a PFC-DWR coating to keep out moisture and have a 100 percent recycled nylon exterior. They come with liner gloves for added insulation and dexterity, wrist leashes to keep them attached, and an effective wrist adjustment strap.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The North Face Montana Mitt is a cozy and comfortable mitten that we would happily wear for cold days at the resort. It's stuffed with Heatseeker™ Eco insulation, but not excessively so as to impede movement or feel like a marshmallow. It's a mid-weight mitten overall, and can't match the warmth of super insulated or double construction mittens. The Raschel fleece interior is plush and pleasant on our hands.

While these weren't the warmest mittens we tested, they had suitable performance for even below zero mornings on the resort and impressed us in our objective warmth tests. In objective tests in the lab, they only saw a drop of 6 degrees after five minutes in the freezer during our tests to assess their R-value. This was among the best of the lineup. In measuring their internal heat from top to bottom during a ski run, they only lost about one degree.

Dexterity

Obviously, dexterity is not why you buy a pair of mittens. It is generally not their overall strength, and the Montana is no exception. While the thumb compartment is a bit snug, we found the main hand compartment ran a bit large, even with the women's specific model, and that extra material understandably got in the way when trying to grab small objects.

That said, the Montana has several design elements working in its favor to improve grip and dexterity. There is a sewn hinge of sorts that sits directly above the finger joint and allows the gloves to bend and flex better than one piece of sewn fabric. The grippy palm material, though it doesn't extend around the end of the mitten, helped us grasp things like poles and buckles and was much better than a smooth palm material. There is slightly less insulation right at your fingertips, which allows for a better tactile feel of objects you're grasping for, like zipper pulls.

Water Resistance

Water resistance was not a particular strength of the Montana Mittens. In our submersion test in the lab, the outer material fairly readily absorbed water, and we saw a 66 percent increase in weight throughout the two-minute dunking time. This wasn't the worst score, but it wasn't the best. However, these mittens make up for some of their absorption with a relatively quick dry time. Additionally, it's just the material on the back of the hand that's absorbent: The palm material lets in no water whatsoever, and that's generally the side that will be touching the snow.

Throughout our time in the mountains with these gloves, they held up just fine against cold snowfall and didn't absorb water during a typical ski day. They didn't exhibit any weak points where water could actually get through to the interior, either. We would trust these in most snow climates, but they wouldn't be our top pick for reliable waterproofing in maritime snow climates or areas that see rain on snow events.

Construction Quality

For a lower-priced product, the Montana overall has quality materials and construction and seems burly enough to withstand frequent use. However, the mittens betray their price a bit here, and while the craftsmanship appears to be good, the materials are cheaper than premium options. We didn't see any troublesome durability issues during our testing period, although with their reduced dexterity, we didn't use them for any intensive rope work, transitions in the backcountry, or winter chores aside from shoveling the driveway.

Over time, we suspect that you will see wear in the very tip of the mitten, where soft material and less insulation make for better dexterity. They also create a weak point at the highest-use area of the mitten. The stitching is consistent and high quality throughout, but it is made of a lighter-weight thread compared to the nearly indestructible Kevlar thread of higher-end ski mittens and gloves.

Features

The Montana is fairly streamlined when it comes to features, but it does have all of the essentials plus a couple of handy extras. We enjoyed having the integrated fleece liner gloves that are touchscreen-compatible. “If I needed to use my phone on the lift, I could just ditch the mittens for a second and leave them hanging securely by the wrist leash, which was a nice touch,” noted our lead tester. The gauntlet cinch is easy to use one-handed to fully block out powder and gusts, and cinching down the wrist strap helped improve the fit and dexterity of these mittens.

It could be a nice touch if the Montana had an integrated handwarmer pocket for extra warmth on below-zero days. Luckily, we usually found their warmth sufficient. We were able to put a hand warmer inside the liner glove if we needed to heat things up a bit. Otherwise, these mittens have a whole suite of well-functioning features that give you just about everything you need for comfort and utility on the slopes.

Should You Buy the North Face Montana Mitten?

Especially for the cost, we don't see a ton of downsides to these comfy mittens. If you're a snowboarder, these are a great choice for the resort since you're not grasping poles all day. If you prioritize dexterity, these likely aren't the right choice for your primary glove, likewise, if you're venturing into the backcountry frequently. Additionally, if you're someone who skis in a wet, maritime climate, these mittens may not be up to snuff with their water resistance. But we think these mittens are capable of handling most other situations.

What Other Women's Ski Gloves Should You Consider?

It's tough to beat the intersection of cost and quality of the Montana, but if you're looking to take both the warmth and water resistance up a notch, consider the Black Diamond Mercury Mitten. For a more dextrous mitten that's a bit more aesthetically pleasing and good for moderate temps, check out the similarly featured Burton Gore-Tex Mitten. If you'd prefer to go the glove route, the Dakine Camino offers a similar price to performance value. But, for a cozy mitten perfect for resort riding, look no further than the Montana.