This blog is about a pair of high quality mittens from Brfur, made in Wisconsin from domestic materials. I am originally from northeast Quebec, Canada, where winters are long, cold and kind of dry. Brfur are the kind of mittens I grew up with.
In Quebec we learned to play hard when outside in order to stay warm. It must have worked because we were never cold! As I’ve grown older and moved to Colorado, I diversified my winter outdoor activities from sledding to cross-country skiing, ice climbing, back country skiing, and winter running (my favorite). In contrast to sledding, your hands are not moving constantly and, although we seem to believe that we depend on our gear to stay warm, the reality is that we need to stay on the move!
Overall Look and Conception
I was sold on these mittens the day I received them. First of all, they are made in the USA by someone who cares about craftsmanship. I love every detail about them. My favorite feature is the top of the thumb, made with fleece, which comes in handy to remove fog from your goggles, or to wipe your dripping nose! The palm is of a tough Superfabric silicone material that provides the perfect grip for anything you have to grab and hold. They are a little big for my hands, though, and that doesn’t make holding the steering wheel easy while the car is warming up as we drive to work on those cold winter mornings. I love the thick, yet supple, nylon shell, which is weather-resistant and keeps me protected from the cold wind. This fabric is a very good insulator, helping to keep heat inside the mitts all day. The removable soft and warm liner is made of sherpa fabric that does the work. The overall look reminds me of the mittens I grew up with. Nothing fancy, just pure simple mittens that keep you warm. Work Wonderfully!
I am a person whose hands don’t warm up or stay warm easily. I have really enjoyed my mittens so far: they serve me well when I am on the move, and I have used them on different occasions and in varying temperatures:
- Shoveling driveway 10 F degrees
- Cross-country skiing 11 F degrees, cold front wind
- Cold morning drives - 5 F degrees
- Snowshoeing
- Running 9 miles on snow packed roads on a sunny 7 F degrees day
- Back country skiing 22F degrees
It took me a while to put them into action because I got them at the end of the winter season last year, and they are too warm for the Colorado spring. I was very excited when I got them out at the beginning of this winter.
On each occasion I had to get myself moving before I felt the mittens bringing warmth to my hands, but it only took about 5 minutes to get comfortable and be a happy camper in my mittens. I found that my hands were kept warm until I took the mittens off at the end of my activity. (This has never happened with other mittens; I just can’t get my hands warm enough.)The removable liner can get wet on the outside, so I air-dry both inside and outside parts to be ready for the next adventure. Work wonderfully!
Thank you Brfur for making such a great product here in America!
- Nathalie, CFO SOM Footwear
