The North Face Montana Futurelight Etip Mitt Review

While most mittens tout their warmth, the Montana is on the thinner side and features a lining with individual fingers for increased dexterity.

Performance Comparison

The Montana Mitt in action on the slopes in Colorado.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Warmth

The Montana Mitt isn't overly warm, an oddity for ski mittens. It lacks the insulation that other models pack, and it separates each finger into a separate internal sleeve in the lining. This takes away the chief warming feature of a mitten, that the fingers can distribute their natural heat from circulation amongst themselves. We were surprised by how cold these mittens felt on chilly days on the ski hill. They are about as warm as many midweight ski gloves. While this comes with some benefits, the lack of warmth may surprise some users who seek mittens for this exact performance attribute.

A fleece lining provides most of the Montana's warmth.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Dexterity

The benefit of sacrificing some insulation and the addition of individual finger sleeves is that dexterity is increased. We were able to perform most tasks on the ski hill without taking these mittens off, thanks to their thin construction. The main downside to mittens has historically been the lack of dexterity, but in this case, we can't complain. It does make us question, however, why we would choose these mittens over an average pair of ski gloves that might be both warmer and more dexterous. Some users prefer mittens for stylistic reasons, and those are the users who will welcome a thinner and more dexterous mitt.

This thin mitten is better at performing fine motor tasks than we are used to seeing from mittens.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Water Resistance

The Montana Mitt uses The North Face's Futurelight waterproof/breathable membrane, which our testers found to be effective at keeping liquid water out of the mittens. The seams are tight and the wrist cinch strap keeps stormy weather out of the hand compartment. The wrist gauntlet is on the small side and doesn't easily fit over some jacket cuffs, but it gets the job done well enough. These aren't as weather-resistant as the burliest mittens on the market, but they offer plenty of protection for most days on the ski hill. For the coldest and most brutal winter storms, there are better mittens out there.

The Montana Mitts were a tight fit under the sleeve cuffs of some jackets (men's size Large) we paired them with.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Durability

The Montana Mitts hold up well for most resort skiing use. The stretchy shell material snags a bit easier than thicker, stiffer fabrics, and the synthetic palm is susceptible to wearing out faster than reinforced leather. That said, these mittens have a solid construction with tight seams, and we didn't experience any durability issues during our testing period. These mittens should last at least one season of heavy use, and for the price, this is acceptable.

The synthetic palms aren't as durable as leather palms.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Features

The North Face Montana Futurelight Etip Mitts are packed with useful features, as the name implies. They have a wrist cinch strap and drawcord wrist cuff gauntlets, both of which help customize the fit and keep you hands warm and dry. They also have a small plastic clip to keep the pair of mittens together, and small elastic wrist leashes that keep the mittens attached to your body when need to take them off to use your fingers. Finally, they have a touchscreen-compatible fabric patch near the tip of the forefinger, but in our testing, this patch was ineffective, due to either the fabric not working or the lack of dexterity preventing us from putting pressure on the fabric in the right place. The mittens don't have a soft fabric nose wipe patch.

Wrist cinch straps and drawcord-sealed gauntlets help increase the effectiveness of these mittens.

Credit: Jackie Kearney

Value

The Montana Mitt is priced to sell. If you like mittens and don't need them to keep you warm on the coldest days of winter, these could be a good option. But for the price, there are better gloves on the market that will also keep you warmer.

Conclusion

The North Face Montana Futurelight Etip Mitt is feature-forward, and relatively dexterous for a mitten, but it lacks the warmth that many users seek in this type of handwear. It is comparable in performance to some mid-weight gloves, and won't protect you on the coldest days of winter. But if mittens are your style, you might like the added dexterity.

The Montana Mitt is thin enough to be dexterous, but it comes with sacrifices in warmth, which may put off the mitten crowd.

Credit: Jackie Kearney