Vallerret Skadi Zipper Mitt – At a glance
- €109.95 (around £91.95)
- Polartec Power Stretch Pro inner glove
- Outer glove made from goat leather, laminated soft twill and 2-ply DWR suede
- 100% Merino twill mid-layer insulation
- Jersey cuff
- https://photographygloves.com/
It doesn’t take long for a biting winter wind to make your fingers feel like blocks of ice when you’re holding a camera. While good gloves can help, mittens are a much better way of keeping your digits toasty. The only problem is that standard mittens are very restrictive, so you can’t adjust the camera settings or even press the shutter release easily.
Vallerret’s Skadi Zipper Mitts PSPs, however, are far from standard mittens, because they have a zip around the tip of the finger section to open the mitt and let you get your fingers onto your camera.
Vallerret’s Skadi Zipper Mitt come in a choice of black or brown (which the firm calls ‘Goldenrod’)
Vallerret Skadi Zipper Mitt – key features
- Two-in-one The mittens can be worn with or without the supplied Polartec liner gloves.
- Quick access The zip and flip-top thumb cover allow you to get your fingers and thumb on your camera quickly.
- Pocket A zip-close pocket on the back of each mitten can house a memory card. One holds a tripod plate key on a cord.
- Touch-screen compatible The tip of the forefinger and thumb of the liner gloves are touch-screen compatible.
The zip can be opened to free your fingers while still giving them some shelter, or the mitt can be pulled back and help back by snapping the popper fixing for greater freedom. There’s also a magnet to hold back the flip-top thumb covering while you use the camera.
The Vallerret Skadi mitts unzip and fold back for use with a camera
If it’s very cold, the mitts can be worn with the supplied Polartec Power Stretch Pro inner gloves. These are thin enough to give you the dexterity you need to take control of your camera, but warm and windproof enough to keep the worst of the cold at bay while you’re shooting.
Vallerret offers the Skadi Mitts in five sizes and two colour ways (black or black and brown). But because you open the mitt to use the camera, the fit isn’t quite as critical as it is with the company’s photography gloves, which have flip-back forefinger and thumb tips.
The supplied inner gloves are touchscreen compatible
Both mitts have a loop that you can slip your hand through so that if you need to pull the mitt off, it can hang from your wrist and you don’t need to stuff it into a pocket. There are also zip-close pockets that are designed to hold a memory card. But more usefully, one houses a key to tighten or loosen a tripod quick release plate, saving you from hunting around for a coin.
Sizing
Before ordering the Skadi Zipper Mitts, measure the circumference of the widest part of your hand with a relaxed, open palm and the length of your hand from the top of the wrist to the tip of your middle finger. Then compare these measurements with Vallerret’s online sizing chart to find the best fit.
Vallerret Skadi Zipper Mitt – Our Verdict
If you’re used to wearing conventional gloves, it can take a while to feel comfortable with wearing mittens and having all your fingers in one section. But it’s surprising how much warmer they are instead of gloves. I’ve worn the Skadi Zipper Mitts without liners in -9°C and who-knows-what windchill in the Alps and felt comfortable throughout. They’re a great choice for cold and windy conditions provided you don’t have to handle something wet like ski or walking poles, as then water can start to seep in and your fingers get cold.
