Price Tag: $15.00 (Canadian)
Age Range: 6 months-3 years
Official URL: http://www.januarybaby.ca/smittens.html
Rating:

I’m trying really hard to avoid the obvious opener which would be to say that I’m “smitten” with smittens. But I am.  My son cannot get them off, and does not seem to mind wearing them.

This is saying a LOT. My dear, sweet two year old has long refused to wear mittens. He will pull them off and throw them out of the stroller when I’m looking, and when I’m not looking. We have many mis-matched mittens as a result. Play dates in the park would often end when my son’s hands would turn a bright shade of red and he’d start complaining that he was “COLD COLD!”, because he had tossed his mittens overboard. 

These “no escape” mittens remind me a bit of a fleece scarf, but instead of keeping your neck warm, they have pockets on either side that your child’s hands slide into, and the scarfy bit goes behind the child’s back and under their jacket to keep them from removing the mittens intentionally or not.

These little mittens are for kids from 6 months to 3 years. 

EASE OF USE 

These little mittens are pretty easy to use, with one small caveat.  You need to put them on under any bulky clothing. They can be put on over a long sleeved onesie, but not over a sweater. This means that when you are going to use Smittens you have to plan ahead and put them on before you put on your child’s sweater or jacket. 

Other than that, these are super-easy to use. You simply slide your child’s hands into the Smitten pockets on either side, loop the band behind your child’s back and put on his jacket. To remove your child’s hands for any reason you can pull the smitten down and pull your child’s hand out the top of the pocket, then repeat on the other side. The smitten will stay looped inside of your child’s jacket, and you can simply reverse the process to put the mittens back on when your child’s hands are cold again. 

QUALITY/CONSTRUCTION 

The Smitten is very well made. It is basically a long band of Fleece fabric with a wide fleece trim around the edges. The hand pockets on either side are deep enough to rise practically to your child’s elbows, and provide a lot of warmth without exposing your little one’s wrists. I remember when I was a kid and I’d fidget with my gloves endlessly because I couldn’t get the bands to stay under the jacket sleeve openings! 

The seam is wide, soft, and non-irritating.  It will last a LONG time. 

These gloves can easily last through multiple winters and multiple children. 

WARMTH FACTOR 

These gloves are much warmer than the “one size stretch gloves”, but not as warm or water proof as gloves that are made of insulated materials or that are waterproof. My son has used these gloves to play in the snow and they do a fairly good job of keeping his hands warm and dry, but if the snow is very wet, or if he sticks his hand into a puddle, the gloves will become saturated with water. 

MINOR NITPICKS 

My only real nitpick about these gloves is that they have to be put on under the clothes.  Because of this, my husband refuses to put them on our son insisting that “it’s not that cold out” and pointing out all the bare-handed kids at the park.  (Bare-handed kids with bright red hands, no less.) I can’t think of how to make them easier to use in this regard without sacrificing warmth or the ‘no escape’ aspect, so this is REALLY a minor nitpick. 

BOTTOM LINE

My son cannot get them off. He cannot lose them. They keep his hands warm. What else do I need to say? These are the only mittens that I’ve ever managed to keep around for more than a couple of weeks.