MEC Cascade Fleece Gloves Review

Got these a few years back (Winter of 2012/2013?), finally bothering to do a write up.

Configuration
Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) Cascade Gloves in XS (CAD$ ~25)
Paid: CAD$ ~25

Top of the MEC Cascade Gloves

Overview
Light grey-ish fabric that covered the majority of the glove's exterior with five digits per hand. The finger-tips featured a rubbery material -- there was more of this rubber between the index and thumb where one would hold things in the palm. On the left side of both gloves (when worn with hands directed forward and palms down) were plastic clips to join both gloves together. Most of the interior liner appeared to be black in color. The product tag noted that it was made in China, and the shell, fill, and lining were 100% polyester.

Fit
Very good for me in the size I chose. It took a while to decide between XS and S. The XS I settled on fit "like a glove" with only a little give or excess material. The digits were almost a perfect match in length. They terminated at the cuff a few inches up my wrist, which wasn't the funnest thing to deal with when I wore jackets with narrower cuffs.

Comfort
Like a dream. The interior, I thought, was a very soft and somewhat stretchy material. This made them easy to put on and take off. Moving my fingers around, I did not feel much resistance. They were thick enough that my sense of touch was hindered though. I usually took them off when doing things with my fingers. The most I could do was open doors, hold onto bars, and pull zippers.


Palm of the MEC Cascade Gloves

Warmth
The Cascade Fleece Gloves I wore were adequate down to around freezing (0 C). If it was windy enough, I could feel it through them. When it got down to below freezing, it felt more comfortable for me to take the gloves off and swap to my very thin, knit gloves. The reason was because I had difficulty putting my hands into my pockets with these gloves on. When I was able to do so, they were insulated enough that heat from the rest of my body wasn't doing a great job warming up my hands in my pockets -- not an issue with the thin gloves.

These were my only heavy-duty gloves that winter, so I tried to wear them a few times when temperatures were in the -10 C range with a lot of wind. I ended up either taking them off and using my pockets or making a fist with my hands in the palm of the gloves. The wind seemed to go right through -- they were fleece or porous fabric, so no surprise. A few times, I wore the Cascade gloves and the thinner knit gloves together. It was very hard to put both pairs of gloves on and it still didn't make them warm enough when I needed it.


Part of the inside of the gloves

Conclusion
I thought these were okay gloves, especially for the price. However, for the amount of bulk they added to my hands and the loss in my sense of touch, I preferred to use my thin knit gloves that were even cheaper. With a wind-resistant liner, they would probably be better. They went into my closet by the time the next winter arrived.