I covered the MK 3 arctic inner mitten on the blog a few years ago here, and since then I have actually been using these mittens in very cold weather to keep my precious mitts warm- and a very good job of it they do. As the name of those mittens implies, there were earlier patterns of these gloves and tonight we are considering their predecessors, the MK 2 design. Again these are made in DPM fabric, but this time it is not a waterproof nylon but a simple cotton:
The design has the same wide palm as the later design, but does not incorporate the non-slip bumps so grip would be necessarily poorer:
The same separate thumb is featured in this design, as is the optional index finger section to allow a rifle to be fired:
A piece of elastic sewn into the mitten helps draw it in at the wrist:
Unusually the liner of these kittens are manufactured in blue faux-fur pile, rather than the expected green or brown:
A label is sewn inside each mitten indicating the mark number, size, manufacturer and contract number:
Whilst this design is clearly not as advanced as the MK 3, they remain a serviceable and war pair of mittens that would have worked well in extreme low temperatures and I am now intrigued to find a MK 1 to complete the evolution of this garment…
