Arizona ATV Mitts

In the search for the perfect hand-keeper-warmer I've explored plain mittens, (too restrictive) fingerless gloves (not bad, but the bulk between fingers bugs me) convertible mittens (that's the fold-back flap things. Not bad, but have issues) Felted mittens (really warm, but still mittens)..... and gloves. Okay, I don't want to knit gloves.
I've looked at patterns for these "mitts" or "wristers" or "hand/wrist warmers"...you see a lot of versions, and I dismissed them as silly. Until, that is, I ran across a WWI or WWII Red Cross Knit-for-the-Soldiers pattern for one. Wow! They'd been around longer than I thought, and actually used by people that... do things. Hmmm..... Now I'm starting to take them seriously. So on a Christmas road trip to AZ I started them, making up the pattern as I went and using the last of my marino/alpaca/silk blend and plying it with some really boingy romney that I bought in a whole fleece, that belonged to a sheep named Faith. I finished them in time to wear on several long and chilly ATV rides, and decided they weren't stupid at all. In fact, I really like them. Back home, January in Wyoming, they actually were pretty good. You can ball up your fingers inside to protect from wind, stick your fingers out to tie kid shoelaces, and touch with only the palm and covered part of the thumb to open cold metal gates and door handles. I knitted them on small needles, with pretty thick yarn, so they are surprisingly wind proof, and that romney would never make it as a scarf but adds lots of bouncy loft and rugged durability. Not bad.
I learned:
Mitts aren't dumb after all.