MoGee Muffs - a Pogie for Beginners?

Trying MoGee Muffs on my winter commuter bike.

I hadn't given a thought to using pogies before - those chunky-looking mitts attached to handle bars, seemingly made for brutal winter weather - until an Adventuring Cycling newsletter appeared in my inbox with a link to an article Geared Up: Falling for Autumn. One of the reviewed items were MoGee Muffs, a brand of inexpensive pogies. With arthritis creeping into my hands and several numb fingers, the timing was fortuitous. Last winter - my first with studded tires - I primarily used insulated mittens, which worked out reasonably well, though I couldn't stop for long at 10F. 

The mitts are designed for upright - or slightly curved handle bars as is my case - with a drawstring enclosure to cinch however you want, and easily removed once at your destination. There is ample space to insert bare or lightly gloved hands, but be able to grasp thumb shifter and brake levers. After several rides of 1-2 hours in 20-40F, so far, I'm impressed at how warm my hands are!  It's interesting that even with some air allowed past the closure, allowing cables to freely move, the mitts still provide incredible warmth. I'm looking forward to toasty hands as we sink further into winter.

Our son used the MoGee Muffs for days before he "let me" have them back. Guess who's getting a pair for Christmas?

The only unnecessary feature, in my opinion, are the four exterior pockets. Mitts are interchangeable, right and left - pockets designed for cell phones or goodies. I prefer to store my phone in my jacket pocket to protect it from the elements and from cold potentially draining the battery. I have storage options with panniers. I considered removing the pockets altogether, but since they're unobtrusive and the logo is fairly small, I'll leave them as is for now. 

From my experience, it's easier to extract hands versus inserting, which requires minimal wiggling as I reposition hands back onto the bar. I ride mostly rail trails at this time of year, so I have little use for hand signals and interactions with traffic. I have yet to test fast extraction if there's an emergency, like if you are falling and want to catch yourself, so that aspect has yet to be reviewed. As a one size fits all mitt, my average sized hands are fine. If you have large hands, you might have trouble. 

For instant warmth, especially if you suffer from aching, cold hands, these affordable bar mitts might be the answer. Unless, of course, you have battery heated motorcycle gloves like my neighbor!