It seems that mariners were the first folk to realise that wetting or waxing cloth, as in sails, made it more efficient – water expanded the weave and let less air through the sails, but made them heavier; whereas fish-oils, grease and various forms of wax sealed the cloth and repelled the water thereby avoiding the extra weight problem. Sailors also made capes out of old pieces of sail to keep themselves dry.

It seems that an Arbroath sail-making company called Websters were one of the first to perfect the system, first with flax and linseed oil and then with the much lighter Egyptian cotton and linseed oil. In the 1920s linseed oil was replaced with paraffin based wax-oil which gave a light, waterproof and very versatile material. Several new companies began life around this time, using the new cloth as their mainstay and Belstaff was one, having been founded down in Stoke on Trent in 1924.

Motorcycle gear was one of their staple lines and in the decades to come their Trialmaster range became a huge success; in particular the Trialmaster jacket. The overmittens that we have here in the collection were part of that range and wanting to keep their hands warm and dry in similar conditions to motorcyclists, mountaineers quickly saw the potential of these mittens in the great outdoors. Paired here with Dachstein mitts, which are similarly oiled, they make a fabulous combination. Our pal, Ian Parrish kindly donated them to the cause having used them on bicycle, motorcycle and mountain.