The 10 Best Battery Heated Gloves
Special Honors
Vulpés Moontouch The Moontouch: where functional winter apparel meets advanced smart technology. Not only will these heat your hands for up to eight hours, you can control the temperature and check the battery status via the Vulpés mobile app. These corrosion-resistant gloves are also windproof, breathable, and compatible with touchscreens. vulpes-electronics.com
Sharper Image Battery Heated The Sharper Image Battery Heated offer a unisex fit, but they come in several sizes from XS to XL, so there's a pair for most users. Because they have touchscreen-compatible thumbs and index fingers, you won't have to expose your hands to frigid air just to use your smartphone, and they have three heat settings for your convenience. sharperimage.com
Editor's Notes
October 15, 2020:
You can still rely on either the Savior Heat Ski or the Savior Heat Electric to keep you comfortable when the mercury drops. They're somewhat similar, although the former have a leather and polyester exterior, reflective detailing, and adjustable buckle, whereas the latter have a leather exterior with a simple elastic cuff. Like the Sun Will Pro or the Velazzio Thermo1, they're good for a range of outdoor activities, from skiing to hiking.
We've also selected a couple of task-specific choices. Designed explicitly for motorcycle riders, there's the Gerbing T5. These do not arrive with a power source; instead, you can purchase batteries separately or use them as part of Gerbing's interconnected heating system that connects to your motorcycle's 12-volt battery. If you opt for the latter, pay careful attention to all safety warnings, as improper use could damage the electrical system. For tradesman out on the job, there's the Milwaukee RedLithium, which do conveniently arrive with two USB batteries. These gloves have robust leather palms and a ripstop exterior, and are even touchscreen compatible.
Finally, we opted to add the Snow Deer Liners for their versatility. Paired with high-quality ski gloves or mittens, they'll give you ample protection in inclement weather; on their own, they provide protection against a light chill. Conveniently, like the Global Vasion Hike, they have a color-coded power indicator that allows you to tell at a glance to which level you have them set.
October 31, 2019:
We came across several issues with the Kamlif Winter. In addition to questionable stitching quality and short battery life, numerous reports suggested that these gloves essentially only warm the palm and back of the hands, providing minimal heat for the fingers. We removed it from the list. We also got rid of the Gerbing S2 and VentureHeat Epic 2.0 due to a lack of availability.
We also learned that when the Outdoor Research Lucent Gloves are used at the high heat setting, the battery drains very quickly, so we moved it down a bit in the rankings. On the flip side, we moved up the Savior Heat Ski after noting that they often show no signs of wear after extended use. People seem to really like them as cycling gloves.
Of the new additions, most offer touchscreen-compatible fingertips, quality insulation and reflective components for low-light visibility. A few, such as the Global Vasion Hike and Sun Will Pro, feature adjustable buckles on the wrist, which is quite helpful for maintaining a tight fit.
Why Your Hands Get So Darn Cold
Instead, you can opt for a pair of warming gloves that operate on rechargeable batteries.
Whenever you spend any time outside on a cold day (or inside if whoever controls your thermostat is particularly cruel), you no doubt notice that your hands and feet are among the first things to get the coldest. After a time, you might even begin to lose feeling in your hands, and their muscles may seem to lock up on you.
At first glance, this seems like a fault in evolution. Our hands are presumably vital to our survival in any number of instances, so why would we have evolved to lose function in them first as the temperature drops? Well, more important than being able to use your hands in the cold is being able to keep your vital organs alive and well. While none of us would like to go through life missing one or both hands, we could do so with relative ease compared to facing the day without a functioning heart or brain.
When your body’s temperature drops in cold weather, your central nervous system goes into a kind of preservation mode that willfully prioritizes the health of your vital organs over that of your extremities. You hands will actually receive less blood, which is the primary reason that they get so cold so fast.
The big risk here, especially if you’re not out in a life-or-death situation, but simply trying to enjoy some great tickets you scored to a mid-winter football game, is that you’re still susceptible to frostbite. In instances of frostbite, the body restricts blood flow to the extremities to the point where tissue begins to die from lack of oxygen. Nobody wants that to happen, as oftentimes the only treatment is amputation of the dead tissue, which could mean the loss of fingers or toes.
If you aren’t trying to conserve your energy in an emergency, you can increase your movement — running in place, performing jumping jacks, etc. — in an effort to increase your body temperature. This can be somewhat effective, but to keep us at that football game, it can be rather distracting to the people around you.
Instead, you can opt for a pair of warming gloves that operate on rechargeable batteries. These devices not only keep your hands more comfortably warm, they also send a signal to your body that allows it to direct more blood to the site. Often, when we’re injured, our doctors tell us to apply ice for the first 48 hours, and heat after that. That’s because the cold will restrict blood flow during the period when inflammation and its associated pain would be at its worst. After that, we apply heat to direct an excess of blood to the site, allowing for more efficient healing.
Choosing The Battery Heated Right Gloves
When choosing from among the battery heated gloves on our list, you’ll want to keep a few features in mind. These will ultimately help you narrow down the selection of viable candidates, and lead you to a decision you’ll absolutely love.
Most of the options on the market zip closed, but there are a few options that utilize buttons or Velcro to keep their battery compartments sealed.
In order for these gloves to be effective, they have to have a convenient place to store the batteries that power their heating elements. More often than not, these gloves are elongated, covering the wrists as well as the hands, and their batteries usually store in a compartment on the wrist. This frees up the hands for maximum dexterity.
Check to see exactly where this compartment is positioned and how it closes. Depending on the activity in which you’re engaged, having your batteries on the top or bottom of the wrist area may hinder your comfort. Most of the options on the market zip closed, but there are a few options that utilize buttons or Velcro to keep their battery compartments sealed. These two latter options are a bit less reliable than a good zipper, but they’re also easier to repair or replace if damaged.
If you need to regularly use a tablet or cell phone while out in the cold, you’re going to want to look for a pair of gloves that will allow you to do so without removing them. Taking your gloves off — even if they’re heated — is a surefire way to endanger your digits. There are battery heated gloves on the market with special conductive fingertips that allow for all the touchscreen interaction you could need on your devices.
Other Ways To Keep Your Body Warm
Using battery heated gloves is a great way to keep your hands warm in inclement weather, but there are additional steps you can take to ensure that other parts of your body stay just as toasty. These products will augment your experience with the right set of gloves, keeping you comfortable no matter how far the mercury drops.
Cool air passes over us, and it takes our warmth with it as it goes.
The majority of the body heat that we lose is due to convection. Cool air passes over us, and it takes our warmth with it as it goes. Anyone who’s lived in a frigid climate long enough will tell you that layering is the best guard against loss of body heat. To layer properly, however, you need a good base. Thermal shirts and long underwear are often ideal base layers, as these help to trap heat and keep you dry in case you overdo the layers and start to sweat.
To keep your other, equally important extremities — your feet — nice and warm, you can get battery heated socks that work just like the gloves on our list. These, too, run on rechargeable batteries and will help ensure that your body continues to supply your feet with much-needed blood flow.
Your middle layers can consist of anything as long as there are several of them, but it’s crucial that your exterior layer shields your from wind and moisture. High-quality winter coats are indispensable for this purpose, as are waterproof pants when you know you’ve got some snow to overcome. If you top the whole thing off with a warm winter hat, you’ll likely be able to close your eyes and mistakenly believe you’re at home beside a roaring fire.