Over the past couple of years, heated clothing for use in the outdoors has gone from a fairly niche market to a growing segment that is seeing increasing demand from consumers. Most of the apparel that offers a battery-operated heating solution typically uses heating elements in the form of mesh wires that are run throughout the fabric of the clothing. Those wires are effective at providing heat, but they can also be easily broken, especially in extremely cold conditions. A company called Chaval thinks that it has solved this issue however by introducing a line of heated gloves that is completely wireless.
The new Chaval Supernova does away with traditional heating elements and replaces them with a thin nanotech polymer film instead. This material has the ability to provide heat when supplied with power, while having the added benefit of being more durable, too. Because the film is more flexible than the wires used in most other heated garments it can be woven throughout the entire glove. The result is a product that is more efficient and can provide sustained warmth to the entire hand, including the fingertips.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Supernova gloves are also self-regulating, which means they can adjust the amount of warmth supplied on the fly. This allows the heated gloves to be much more efficient in their use of power, saving energy when outside temperatures don’t require a lot of heat. As a result, the gloves can typically offer four to six hours of continuous use on a single charge, which Chaval says is more than twice the duration of its competitors. This also means there is only one button to deal with, allowing users to turn the gloves on and simply forget about them while Chaval’s smart system automatically adjusts the heat as need.
Other nice features include touchscreen-compatible fabrics integrated into the thumb and index finger, as well as a self-drying system that automatically removes moisture from inside the glove as it charges. Chaval used durable goatskin leather in the construction of the Supernova and integrated EVA foam in knuckles to provide an extra layer of protection. The company says that it even uses proprietary technology to cut down on RF emissions, which helps to prevent interference with other electronic devices.
The Supernova heated gloves sell for $349.
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