When temperatures plunge, the first thing that gets cold are your fingers. They get stiff, difficult to move and downright uncomfortable when you are trying to enjoy winter activities such as skiing, snowmobiling or sledding. If you say out in the cold too long, you can quickly progress from discomfort to tissue damage.
Volt Avalanche X 7v Gloves
Volt is known for its no-nonsense heated attire that is designed for both work and play. Practical and durable, the Volt Avalanche X 7v gloves are pre-curved for a comfortable fit right out of the box. The gloves pair a weather-resistant outer shell with leather palm and fingers. It also has a soft fleece liner on the inside. The cuff is wide to fit over jackets, and it has a cinch at the wrist and cuff to secure it to your hand. A wrist strap attaches the glove to your hand, but it’s not adjustable, so it doesn’t attach as securely as other gloves with an adjustable leash.
The Volt Avalanche uses a large button with colored LED that you can press to cycle between three heat levels. The button is easy to push even when wearing the gloves. They are warm gloves that heat the entire length of the finger as well as the palms and back of the hands. Battery life is decent but not as good as competing gloves with about 2 hours on high, 4 hours on medium and 6 hours on low.
All the gloves and mittens we tested position the battery packs into the cuff on the underside of your hand. Volt does the opposite with a battery pouch on the top part of the cuff. The positioning adds some extra bulk to the top of the glove and gives the glove a slightly different feel. The batteries for the Volt glove also are not as flat as those in competing gloves and contribute to the bulky feel. One feature we appreciated with the batteries were the small LEDs that allow you to see how much charge is left in each battery. The Volt Avalanche is a solid, no-frills glove that kept our hands warm while skiing, sledding, and shoveling.
Seirus HeatTouch Hellfire Gloves
Seirus HeatTouch Hellfire gloves set the bar for heated gloves with a flexible heat panel that covers the back of the hands and wraps around the tips of the fingers. You’ll get all over warmth from the moment you turn them on. With a breathable liner, there is minimal sweat. Like most heated gloves, the HellFires use a visible physical button with an LED to turn on/off the gloves. The button was smaller than competing gloves, but you still can press it with your gloves on. The low-profile button is located n the back of the hand and allows you to cycle between low, medium and high, which deliver 12 hours, 8 hours and 4 hours of battery life. Battery life was outstanding — we used the gloves when skiing and was able to eke out three days of usage by only turning them on when we were riding the chairlift.
Another standout feature of the HeatTouch Hellfire is its comfort — it is the most comfortable gloves on our list. The gloves have a supple leather shell that softens as you wear it and a soft inner fleece that feels good on your hand. Though the outside is silky smooth, the palm of the glove contains a grippy material that’ll help you pick up items. The gloves also include a wrist & cuff cinch that can be operated with one hand – even when wearing the gloves. The cuffs are long enough to cover your wrist keeping the warmth in and the cold out. Unfortunately, when you take them off you have to be careful not to drop them in the snow of off the chairlift.
They have a slimmer fit and aren’t too making them ideal for activities where finger and hand movement is essential. The only thing missing is a wrist strap to secure the gloves to your hands. Otherwise, these gloves just scream quality. They also are available as a mitten.
Zanier HOT ZX 3.0 Mittens
Not everyone wants gloves, those who prefer mittens may want to look at the HOT.ZX 3.0 mittens from Zanier. Zanier’s HOT.ZX 3.0 mitten is the lightest and most low-profile heated gloves/mittens on our list. It looks and fits like a regular mitten. Even without the heating, the Zanier is a warm mitten thanks for its loft insulation and soft glove-like liner that has channels for your fingers. The mitten is made with quality materials including goatskin leather on the palm for reinforcement and 4-way stretch material on the top for ease of movement. It has an adjustable wrist strap to keep your mittens from falling on the ground and both a wrist and a cuff cinch to trap in the heat.
Known for its heated technology, Zanier directs its heat towards the tips of the fingers and thumb which get cold first. This distal warming heats the ends of your fingers encouraging blood flow throughout the entire hand to keep it warm. This style of warming works well for most conditions when all you need is some quick heat to the ends of your fingers to keep your hands cozy. On below zero days, though, we preferred the full hand warmth of the Seirus Hellfire or the Volt Avalanche. The Zanier gloves offer three levels of heating and last up to 10 hours on the lowest setting, five hours on medium and two hours on high.
Unlike other gloves that use an external button to control the heat settings, Zanier chose to embed the button and LED into the battery. On the glove, there is a small marking that shows you where to press the button. There also is a small perforated fabric window that allows you to see the LED, so you know what temperature setting you are on. The result is a low-profile heated mitten that looks like a regular mitten and doesn’t have a visible button and glowing LED.
There is a downside to hiding the electronics so you don’t look like Tron. When inserting the battery pack, you have to place it precisely in the right spot so you can activate the button. If the battery shifts position even just a bit, then you have to hunt and peck for the button. This design makes it difficult to press the button when wearing the mittens. Though we appreciated the streamlined look, we also found that the perforated fabric obscures the LED making it difficult in bright sunlight to see what temperature setting was selected.
Outdoor Research Capstone Gloves
The Capstone heated gloves from Outdoor Research offer a 200 g/m2 of PrimaLoft Silver for added warmth. The waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex liner keeps your hands dry and sweat-free. The flagship feature is the AltiHeat glove technology that warms the length of the fingers and the thumb. In the cold, you can feel the warm heat along the entire length of your hand.
Each glove includes two batteries that can be used singly to save weight or in tandem to double the heating capacity of the gloves. With a single battery, Expect to get eight hours of warmth on the lowest setting, five hours on medium and 2.5 hours on the highest. There is a large button with a colored LED that makes it easy to switch between heat levels. The button is easy to press even when wearing the gloves.
The Capstone is a bulky glove that is rugged and durable. On the outside, the gloves combine a stretchy twill that moves with your hand, grippy leather palms and leather nubs on the knuckles that’ll stand up to the roughest winter activities. Other niceties include an elastic wrist strap to keep your gloves from falling on the ground and both a wrist and a cuff cinch. Whether you’re skiing, snowboarding, sledding or snowmobiling, the Capstone gloves from Outdoor Research will provide you with ample protection from the elements. Because they are so rugged, they are our top choice for outdoor work such as shoveling, roof raking or snow blowing.
