2021 Heated Gloves Comparisons--Black Diamond v. OR v. Lenz v. Hestra v. Sierus v. Chaval

[Cantankerous]

Hello,

I am hoping to buy a pair of heated gloves this year--and I'm hopeful to hear from any one with recent experience with any of the above. I have read some of the past posts--some of which date back to 2015--and I know some of the gloves have been updated in the past few years. If any one has direct experience with one brand versus another brand--that would be ideal...

I was interested in the OR Capstone...

BTW--like a lot of folks here--I have Raynaud's--mittens do the trick most of the time--but I'd like to see how the heated gloves work...

Thank you!

 

[David Chaus]

I have some experience to share. I’m a diabetic who has always experienced cold hands and feet, however my endocrinologist noted that with my control with the diabetes, it’s likely Raynaud’s for me as well.

Regardless I’ve tried several solutions over the years.

I have the OR Capstone gloves (after first trying the Lucent gloves, then mittens). The Capstones definitely produce more heat than anything else on the market, simply a function of having 2 batteries per glove. This makes them a bit more bulky, but then I’ve used them for several years so I’ve gotten used to it. I usually keep a backup set of batteries in my boot bag if I really need it.

My pro tip is to use a shell (I use the OR Revell shell mitts) over the gloves when it’s wet, or the removable shells from my old Black Diamond Mercury Mitts when it’s colder, as the leather is thicker and seems to insulate better, though get soaked with rain or wet snow. It it warms up enough, or I get warmed up enough, I’ll removed the shells and stuff them in my jacket pockets, where I have them available if I need again.

That all said, I really like the battery system that comes with my Lenz heated socks, so I invested in their mittens as well. The newer Heat Glove/Heat Mittens 6.0 are superb, however the batteries do not last as long as the two OR batteries per glove. The connection for the batteries is more secure with Lenz and eliminates the possibility of damaging the batteries (which can happen when you aren’t careful with the OR batteries, like don’t spread them apart or the wires can get damaged). Lenz also has the advantage of pairing with the smartphone app and you can check the battery levels of all the heating gear (socks, gloves, etc) as well as program them (5 minutes on/off for example to save battery life).

Rather than use a shell over a mitten, with the Lenz I use a liner on the inside as needed.

I have more experience with OR, but I’ve been happy with Lenz as long as I can conserve the batteries enough. I did order the RCB 1800 batteries for more battery life (they usually sell things with the RCB 1200), but they arrived late in the season last year before I had much time to field-test them.

I hope this helps.

 

[Cantankerous]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply--helps a lot

 

[freeskier1961]

Have OR Capstone 2nd pair 2 batteries per love them

 

[newboots]

I have heard rave reviews from several people about the Chavals.

I own some older Hestras. These are the warmest gloves I've ever worn, before I turn on the heat. Some days I forget to turn on the heat. I believe the reason (other than superb design and insulation) is that they fit perfectly. Like a glove!

 

[Wade]

My wife bought the Hestras a couple of years ago. They weren’t very good. They were fine as regular mittens, but the heating wasn’t effective and seemed to be uneven within each mitten. She returned them after two days when it became apparent they weren’t going to work as advertised. It’s possible they were just a bad pair, but she didn’t feel like giving them another chance to find out.

She replaced them with the OR Capstones and they’re night and day better. The quality of the mittens excluding the heating is approx the same as the Hestras, and the heating function gets the mittens warmer, with a more even heat and longer lasting battery than the Hestras.

 

[RobSN]

I can only speak to the Chaval gloves - I bought the Supernova gloves last season. Item 1: they're bloody expensive; Item 2: they're quite big, although I didn't think they got in the way; Item 3: they work. The last item was critical for me ...

 

[mdf]

I can only speak to the Chaval gloves - I bought the Supernova gloves last season. Item 1: they're bloody expensive; Item 2: they're quite big, although I didn't think they got in the way; Item 3: they work. The last item was critical for me ...

I've got a couple of years on the Chaval gloves. I'm generally pretty happy with them, although getting the battery connector solidly seated can be a bit finicky. I don't have any experience with other brands.

 

[RobSN]

getting the battery connector solidly seated can be a bit finicky

I'd agree with that, but it's not a deal breaker for me ...

 

[BTaylor]

I've had the Chaval SuperNova Mitts for two winters----these are a kind of 3-trigger mitten, with a half-trigger finger design that allows for better pole manipulation w/o creating a lot of thermal isolation for that digit.

These mitts are bomber on the very coldest days on the mountain at Breck. But they're overkill heating for a typical winter day in Summit County for most people.

However, I teach a day a week in Breck's adaptive ski program and when we're working with someone on a bi/mono ski (also known as a sit ski) we're taking gloves/mitts on and off frequently in order to safely load the skier and mono-ski equipment onto the lifts, adjust safety straps, adjust the mono ski settings, etc. It's a lot quicker to remove mitts in this situation than gloves. And on those teaching days, the Chaval mitts allow for a welcome warmup of numb hands on the lift ride back up the mountain.

 

[DanoT]

I have Hestra heated gloves that are very well insulated, nice if the batteries don't last the day or if you forget to charge them. I have only ever used them on setting 1 or 2 as 3 is too warm and leads to batteries only lasting a couple of hours.

Hestra also makes, for less $$, a heated liner and you supply the glove or mitten shell. This is ideal for someone who already owns non heated gloves with removable liners.

 

[lisamamot]

I have had my Chaval mitts (lobster) for a couple seasons. They do an excellent job of keeping my Raynaud’s riddled fingers warm. The battery life is short though, somewhere around 4 hours, so if you ski full days or even past lunch, keep chemical warmers in your pocket for backup.

 

[BS Slarver]

Sierus Hellfire gloves here on everyone I know who’s heated. One of my gloves had a glitch in the first week and would shut off, the mountain shop swapped them out immediately, even know I didn’t buy from them and going strong ever since.
Great quality glove even without heat and the zipper for a hand warmer on top for those fringed cold days is a bonus.

 

[Crank]

I could never get myself to spend $400-$500 on a pair of glovers! That's a pair of skis o me. I have been skiing in $15 Kincos for the last 5 years and am looking into some warmer, probably down, mittens.

I am lucky if I get in 20-30 days in a ski season and not all of them are super cold. I use the chemical hand warmers and they work pretty well and are not expensive. Maybe in 10 years if I am still alive and skiing I would pony up for some heaters.

 

[DanoT]

I could never get myself to spend $400-$500 on a pair of glovers! That's a pair of skis o me. I have been skiing in $15 Kincos for the last 5 years and am looking into some warmer, probably down, mittens.

I am lucky if I get in 20-30 days in a ski season and not all of them are super cold. I use the chemical hand warmers and they work pretty well and are not expensive. Maybe in 10 years if I am still alive and skiing I would pony up for some heaters.

Check out Free The Powder for non heated gloves and mitts.

 

[ski otter 2]

I don't happen to have heated mittens/gloves yet, but as an old guy, just in the last two years I can see their value: with circulation problems fairly common these days, these make good sense.

Down mittens seem warmest w/o heaters, but most of these no longer work on the coldest days for me. (Previously, I've had a great pair but almost never had to use them; alas, no longer.) And the Hestra, etc. warmest mitts w/o heaters are heavy, huge and bulky - they barely if at all fit inside pole straps on those coldest days.

That said, I found a work around for my own circulation problems. Last season, inside a pair of down or fiber mittens designed for warmth but still not bulky, and not super warm for such as myself, I put hands with two layers of extra thin, black silk liner gloves on already, in large and in extra large inside of one another.

It turns out this combination is warmer than the bulkiest Hestra, etc. mitts, by a lot. And it is not bulky at all. In addition, the silk liners come out of the mitts really easily, and allow for really fine motor tasks, like picking things up, adjusting masks and adjusting goggles, etc. without the silk protected fingers getting cold on those short periods out of the warmer mitt. (And they would thus work for smart phone stuff too, though I don't use them for that on the slopes.)

In my case, I took my n95v and/or surgical mask off while skiing and put them back on at the bottom for the lift line each run, and this was possible with this super warm mitten/double silk glove liner setup because of those layered thin silk liners.

The final bonus to this is that with three layers, one can come off if things warm up, then go back on if it gets colder.
(I was good to more than minus 20 degrees with wind blowing on multiple days last season.)

The one drawback to this setup that I have experienced is that the bare silk liners are at risk from velcro and such - it grabs them and starts to unravel/rip them, and would wear them out fairly quickly (one to three seasons maybe), if one is not careful. I had to develop routines that kept them away from the velcro, so that they would last longer. I anticipate that unavoidable contact with such velcro stuff will mean that every two to five years I will have to buy replacements, or at least backups.

 

[DanoT]

The thin silk liners feel the best most comfortable against the skin but are not the warmest. When I worked at a ski shop I did the -20C test by walking outside with silk on one hand and cheap liners with metallic threads on the other. It only took seconds to determine that the liners with metallic threads are superior. Thin wool liners are also warmer than silk.

So my recommendation for @ski otter 2 is to go with a silk inner liner against the skin, then thin wool or metallic thread as the second liner on top.

 

[ski otter 2]

The thin silk liners feel the best most comfortable against the skin but are not the warmest. When I worked at a ski shop I did the -20C test by walking outside with silk on one hand and cheap liners with metallic threads on the other. It only took seconds to determine that the liners with metallic threads are superior. Thin wool liners are also warmer than silk.

So my recommendation for @ski otter 2 is to go with a silk inner liner against the skin, then thin wool or metallic thread as the second liner on top.

I have thin marino wool ones, cheap poly & metal thread ones, etc. I've experimented with, single and doubled up. The merino ones are second best, and more unwieldy. The silk ones don't feel warm unless they are in the mittens, not stand alone, and the real super warmth effect is when they are doubled, not single. Merino doubled is too bulky, and not quite as warm as the silk doubled (though I do like silk inside of the merino, which is more bulky, only slightly less warm, and has the advantage of the wool layer not being so vulnerable to velcro hooks) . I experiment, rather than draw unwarranted conclusions. And a single silk layer doesn't have the surprising effect I've indicated: just the double layer inside an already fairly warm mitt. Your experiment would miss the result I found, completely, in my experience.

 

[Dakine]

I have been using Gerbing heated gear on my bikes for 20 years.
How about a great pair of heated gloves for $247?
You are not paying the ski gear upcharge for these.
With a spare battery in your pocket you can have comfort all day long.

Gerbing heated gloves

 

[lisamamot]

I have been skiing in $15 Kincos for the last 5 years and am looking into some warmer, probably down, mittens.

Lucky you! For those of us with serious circulation issues - I take a heart medication seasonally to try and increase my circulation - those are not even close to an option. I have all sorts of mittens since gloves are laughable, unless it is spring skiing, or I am skinning. Hestra, Free the Powder, Gordini down, etc. These each work fairly well with chemical warmers on moderate days, although I pull my thumbs in on the lift every time. Nothing else works like a heated mitt.

Check out Free The Powder for non heated gloves and mitts.

Free the Powder are my favorite unheated mitts/gloves - inexpensive and good quality.