I have mentioned this before, but using a shell mitt over heated gloves (I have OR Capstones) does a lot to keep the wind off the gloves, which then helps keep heat contained in the envelope. Hands stay warmer and batteries last longer.
I have mentioned this before, but using a shell mitt over heated gloves (I have OR Capstones) does a lot to keep the wind off the gloves, which then helps keep heat contained in the envelope. Hands stay warmer and batteries last longer.
Yeah, I suppose I just deal with taking them off and putting them back on as needed, or stuff them in a pocket (or backpack if I'm wearing one). For me the benefits outweighs the inconveniences, since my hands really do get cold, and once cold do not warm up on their own. Sucks to be me.True, but what a PITA to deal with that when needing any level of dexterity to do anything other than hold your poles while you ski. That just would never work for me. I would eventually throw those over-mitts off the chairlift in disgust...
I also wasn’t the happiest with the water proofing on my 10 year old gloves… my next trip for skiing isn’t until February so I’ve got time to live through everyone else’s experience and testing the next month or two before deciding if I will upgrade before the trip or not…Battery life concerns can be met by using an extra set of batteries. The larger issue is whether or not the gloves can actually warm your hands. What I've found is that unlike my boot heaters, the glove heaters pretty much had to be on high to even tell they were on (my experience is primarily with the OR models). I'm going to take a chance on the Seirus Hellfire this season and see if they are any better. I mean if it's the fire of Hell, then they have to be hot, right?
I’ve now had a few days this year to compare using my OR Capstone gloves to my new Lenz 6.0 mittens, which I acquired late last spring but didn’t get the chance to test in colder weather until this early season in the PNW.
As previously noted, I sometimes use the Capstones with a shell mitt over them. Being a diabetic with Reynaud’s results in cold fingers, particularly my fingertips. Having a shell makes a diference, though I sometimes remove the shells once things warm up a bit in the afternoon.
The Capstones with two batteries per glove can produce more heat overall, however the heat is distributed the back of the hands and thumb. Even with the shell mitts, I find myself sometimes balling up my fists inside the glove to warm up my finger tips. The Lenz 4.0 mittens that I got a year ago were not much different, with the heat on the back of my hands, and while their battery technology and secure connections are better, the one battery per glove didn’t last all day.
The Lenz 6.0 are a different story. Heat is directed to the fingertips, and there are individual fingertip pockets inside the mitten, you barely notice they are there but they definitely surround your finger tips with warmth. I have yet to need to keep them on high, alternating between low and medium heat. If I wanted to refine the temperature setting more I can use the same Lenz app for my heated socks, with settings for heat level from 0-9, intervals for heat (for instance, 5 minutes on/5 minutes off) to save battery power, etc. I acquired a set of the RCB 1800 batteries for longer lasting power.
I have also tried using glove liners inside the mittens. I couldn’t really feel the heat as much as the liners were insulating my fingers from the heat, I guess. In the end the 6.0’s work great without needing liners.
The quality of Lenz products is outstanding, from the battery and connectors to the mitten itself. I’m not surprised as I have enjoyed their heated socks for years.
I’m probably going to use the Lenz 6.0 from this point on, and maybe keep a spare set of RCB 1200 batteries in my jacket on colder days.
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.
Not down, but synthetic-What is the warmest brand of down mittens in your experience? I tend to be a bit skeptical of battery pack based heaters as I feel like I've seen them fail by end of day almost all the time, but perhaps I'm missing something.
Yes, those are the ones I’m using.Thanks for this! I have a friend with very cold hands, we bought her some heated gloves from Costco that failed pretty dismally. So are you using these? Any thoughts on them vs. activated charcoal packets, liners and something like the BD Mercury mittens?
I have two that are warmest, and they are not the expensive brands, which I found out the hard way were dismal failures: just expensive and expensive looking (Hestra and Baist - what a crock).What is the warmest brand of down mittens in your experience? I tend to be a bit skeptical of battery pack based heaters as I feel like I've seen them fail by end of day almost all the time, but perhaps I'm missing something.
So Baist wasn’t warm?just expensive and expensive looking (Hestra and Baist - what a crock).
No, Baist was relatively cold. awkward, and bulky. Hard in and out of ski pole straps also on cold days when those get stiffer.So Baist wasn’t warm?
There’s also these, they were about $80 last summer. Now $115. Primaloft.
Ah the Warming Store. Last year a simple in stock item took over a month to come. Never again with them.Just a warning. I ordered a pair of heated mittens from a website called "thewarmingstore.com." I got odd gloves (on the inside) instead, and when I tried to return them, they talked with me until I said I wanted a return to get a refund, and then they hung up on me. They seem to have my phone blocked now, into a deadend loop. I should have just bought from a known store, a known brand.
And did you ever have to return something?I've gotten stuff from the Warming Store before, usually not a problem to deal with. But that was in the "before times."