Are Battery-Heated Gloves Worth It for Backcountry Hiking, Camping, or Climbing?
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I don’t drink coffee.
What could that possibly have to do with battery-heated gloves? Well, I don’t like being reliant on things that have a built-in (and short) shelf-life. Caffeine isn’t bad. I’m not judging people who drink it. Rather, I’m pointing out my own eccentricities that are sometimes rather absurd. I don’t drink coffee because the jolt of energy is too short lived, and then I crash. And I don’t want to become dependent upon that jolt of energy only to have it yanked away from me at mid-day.
That’ kind of how I feel about battery-heated gloves. They do a superb job of keeping my hands warm. They create a better environment around my hands than chemical warmers or my own activity (and therefore body heat) could ever manage. But the batteries are still pretty short lived. For the kinds of all-day and multi-day outings that I enjoy the most, that dependency on a thing that can’t last the duration of my adventure feels more like a liability than a help.
But, take a look at the video, and you’ll learn more about why, for those cold half-to-three-quarter-day trips, I have found that the technology advancements in battery life and wrap-around heating elements have finally made the gloves reliable enough and helpful enough to make those outings a lot more pleasant.
Given that I have kids, I am constantly taking my hands in and out of my gloves as I help them with this or that. Since kids have a harder time with fine motor skills, the very things they typically need help with are the things that require the supreme dexterity that gloves (heated or otherwise) render very difficult. Since I am constantly exposing my hands to the cold and grabbing kid-items, it’s nice to have a super-heated glove to return those cold hands to.
It’s been a new discovery for me. I’m relenting, and finding use for these specialized items.
…but I still won’t take them on the big, multi-day mountains.
I have been using three models, from least- to most-dexterous (and therefore also from most- to least-insulated):
Lenz Heat Glove 6.0 Finger Cap with batteries with batteries
Outdoor Research Stormtracker Heated Gloves with batteries
Hestra Unisex Tactility Heat Liner 5-Finger Gloves with batteries