Are heated gloves worth it?

The three ways people keep hands warm

• A good ordinary winter glove: insulated, close fitting, and windproof if you can find one. No battery, nothing to charge, and the cheapest to own. Its limit is that it only keeps the warmth you already have.
• Disposable hand warmers: air-activated packets that warm for a while once opened. Cheap each time, easy to slip into a pocket or glove, and gone when they are used up.
• Rechargeable heated gloves: an insulated glove with a heating element and a battery. The most expensive up front, but they add warmth rather than only holding it, and there is nothing to restock.

Many people end up using more than one. A good ordinary glove for mild days and a heated pair for the cold ones is a sensible combination.

Heated gloves versus hand warmers

Disposable warmers are simple and they work. Their weak points are that you keep buying them, they warm one spot rather than the whole hand, and you cannot turn them down when you start moving and warm up.

Heated gloves spread warmth through the glove, let you choose a setting, and switch off when you do not need them. Against that, they need charging, they carry a battery at the wrist, and they cost more on day one.

The arithmetic is personal, so we will not invent numbers for it. Count how many cold outings you have in a winter, multiply by what you spend on packets each time, and compare that with the price of a pair of gloves. If you are out most days, the gloves usually come out ahead within a season or two. If it is a handful of days a year, packets probably win.

When heated gloves are worth it

Heated gloves tend to earn their price when:

• You are out in cold weather most days, for the commute, the dog walk or the school run.
• You spend long spells standing still in the cold, on a sideline or waiting for a bus, where ordinary gloves slowly lose the battle.
• Your hands are always the first part of you to get cold, and ordinary gloves have not been enough.
• You are fed up with buying and throwing away hand-warmer packets.

When they are not worth it

Be honest with yourself about these cases:

• You only need warm hands a few times a winter. Packets or a better ordinary glove will do.
• Your hands get wet, from snow play, fishing or washing down. A heated glove that is not stated to be waterproof will lose its warmth once soaked, so a waterproof glove matters more.
• You need a rated work or safety glove. A heated winter glove is not a substitute.
• You need fine dexterity for long periods. Heated gloves are thicker than thin liners.

Our glove is not stated to be waterproof, is not a safety glove, and comes in one size, L. If any of those rule it out for you, it is better to know now.

Do heated gloves actually heat your fingers?

This is the most common disappointment, so check it before you buy. Some gloves heat the back of the hand only, which feels pleasant but leaves the fingertips, the part that gets coldest, with little help. Others run the element along the fingers. A good listing says which, or shows a diagram.

Also check the battery details. A glove with no stated capacity and no run time tied to a named setting is asking you to take its warmth on trust. Ours is one of those: the maker publishes no run time or capacity, and we say so rather than fill the gap with a guess. See what to look for in the battery.

Our view, stated plainly

We sell heated gloves, so weigh our opinion accordingly. We think they are worth it for people who are regularly out in dry cold and are tired of cold hands or of buying packets. We do not think they are worth it for occasional use, for wet hands, or as work safety gear.

If you are still deciding what to look for in a pair, the buying guide has a checklist you can use on any listing, including ours.