Guide
Heated gloves for running, hiking and other outdoor time
Not every cold-weather activity wants the same glove. Some keep your hands working and warm on their own. Others leave you standing still while the cold creeps in. Heated gloves are most useful in the second kind.
Here is an activity-by-activity look, including the ones where our insulated heated glove is the wrong choice.
Updated · Specifications are the maker's own. Where the maker gives no figure, we say so.
Running: usually too much glove
Running warms you up quickly. Most runners find that once they are moving, light gloves are plenty and anything heavier gets sweaty. A full insulated heated glove is usually more than you need for the run itself.
Where heat can help is at the edges: the cold start before you warm up, a slow recovery walk, or very cold mornings when your fingers never quite come round. If that is you, consider running in light gloves and keeping the heated pair for the walk home or the wait after a race.
Our glove is an insulated winter glove, and the supplier lists about 440 g for a pair packed with its power packs, so it is on the heavy side for running. We would not pick it as a running glove.
Winter walks and dog walks
This is where heated gloves shine. A dog walk is slow, often early or late, and involves holding a lead in one hand for a long time. Hands cool down steadily even in good gloves.
Heated gloves let you keep a firm hold of the lead with warm fingers, and the touchscreen thumb and index finger on our pair mean you can check a message or take a photo without taking a glove off. The wrist strap keeps a removed glove from ending up in the mud.
Hiking: for the stops, not the climbs
On a climb, you make plenty of heat and may not want gloves at all. The cold comes at the top, at lunch, on a windy ridge or on a slow descent. A heated glove is a good thing to pull out of the pack at those points.
Keep them dry in the pack, keep the power packs charged and out of the rain, and switch the heat off when you start moving hard again to save the battery. The maker of our glove does not state that it is waterproof, so on a wet day keep it in the pack until you need it.
Golf: between shots
Most golfers swing better without a thick glove. A heated glove is useful between shots, in the cart or walking to the next tee, rather than during the swing itself.
If you play winter golf, the simple routine is to keep your hands warm in the heated gloves, slip the swinging hand out for the shot, and put it back. A thinner golf glove underneath will not fit inside an insulated glove for everyone, so check the fit.
Photography and watching wildlife
Photographers often spend a long time standing still, waiting for the light or for an animal to appear. Cold fingers make it hard to work a camera, and taking gloves off to do so lets the warmth out.
A heated glove keeps hands warm during the wait. Small camera buttons and dials are harder to work in an insulated glove, though, so many photographers take the shooting hand out for the shot. Our glove's touchscreen panels work on a phone screen. Whether they work on a camera's touchscreen depends on the camera, so test before you rely on them.
The sideline
Watching a game in the cold is the classic case for heated gloves. You are outside for a long time, mostly standing still, often in the wind. Three heat settings let you turn the heat up as the evening gets colder.
The two-pair option ($104.99 for two pairs) means a second person on the sideline is covered too. For a closer look at whether heated gloves make sense for your use, see are heated gloves worth it.
Questions
At what temperature should you wear gloves when running?
There is no single number, because wind, sun and how warm you run all matter. Many runners reach for light gloves once it feels cold at the start, and find heavy gloves too warm once they are moving.
Are your heated gloves good for running?
We would not choose them for running itself. They are an insulated winter glove, and the supplier lists about 440 g for a pair packed with its power packs. They suit walking, waiting and stops much better.
Can I play golf in heated gloves?
They are best used between shots. Most golfers will want to slip the swinging hand out for the shot itself.
Do the touchscreen fingers work on a camera?
They work on phone screens. Camera touchscreens vary, so test with your own camera before relying on them.