Heated mitten experiences?

[deadheadskier]

Anyone have positive experiences with a particular brand of heated mittens?

How about dud products to avoid?

Most look pretty darn expensive, so I don't want to invest in the wrong product.

Lucky me has developed Raynauds Syndrome in the past year. Typically just my middle fingers on either hand. I'm really not a fan of the disposable hand warmer packs functionally and also don't like the idea of the waste.

To give you an appreciation for the severity of this, here's a picture after just two runs today wearing Smart Wool liners inside Free the Powder lobster claw mits. Wasn't a cold day. 25F out at Bolton Valley.

 

[Philpug]

Most look pretty darn expensive ...

Dude, looking at the finger, I don't think this is the time to be cost conscious. Hestra?

 

[Jilly]

I bought the Thermic Mitt's for my DH. He loved them. When he passed away, I kept them. But I hate mitts. So I picked up a pair of Karbon gloves at Costco. So far, so good. Not sure if available in the States.

Also I have a pair of Swany down mitts, again Costco, but those suckers are too hot for me.

 

[Noodler]

Have you considered a heated liner that you wear inside a good pair of mitts? That's what my wife uses. The nice thing about this setup is that if you have to remove your mitt, you still have a heated liner on (with sensor tip fingers for your phone).

Here's the liner we're using. So far, so good.

 

[deadheadskier]

Dude, looking at the finger, I don't think this is the time to be cost conscious. Hestra?

I'm fine with paying a premium, but I want to make sure it's a good product. So this thread is just looking for people who have first hand experience.

I'm a little apprehensive about buying Hestras. I never had much of an issue with cold hands prior to this developing this past spring. First time wasn't skiing. I was on my boat taking a spin on a brisk day this spring and it happened. Been an issue ever since. But I've owned the Patrol Gauntlet from Hestra for about 3 years and TBH a set of $40 Gordini I got at TJ Maxx as backups are warmer. So, that experience has me thinking Hestras are overrated for the price.

 

[deadheadskier]

Have you considered a heated liner that you wear inside a good pair of mitts? That's what my wife uses. The nice thing about this setup is that if you have to remove your mitt, you still have a heated liner on (with sensor tip fingers for your phone).

Here's the liner we're using. So far, so good.

This looks like a great solution. What setting does your wife use? Has the battery life been as advertised?

 

[Gina D]

I've had OR, Lenz and Seirus heated gloves and Mittens. The Seirus Hellfire mittens are by far the best. American company too.

HeatTouch™ Hellfire™ Mitt

HeatTouch Hellfire Heated Mittens The Best Heated Mittens from Seirus Experience ultimate warmth with HeatTouch Hellfire Heated Mittens! Featuring advanced heating technology and rechargeable battery packs, these heated mittens provide luxurious comfort in extreme cold. Perfect for outdoor...

www.seirus.com

They have 3000 batteries that last a long time too. I highly recommend them.

 

[François Pugh]

I've had good luck with Karbon gloves from Costco. Three heat settings. I had to buy a backup pair of batteries on Amazon in order to extend the time before they run out of Juice. Mine are all leather. I noticed they still sell them at Costco, but the back of the hand on them is not some sort of fabric.

I also have a backup pair of Outdoor Research (OR) mittens that have a pocket for handwarmers. In my experience putting anything inside the glove, other than in the pocket designed for the handwarmer, like say a liner that separates your fingers does not help.

If I were to do it over again today, I would just get OR heated mittens, based on the quality of their Top of the line products and my good experience with the technology from the Karbon gloves.

 

[Jwrags]

I think Phil was probably suggesting the heated Hestra, but they go for about $350. After skiing over New Years and was tired of cold fingers. I was looking at heated liners as suggested above because I did not want to sink $350 into a pair of gloves with unknown longevity. However, on my next trip to Costco I found they had heated gloves for $60. Have not had a chance to use them but figure if they don’t work I will return them.

 

[Fuller]

My wife's fingers look a bit like like yours when it gets cold. Not the deathly pale appendage about to fall from it's rightful place on your hand - the red puffy one hoping against hope that it won't happen to him.

Hers are bad enough to spend what it takes to keep skiing. I showed her the picture and she say's "Reynauds". She uses the heated OR mittens and says "I wish they worked better". She supplements them with the chemical hot hands which gets her through the day.

It also causes her to constantly wave her hand around in the air like a beauty queen on a float at the Macy's Day Parade. This repositions the heat pack to it's assigned place on the back of her fingers and gives me something to kid her about on the chair ride.

 

[Maryb]

I really like the Chaval mitts and mine are still going strong 5 years in. They’re very warm on their own and I often don’t have to turn the heat on until after lunch. Battery life is good. But they are pricey.

 

[Noodler]

This looks like a great solution. What setting does your wife use? Has the battery life been as advertised?

Battery life is as good as advertised. Highest setting is quite warm.

 

[Neurodrive]

I just wanted to chime in with my experience since I get similar pale white fingers on both my middle and ring fingers on both hands.

I've found once your fingers turn white it is almost impossible to get them warmed up without taking a break to warm them at the lodge. I've tried heated mittens a few times and had issues keeping my ring and middle fingers warm enough without also causing the rest of my hand to get sweaty. This may be an issue with my specific heated mitten not being breathable enough. Maybe some of the higher end heated glove/mittens posted above work better then my experience.

The best solution I have found is Free the Powder RX Pro mittens. I carry a set of disposable hand warmers for emergencies and an extra set of stock mitten liners in case the original ones get too sweaty. I've found keeping my blood flow up through moving my fingers in the mittens and sometimes swinging my arms around, as well as keeping everything dry, has greatly reduced my need for hand warmers. It is usually more of an issue when skiing in the Midwest, where most of the time is spent riding chairlifts and waiting in lift lines and I don't get a chance to get my heart rate up. I've also had good success making sure both my hands and gloves are warm before heading out to the chairlifts. This means warming up my hands between booting up at my car and heading to the chairlift at the start of the day.

 

[lisamamot]

I really like the Chaval mitts and mine are still going strong 5 years in. They’re very warm on their own and I often don’t have to turn the heat on until after lunch. Battery life is good. But they are pricey.

You have had a better experience than me! I also have Chaval heated mitts and Raynaud’s.

The Chaval mitts do not have a heat setting so they are just on and then sense the temp of your hands and keep them at a set level of warmth so battery life depends on how hard they have to work. The batteries are built-in so you cannot buy backup batteries to swap out midday. Gauntlet is too short and narrow to easily get my jacket cuff inside which is how I prefer to wear mine. Battery is built into the cuff and feels bulky; if they had a longer and wider gauntlet this would be less noticeable.

I ski in New England and those suckers go on from the first run and they must be working hard for me because they die by lunch. I still wear them unless I know I am skiing a full day. As such they don’t make the travel cut.

I have Hestras, Black Diamond, and Free the Powder mitts. None are outstanding but with chemical packs and pulling my fingers up and holding the pack on the lift here and there, I make do.

I may try another brand but these are pricey fails! Prior to getting the Chaval I tried the Hestra heated gloves and they were useless for me. I sold them to someone that rarely had to turn them on - shows how we are all different!

 

[deadheadskier]

I ended up ordering a set of the liners that @Noodler recommended that his wife liked. I'll have them in time to use on Sunday and will report back. I liked the idea of a liner instead of the full mit. I think I'll appreciate the strategy wearing them while booting up when mitts obviously don't provide the dexterity to put boots on.

I appreciate all of the suggestions everyone.

 

[ARL67]

I have some relatively cheap "2023" Savior heated mittens ( via Amazon $130 $C after coupon ) coming today/tomorrow with our morning temps week at -12* C + wind-chill. I will report my findings later this week

I have a good collection of liners, gloves, mitts, over-gloves and mix & match them according to the conditions. These include Smartwool 260 wool liners, Norrona Lofoten gloves and mitts with lots of Primaloft, and Hestra Army Leather Heli mitts ( I only use the outer shell as an over-mitt.

Last year I bought my wife the pricey Thermic mitts and she is "meh" on them, and still uses the hand-warmer packets inside them. So I don't want to drop a bundle if I can get away with a discount brand. I'm not looking to wear them all the time, only when its -10-12* C or colder.

 

[ejj]

I just wanted to chime in with my experience since I get similar pale white fingers on both my middle and ring fingers on both hands.

I've found once your fingers turn white it is almost impossible to get them warmed up without taking a break to warm them at the lodge. I've tried heated mittens a few times and had issues keeping my ring and middle fingers warm enough without also causing the rest of my hand to get sweaty. This may be an issue with my specific heated mitten not being breathable enough. Maybe some of the higher end heated glove/mittens posted above work better then my experience.

The best solution I have found is Free the Powder RX Pro mittens. I carry a set of disposable hand warmers for emergencies and an extra set of stock mitten liners in case the original ones get too sweaty. I've found keeping my blood flow up through moving my fingers in the mittens and sometimes swinging my arms around, as well as keeping everything dry, has greatly reduced my need for hand warmers. It is usually more of an issue when skiing in the Midwest, where most of the time is spent riding chairlifts and waiting in lift lines and I don't get a chance to get my heart rate up. I've also had good success making sure both my hands and gloves are warm before heading out to the chairlifts. This means warming up my hands between booting up at my car and heading to the chairlift at the start of the day.

Some good advice here--it helps to keep your fingers warm at all times. Avoid "shock" exposures--they will get cold and have a hard time warming up again. Also--keep the blood moving. When your finger's blood vessels constrict from cold you are in trouble.

 

[Slim]

I have Raynauds too.
I had the mid power heated gloves from OR, the previous model series, 2 winters ago. The ones with one two piece battery pack per glove. They stopped working fairly quickly, I suspect a loose connection, and I got a warranty credit.
While they worked, they were not as great as I’d hoped. I had thought that the electric heat would be enough for me to be able to use gloves, but it seems for me at least, I need to feel something very warm agains my skin, before the Raynaids subsides, so reviews/descripts of how warm a certain electric glove is, don’t apply to Raynauds very well.

When I get some again, it will be mittens, and it will be ones with the very hottest heat settings and large batteries.

 

[Gina D]

I too had OR gloves, but the top of the line robo-gloves. They kept my fingers warm, but also stopped working quickly. Plus on high, where I needed to use them, they wouldn't even last through the morning.

The Seirus mittens are on their second season, a lot of days of use and have had no problems and keep my fingers warm and last a number of hours. I do have to take my thumb out of it's pocket and put it against my palm on the lift on cold days though.

 

[givethepigeye]

The lady has the Hestra’s (Christmas gift from me). Worth every penny - zero whining. Used to wear mitt, liners and a hand warmer on a 30 degree day. Skied Highlands last week, about 6 degrees and cloudy - zero complaints.