Tired of frozen fingers, best low profile winter gloves?

[djwalker]

I have tried pretty much every glove out there. This year I switched to 30seven waterproof electrically heated gloves. The are thin 5 finger gloves that have great dexterity. Much better than ski gloves or lobster gloves. They have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts about 8 hours on the low setting. I have used them down to 2 degrees F on only medium and had toasty fingers. At 15-20 F low is good enough. These things are great. I also have 30seven heated insoles. I use the insoles with a thin wool sock and Specialized Defroster winter shoes. I have never used more than the low setting down to the 2 F. I can't recommend them enough after years of ice cube fingers and toes.

[padmasana]

I have tried pretty much every glove out there. This year I switched to 30seven waterproof electrically heated gloves. The are thin 5 finger gloves that have great dexterity. Much better than ski gloves or lobster gloves. They have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts about 8 hours on the low setting. I have used them down to 2 degrees F on only medium and had toasty fingers. At 15-20 F low is good enough. These things are great. I also have 30seven heated insoles. I use the insoles with a thin wool sock and Specialized Defroster winter shoes. I have never used more than the low setting down to the 2 F. I can't recommend them enough after years of ice cube fingers and toes.

That's a great endorsement. The 30seven items look great. They have a real complete system going there between the gloves and socks, don't they.

[djwalker]

The socks look good too. I have the insoles instead of socks because I figured that I would be washing the socks all the time if I only had one pair. I accidentally set one insole to "high" once and I couldn't figure out why one foot felt like it was on fire and the other was just warm. That's how I discovered that these things can put out quite a bit of heat.

[CBJ]

I have not read through the thread but liner glove ie layers is the way to go but not too tight a fit just like on a down jacket small air pockets helps too.

[bikeboy1tr]

The socks look good too. I have the insoles instead of socks because I figured that I would be washing the socks all the time if I only had one pair. I accidentally set one insole to "high" once and I couldn't figure out why one foot felt like it was on fire and the other was just warm. That's how I discovered that these things can put out quite a bit of heat.

I was looking at the website checking out the insoles and they appear to be thin but sometimes its hard to tell from just a picture. Are your insoles on the thin side. These things are not inexpensive even when they are onsale.

[de zwarten]

Even better than merino wool is Alpaca wool. It's hard to get cheap outside of the Andes countries it seems, but it is definitely recommended.
Check merino vs. Alpaca specifications and convince yourself.
I wear them now at around freezing for several hours without any problem.

[kode54]

thx pad. because of frozen fingers, i was willing to use those dopey bar mitts, but never got around to them. i saw someone use a pair a month ago and he said it was the best thing he has tried for winter. i just can't come around to putting those on the handlebar...call it vain or whatever, it just doesn't look right. as far as the Specialized winter boots, everything about them was an improvement over the other winter boots i've had. the last Mavic ones...the cuff was so mis shaped that it barely wrapped around my ankles. and i don't have thick ankles. the single boa helps on the Specialized boots that has an additional covering that goes around the boa...this is nice because taking it off it also releases the boa...and also, it really helps to cover all areas where cold air may creep in. it may not have the stiffest sole, but for winter riding...its good enough. i can also put a chemical pack in there without any issues on room. i find that i don't need as many layers of socks...only one wool pair with chem pack is working so far, whereas the Sidi and Mavics, i was using a chemical pack sandwich (top and bottom of toes) and two pairs and it still was having frozen toes.

[djwalker]

The insoles are not thin. You use them instead of the stock insoles in your shoes. They are about 1/8" thick at the ball of the foot but then they have arch and heel support built in. They fit fine in all three pairs of my shoes and don't feel different than the stock insoles except for being warm. If you have custom insoles or orthotics they would not work and you'd want the socks. They can be trimmed a little to fit the shoes. The sizing table on the 30seven web site is not very good. I wear a 44.5-45 riding shoe and the size 9 insoles fit my shoes. The table would suggest a size 11.

[bikeboy1tr]

The insoles are not thin. You use them instead of the stock insoles in your shoes. They are about 1/8" thick at the ball of the foot but then they have arch and heel support built in. They fit fine in all three pairs of my shoes and don't feel different than the stock insoles except for being warm. If you have custom insoles or orthotics they would not work and you'd want the socks. They can be trimmed a little to fit the shoes. The sizing table on the 30seven web site is not very good. I wear a 44.5-45 riding shoe and the size 9 insoles fit my shoes. The table would suggest a size 11.

Okay Thanks for the info djwalker. Its good to know all the facts (especially sizing) before spending the big $.

[padmasana]

Heated glove liners have been my salvation this winter. They fit nicely under my regular winter cycling gloves and have really done a great job.
I bought some from MotionHeat in Canada. They carry a bigger battery than a lot of the gloves -- a decent compromise between a little extra bulk and a having a battery strong enough to support a 3-4 hour ride at full heat setting. The battery sits behind the wrist so you don't notice the bulk. The heated liners are thin enough that they don't rob you of dexterity while shifting or braking. They cost me just over $200 USD, but I'm pretty satisfied with how they've performed.
A competitor of theirs, iHeat also in Canada, uses a smaller battery and these may be fine for all but severe conditions when you need a lot of battery endurance. And they have these on sale right now at less than half the cost of the MotionHeats. I just ordered a pair for myself and another as a gift for my aunt, who also has Raynauds. I'm hoping that the iHeats -- with a less powerful battery -- will still be OK for cold spring days on the bike. Besides, I've really wanted to do a comparison of these two gloves.

Just an update for kode54 and anyone else who's been following this thread.
I've had a chance to compare the MotionHeats and iHeat gloves. The MotionHeat glove is the way to go, definitely.
I rode with the iHeats yesterday, with them under a pair of insulated gloves (old-style 661 storm plus gloves). With windchill, it was about 8-10 degrees F, but sunny. Definitely cold enough to keep the iHeats turned up full blast. You will get slightly more than an hour of use from them in this scenario. In the same situation, I can get three hours of full blast heat from the MotionHeats. The MotionHeats use a higher wattage and it was a wise decision on their part. It would be a hassle to stop every hour and put in a fresh battery pack, which is where you'd be with the iHeats. When it's that cold, my ambition is to bundle up and have as few interruptions as possible between clicking in to the pedals and finishing a ride a few hours later.
On the high setting, the MotionHeats are warmer. (12 volt battery versus the 7.5ish battery of the iHeats)
As a side note, since we all probably like pretty things ... let's talk about packaging, the iHeats come in a partitioned black box rivaling the "experience" of an Apple computer or iPhone. In other words, very elegant. It's a wonderful presentation, and would be worthy of an 'unboxing' video! The iHeat gloves are black with red accents and are better looking than the plain-Jane black MotionHeats. Both sets of gloves store the battery in the gauntlet of the glove, under your wrists. Overall bulk is a little less with iHeat because of its smaller battery. Neither glove presents a hassle or gets in the way of a good ride, and I've tried them with outer gloves that have gauntlets and with gloves that stop at the wrist. Both have carbon fiber heater elements that are well placed to fight the kind of cold that comes at you on a bike.
The MotionHeats come in a plain cardboard box and a bag. The simple packaging belies the facts that the the MotionHeats cost more than double the iHeats and perform two or three times better.

[kode54]

hey padmasana, thx for the update. as much as i like the packaging and presentation, performance is more important in this scenario. i've tried those other heated gloves which most use the 7.5 batteries and never liked how they didn't last nor put out the temps i'd like. appreciate the detailed review on both. i'm going to order a set of MotionHeat liners...it sounds like its right up my alley. hopefully, i'll get them before it starts to get closer to the 40's. i'm truly no good below 20 degrees...as i can't go longer than an hour at best.

[padmasana]

Hi kode. I'm glad the review helped. The MotionHeat gloves have made a world of difference for me. They remove a big obstacle to having fun on a bike in the wintertime. I figure that I will use the iHeats around town, dog walks, etc. or rides when the temps are mild, but the MotionHeats are tops for the bike rides. Here they are in a few pictures. As you can see, the MotionHeat battery is twice as big as the iHeat. I hope the photos give you an idea of each glove's relative size. (These are medium MotionHeats, large iHeats btw)

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/quoKje][/url]Heated gloves by padmasana1, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/qubDLq][/url]Heated gloves by padmasana1, on Flickr[/url]


[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/r9AFXN][/url]Heated gloves by padmasana1, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/r7RMjF][/url]Heated gloves by padmasana1, on Flickr[/url]

[richardh]

I bought a pair of the 30seven gloves. They fit great and look great.
The problem is they shipped them without a charger. Took several days
To hear back from them and they did send me a charger but not the
Adapter to use it in the USA. It has now been 5 days and no response.
It looks like it will be spring before I get all the parts. Not too happy
with the customer service.
Richard

[padmasana]

I bought a pair of the 30seven gloves. They fit great and look great.
The problem is they shipped them without a charger. Took several days
To hear back from them and they did send me a charger but not the
Adapter to use it in the USA. It has now been 5 days and no response.
It looks like it will be spring before I get all the parts. Not too happy
with the customer service.
Richard

Those gloves do look good. Hope you've made progress in getting them. You'll probably still have a chance to use them (unless it's June when things get straightened out). I'm getting some days at 65F and others at 40F, so probably a few weeks of big temperature swings until it's consistently warm.

[Briscoelab]

Swix XC ski gloves.