Jennifer has a circulation condition called Raynaud's disease, which causes her fingers and toes to feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures or stress. When her extremities are exposed to cold, the smaller arteries that supply blood to her skin narrow, limiting blood circulation.
Without heat, prolonged exposure could cause her fingers to develop frostbite.
So if anyone would be in the market for a pair of those electric gloves that we see being advertised everywhere these days, it would be Jennifer. So she got a pair of electric gloves, which retail from $40 to $100 a pair, depending on where you buy them. The company that makes the Thermogloves that Jennifer has notes that they can be worn as gloves only, or as a liner for mittens. Because they were advertised as distributing even heat to all fingers, she wore them as regular gloves.
We're outside a lot in the wintertime, camping, hiking, doing video shoots, exploring, taking Bo to the dog park. She has been relying on chemically activated heating packets called Hot Hands to keep her fingers warm. So we got a pair of electric gloves and decided to put it to the test on a morning outing with Bo when the temperature was well below freezing.
Which worked best – the electric gloves or the heating packets?
Check out this video and see:
If Jennifer had worn the electric gloves as liners, under a pair of mittens, they would undoubtedly have been much warmer. But wearing gloves and mittens would have been much more uncomfortable and bulkier than just sticking a heating packet inside her regular gloves.
We're sure that many people are happy with electric gloves. But Jennifer's experience was that they didn't perform as well as the inexpensive Hot Hands packets she has been using.
3 Responses to “Electric Gloves Vs Hand Warmer Packets: What works best?”
Comments are closed.
February 04, 2019at12:05 pm, Elaine Jordan said:
I’m having circulation issues in my right hand, mainly at night….but drs day it is not what you have
Anyway, I have been using the USB powdered fingerless mittens for less than $10 on amazon….but what I do is remove the little square that is the warmer and put it in my regular gloves, I thread the wires thru my coat using a battery.
It might appeal to you in cost and environmental impact
As I have one hand only, I use two squares in one glove, but you could buy two sets, using two batteries
https://smile.amazon.com/Livoty-Heating-Winter-Gloves-Fingerless/dp/B07H9N26H9/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549299891&sr=8-3&keywords=usb+mittens+fingerless+heated+gloves+office
December 17, 2018at9:45 am, Susan Nelson said:
I have had Raynaud’s since I was 33 (now 67). The hand warmers & toe warmers work great! I used tobuy them by the box, but watch the expiration dates because they don’t work as well towards that date & after. My rheumatologist had also told me to use mittens because fingers will stay warmer next to each other than separated. My nose also gets cold!
December 12, 2018at1:35 am, Peggy Doulos said:
Jennifer, if you wear handknit wool mittens rather than gloves your hands will stay warmer. Try to find some that are knit with a pattern, that way they are double thickness. If you find some with wool and angora, they are even warmer. Then add the chemical packs, also if still needed. There are some packs like those chemical ones that can be reused but I don’t remember there name. I grew up in the UP in a knitting family. We never had cold hands since we always had lots of wool handknit mittens. In fact, sometimes I have to take my mittens off since my hands are too hot! My husband has Ranauds so I know how difficult it can be to keep fingers warm. I spin and knit so it is easier for me to make exactly what is needed to keep warm in cold weather. If you know someone who knits, they could make you some that will be much better than anything you can buy just make sure to use all wool or wool, angora mix.