Although there are now many heated gloves on the market, the Antelife G1 is claimed to be the world's first to feature precisely adjustable heat. I recently had the chance to try a pair out, and they performed just as advertised.
At a glance:
- Good construction
- Comfortable
- Decent battery life
- They do keep your hands warm
- Lower settings may be lost on some users
As anyone who lives in a winter climate will know, gloves allow for way more manual dexterity than mittens. Unfortunately, though, they don't keep your hands as warm, since your fingers aren't able to share their body heat with one another. As a result, folks who want dexterity and warmth often look to battery-powered heated gloves.
Typically, such gloves feature just two or three preset heat levels. The engineers at Hong Kong-based electronics company Antelife figured that setup wasn't good enough, as it could leave users having to choose between settings that are either too hot or too cold.
That's where the G1 gloves come in, as button controls and an LED display on each one allow users to precisely set the heat anywhere from 40 to 65 ºC (104 to 149 ºF). Carbon fiber heating-wire elements running along the back of the hand and each finger then kick in, with an internal temperature sensor detecting when the target temperature has been reached.
Once the gloves are at the desired temperature (which takes no more than about 15 seconds), the sensor continuously controls the heat output in order to keep them there. Additionally, should the internal temperature exceed 70 ºC (158 ºF), the heating elements are automatically shut off.
I found the gloves to be comfortable and well-constructed – they feature a waterproof and windproof Taslan polyester shell, 3M Thinsulate FL600 insulation, and soft goat leather palms. They're also machine-washable, as long as you remember to take the batteries out first.
Their heating system worked well, although I didn't get to try it out in really frigid weather, as the outside temperature didn't get below -12 ºC (10 ºF) during the testing period.
It should also be noted that in order to keep my hands sufficiently warm, I ended up keeping the gloves cranked all the way up to 65 degrees. This means that in my case, they might as well have just had one setting. People who aren't as sensitive to the cold, though, may still appreciate the ability to turn the heat down.
Antelife claims that one charge of the two 7.4V/2,200-mAh lithium-polymer batteries (which each sit in a zippered wrist pouch) should be good for a runtime of 3 to 3.5 hours at the maximum heat setting, ranging up to seven hours at the 40-degree minimum. The former is in line with what I got out of them.
One thing that didn't work that well for me were the touchscreen-sensitive pads on the tips of the index finger and thumb. When trying to use my iPhone 5, I could do little more than scroll.
I also initially found it a bit difficult to keep track of whether the heating elements were turned on or off, as one sustained button-push turns them on, another sustained push turns them off, and a quick push causes the display to temporarily light up. That said, I did eventually get the hang of it.
Should you be interested, the Antelife G1 gloves are currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign. If everything goes according to plan, a pledge of US$139 will get you a pair. The planned retail price is $225.
Product page: Antelife G1