Windowshoppist - Pressing Our Noses Against The Internets

Friday, January 11, 2008

Review: USB Heated Gloves ($21)

Yeah, I've posted about these—twice—but that was before I got my very own set for Christmas. And now that I've tried them out, you're just going to have to listen to me rave.

First of all, they're very easy to set up, with two cords coming out of the gloves that attach to two low/high/off switches on a cord with a USB plug. So the gloves do require two USB plugs, but this turns out to be an advantage, because your left glove cords to the left, your right glove to the right, and thus the cords stay out of your way. It also means you can toggle the heat for each hand individually.

There are two heating panels: one on the back of the hand, and one on the topside of the mitten attachment. These can get very warm, but they don't get uncomfortably warm. If your hands are super-cold, you can always remove just a thumb or finger to operate your computer's touchpad and leave all your other fingers inside the toasty mitten for warmth.

The half-finger gloves take a second or two to get used to, but within half an hour, I'm typing at my usual speed. I can even leave my thumbs fully gloved and type away. And for once, my hands are completely warm.

You can make fun of me if you want, but these are the best Christmas present I got this year. I would recommend them to anyone with cold fingers. They also have a rocking Japanese kawaii vibe, but if you really want a more monochrome version, you can buy these.