The Happy Camper: Warm Up Your Frosty Fingers with These Heated Gloves from OR

January 21, 2019

The Happy Camper battles frostbite

Getting frostbite on three fingers means I now cringe every time the temperature drops. The accident happened in my mid-twenties, when I worked as a Forest Technician in Northern Ontario. Now in my mid-fifties, the pain has gotten worse. It’s the same aching and throbbing sensation that cripples an aging person with arthritis. It’s extremely frustrating.

But I found a solution: a pair of the best winter gloves money can buy, Outdoor Research’s Lucent Heated Mitts.

OR Hand-Warmer Technology

These mittens are a game-changer in keeping all your digits from freezing off. The mittens use a rechargeable battery-powered heating system. Yep—high-tech hand warmers. A power button is attached to the back of the mitt. Push it down for a couple of seconds. Red indicates High, orange is Medium and green means Low heat. There are approximately eight hours of battery life on Low, five hours on Medium and two-and-a-half hours on High.

This hand-warmer technology isn’t new, and there’s other (cheaper) brands out there. However, Outdoor Research has always received top grades for all their mitts and gloves. This coupled with OR’s devotion to function and design explains the price tag: just under $400 Canadian.

The mitts (or gloves) will keep your hands warm even once the batteries die. A GORE-TEX liner makes them ultra-waterproof, and there’s a good dosage of synthetic EndurLoft insulation.

Other bonuses are fleece palm lining, molded EVA on the back of the hands and abrasion-resistant strips (made of goat leather) on the palms and fingers.

There’s also an over-size gauntlet that keeps snow out and a big loop helps to pull them over your jacket sleeve. Also, an “idiot cord” leash guarantees you don’t lose them. That’s important… did I mention they cost just under $400?