Whether it’s using your teeth to peel off your gloves, or cutting a tiny hole into your glove forefinger, or wearing some abjectly useless fingerless jobs, using a phone, smartwatch or any other related device outdoors during winter can be excruciating. There is a solution though!
The same technology that gave us the capacitive touch screens has helped us come up with pleasantly warm touch screen gloves to allow you answer your texts, calls, or check that street map.
And, the best part is, these 7 Best Touchscreen Gloves for Your Smart Gadgets are readily available and come in different styles that either blend in well with your wardrobe, phone, or even background.
They also come in different materials including soft leather and utilitarian synthetics. There are even touchscreen motorcycle gloves with sticky palms for those who want to ride a bicycle during winter.
To help you avoid the frustrations and disappointments of buying gloves that will not meet or surpass your expectations, we have come up with a review of 7 of the best smart gloves on the market.
Our list contains both tech gloves for women and men that are not only good looking but are equally guaranteed to give you outstanding performance and lifetime service.
We came up with this list by researching the best smart gloves brands and the top reviewed pairs to give you gloves for every occasion and everyone from athletes and commuters, to fashionistas and kids. We have also highlighted some of the things you need to put in mind while shopping for the best winter gloves. But first:
What are Winter Gloves?
The capacitive touchscreens that come with many phones depend on your natural skin’s electrical conductivity to work. A touchscreen motorcycle gloves aims to mimic your finger’s conductivity nature, with fabrics that mimic the skin, same as the materials used to make capacitive styluses. However, there are disparities in touch screen facility even among gloves.
Touchscreen gloves can be largely grouped into two: Full glove and fingertip gloves.
Fingertip Gloves: With fingertip gloves, only the fingertips are conductive and they don’t imitate whole hand conductivity. Just a few independent fingertips on the gloves are knitted with a particular yarn or tip that work the touch screen. Since they are mostly created from conventional fabrics—faux leather, wool, and acrylic, fingertip gloves are usually reasonably priced.
Full glove: These knitted touch screen phone or computer gloves are completely conductive and are available in leather of fabric materials. Full gloves cover the hands in conductive materials like copper and silver threads that imitate the tap of your hands. This offers the extra convenience of using different segments of the hand, such as the palm or knuckle to tap through phone calls or texts.
The extra convenience, however, comes at the expense of variety. Full gloves come in fewer styles compared to fingertip gloves and tend to be a bit more expensive. All the same, if you are looking for gloves that allow you to use any part of the hand, then a full glove will be your best bet.
What you need to know about insulated winter gloves is that they are gloves, first and foremost. They are created to keep the hands warm as one walks in the cold outdoors.
Smart gloves are incredibly delicate and seem not to be as long-lasting as conventional gloves. This is because the capacitive fabric wears out quickly. While you can maintain the cleanliness of your gloves with repeated washings, the capacitive threads will eventually degrade, and you’ll be forced to buy a new pair.
The accuracy and ease of use of touch screen gloves rests on the balance between flexibility, thickness, and warmth. Basically, the thicker your glove, the more clunky your experience. So, unless you are wearing exceptionally thin gloves for typing, don’t expect the same proficiency as your fingers.
How do Smart Gloves Work?
You may not know this but the human body is able to stock an electric charge, meaning it can be treated as a “capacitor”. On the other hand, the touchscreens on most contemporary electronics are called “capacitive touchscreens,” meaning they contain detectors that can identify anything that contains an electric charge—even your body.
When your fingers tap the screen, a circuit or connection is formed between the screen and the electrical field present in your body. It is this connection that “tells’’ your phone what text to send or app to open depending on exactly where the electrical charge in the finger touched the screen.
Therefore, for capacitive touchscreens to work, your body must be able to transmit its electricity to the screen. The cloth in normal gloves acts as a roadblock between the touch screen and your electrical charge. But special touchscreen gloves break this barrier by utilizing a conductive wire in their fingertips.
Touchscreen gloves contain a metal wire scattered between the cloth fibers, allowing the electricity present in the fingertip to move through the metal wire found in the fingertips of the glove to reach and react on the touchscreen.
The Best Touch Screen Gloves
Here is our list of the 7 best touch screen gloves on the market.
Agloves Sport Touchscreen Gloves
Unlike other smartphone gloves that only allow you to tap using the tiny heads on the edges of each finger, every bit of the Agloves winter gloves will work perfectly with your devices. These gloves are available in white and black, and feature silver yarn, which is among the most conductive elements. According to Agloves, this pair is America’s highest-ranking glove in terms of accuracy and precision.
Agloves touchscreen gloves are soft, stretchy, warm, and slightly fuzzy. They are hand-washable and have a breathable fabric to keep your hands dry. Available in two sizes small/medium and X-large, these gloves have a great look and have no funky fingertips designs. When you buy them, you’ll get a snug-fit cuff that locks the wind out as the silver nylon confines heat in.
The Agloves Touchscreen Gloves are suitable for all capacitive touch screens including those for phones, cameras, game systems, depth finders, multimedia devices, and bike computers like Samsung, ATM, iPad, MP3 player, Ipod Touch, Nook, Droid X, Blackberry Storm, Flip HD, Tom-Tom GPS systems, Zune HD, and many more.
Pros
Made with silver yarn (the most conductive element)
Soft, warm, and stretchy
Hand-washable
Made from a breathable fabric to keep hands dry
Have a snug-fit
Suitable for all capacitive screens
Cons
Not waterproof
Seems to get fuzzy real quick
Timberland Men’s Ribbed-Knit Glove with Touchscreen Technology
Stay warm and connected with the Timberland touchscreen gloves that feature special padding on the index and thumb fingers to enable you to tap on your mobile device without necessarily unmasking your fingers to the winter cold. Whether its texting, posting, tweeting, or browsing, you’ll never lose touch with these gloves.
The Timberland gloves are perfect for people who are looking for the best winter gloves for men. These gloves won’t draw attention and match with virtually every jacket. And, the elastic closure will ensure they stay in place all the time.
These Timberland gloves are made with a wool mix consisting of 10% nylon, 23% wool, 63% polyester, and 4% other fibers. They have a gripper patch on palm and embossed logo on palm. They are hand-washable!
Pros
Elastic closure to keep it in place
Hand-washable
Special padding on the index and thumb fingers
Don’t draw attention and match with virtually every jacket
Cons
Runs large, so make sure you size up
LETHMIK Mens Winter Thick Gloves
For the men and women who desire high quality products and sleek design at an affordable price, LETHMIK is the brand to look out for.
The LETHMIK thick, acrylic gloves are 100% Finest & High Quality gloves with warm wool lining fabric. This comfortable and soft winter knit gloves come in various colorful colors to give you a variety to choose from. Choose among black, navy, coffee, gray, and plain black, and pair them with your best outfit.
Though it’s available in just one size, the glove material has outstanding elasticity and will extend to fit most hands. These gloves can be hand-washed or spot-cleaned, but try to avoid brush washing or machine-washing as they might start pilling.
Whether you are going camping, hiking, sledding, skiing, skating, fishing , snowboarding, snowshoeing, or any other outdoor activity and sports, the LETHMIK touchscreen gloves are super thick and warm enough to keep your hands warm during the cold winter period.
Bottom of Form
Pros
Unisex (fits both men and women)
Sleek design and available in a variety of colors to choose from
Super thick and warm to give your hands the much needed warmth during the winter
Outstanding elasticity to fit most hands
Can be hand-washed and spot-cleaned
Cons
Available in just one size
Some users claimed they had a horrible smell even after hand-washing
Not water-proof
Available in a variety of vibrant colors
Tomily Womens Touch Screen Phone Gloves
And, for the best winter gloves for women, look no further than the Tomily Womens Phone Gloves. With its soft & warm lining design, these gloves will help you to avoid having ice-cold fingers when writing/texting/typing in cold weather. The gloves are exceptionally warm and comfortable without being bulky.
As the best tech gloves for womens, the Tomily touchscreen gloves come in a fashionable design and size details. The three buttons decoration makes it look elegant, and its stretch ability makes it a free size to fit most people.
Featuring highly sensitive conductive fabric on thumbs and forefingers, these gloves can be worn when using your tablet, smartphone, and any other touch screen device like fish finders among others.
They mimic your fingers you won’t even feel like you are wearing gloves. The breathable material will ensure your hands remain dry while wearing the gloves.
Pros
Elegant design
Highly stretchable to fit most hands
Soft and warm lining to keep you warm during winter
Highly breathable to ensure your hands remain dry
Highly sensitive touchscreen to be used on tablet, smartphone, and any other touch screen device
Cons
Comes in just one size
Some users claimed that the buttons fell off after a couple of uses
HiCool Touchscreen Gloves
HiCool Touchscreen Gloves will not only keep your hands warm during the cold winter weather, but also give you the ability to use your smartphone or tablet without the need to take off your gloves. The elastic material ensures a perfect fit for most hands, and you can freely bend your fingers, giving you the freedom of movement.
Made from superior quality mill wool lycra material, these gloves are soft and more comfortable, and are ideal for hiking, driving, cycling, running, walking, photography, etc. The skidproof design on the thumbs increases the abrasion and friction resistance to prevent items from slipping, giving you better user experience.
The HiCool Touchscreen Gloves should be hand-washed and air dried to avoid ruining the touchscreen performance. Please measure the length and width of your palm to ensure you are choosing a suitable size.
Pros
Elastic material ensures a perfect fit
Made from superior quality mill wool lycra material to last longer
Soft and more comfortable
Skidproof design increases abrasion and friction resistance
Cons
Not waterproof
Knolee Women’s Screen Gloves
Measuring 0.7″ high and 14″ wide, the Knolee Women’s Screen Gloves are high quality, comfy, and warm. This free size glove fits most people and is a little stretchy, so you don’t have to worry about size.
These winter gloves have touch screen fingers and work by two fingers (index and thumb). The touch screen mittens together with the satin insert on the index and thumb fingers, enabling you to use your phone or tablet freely, while still keeping your hands warm in the cold winter weather.
The Knolee touchscreen gloves come in a variety of colors and style, making them an excellent gift for your mom, daughter or friends. These full lining gloves can be used in the office, studio, outdoors, or indoors. They are a winter essential for riding, skiing, yard work, and snowball fights.
The best part about buying these gloves is that the company offers a full refund or replacement to anyone who is not satisfied with their purchase.
Pros
Free size and fits most people
Comfy, high quality, and warm
Available in a variety of bright colors
Can be used in various settings—office, studio, outdoors, and indoors
Full refund or replacement to unsatisfied customers
Cons
Some users claimed the buttons were poorly sewn
Tough Outdoors Touch Screen Ski & Snow Gloves
With the Tough Outdoors touchscreen gloves, you’ll be ready with whatever winter brings your way. Don’t let cold, snow, or sleet ruin your day; these tough outdoors weatherproof gloves will protect you from the inclement weather.
The outer all-nylon shell and the bolstered synthetic leather palm locks snow and rain out, as the TPU breathable membrane makes it easy for moisture and sweat to escape. The bolstered synthetic leather palm also cushions your hands against afflictions, and helps heighten your grip on your snowmobile, ski poles, or shovel.
The best thing about these gloves is that they are touch compatible, so you will be able to capture every winter adventure moment without freezing your fingers. Designed for winter activities, the Tough Outdoors touchscreen gloves provide excellent warmth all winter.
They are perfect for skiing, shoveling, sledding, snowboarding, and much more. Though very basic, these thin waterproof gloves are all you need to survive the cold winter weather.
Pros
Multipurpose
Waterproof to lock snow and rain out
Breathable membrane allows moisture and sweat to escape
Bolstered synthetic leather palm cushions your hands against afflictions
Cons
Some users had a problem with the fitting
That’s our list of the 7 best smart gloves in the market. But, you may be asking yourself, ‘’can you make any glove touch screen?’’ Let’s look at the answer below:
How to Make a Touch Screen Glove
While touchscreen gloves are readily available in various styles and colors, it doesn’t hurt to want to save a little bit of money by doing it on your own.
After all why spend money on something that you can create yourself, right? The truth is, you can make any glove touch screen. Just remember to experiment on the pair of gloves that you really don’t care about as they might get ruined in the process.
There are several methods you can use to make any glove touch screen. Here are three of the most known methods.
Method 1: Conductive Thread Method
Also known as conductive bobbin, conductive thread is the most popular technique of making touchscreen gloves. This is because this method won’t rub off, it doesn’t create a mess, and requires the most basic needle and thread knowledge.
Conductive thread is a special thread that can instantly convert any kind of glove into touchscreen-capable glove. You just need basic sewing skills that will enable you to make quite a few stitches on the glove’s fingertips.
Simply thread the needle and then shove it enough times for the thread to register on a touchscreen— not forgetting the thumb and finally trim and knot the thread. That’s it, you will have your gloves and you can wear them when using touchscreen. Isn’t that so easy?
The best part is that conductive threads are readily available online or you can buy them from any big box store near you.
The biggest disadvantage to using conductive thread is its wiry nature that makes it a bit difficult to work with.
Method 2: Adding Metal Snaps
For those who prefer working with tools than sewing, then you can choose to attach metal snaps to your love’s fingertips. To do this, you’ll require snap buttons, a mallet, and a short hobby knife. Once you have everything, create a small hole on your glove’s fingertips. Then, reach in and attach the base half of the snap. Finally, enter the rivet and then use the mallet to securely get the snap into the glove.
Method 3: Apply Any Glove Liquid Solution
This is the easiest method to make any glove touchscreen-capable. Certified by the armed forces of the United States for use on their own gloves, the any glove liquid is meant to be squeezed out onto the glove and left to dry.
This liquid solution works well on most materials including synthetic suede, knits, and fleece. You’ll need a separate solution if your gloves are of leather material.
The best thing about using any glove is that it doesn’t fade off when you clean your gloves. Just a single application will last you weeks, and if the treated gloves stopped working, you could easily reapply it.
In practice, you can easily apply this liquid on any glove since it is in a compress container with a narrow nozzle.
The drawback to this method is that the Any solution takes too long to dry (about three days to be precise). But if you are patient enough, this is the best way to make your gloves touchscreen-ready.
One thing to note though is that the Any Glove liquid will permanently discolor the fabric you spread it to, so expect to wind up with fingertips that are several shades darker compared to the rest of the glove. So, make sure that the pair of gloves you are using is not one that you care so much about.
Overall, we can say that the Any Glove technique is the easiest and best approach. However, the thread method is a lot smoother for people who have minimal sewing skills.
From smartphones and iPads to ATM’s to GPS, the innovative tech of touch screen gloves does it all. With 3 conductive finger tips (index, middle finger, and the thumb), these convenient gloves offer easy access to your touchscreen devices while still keeping your entire hand warm and protected.
Whether you are looking for the best leather gloves for men or the best lightweight waterproof gloves, these gloves are readily available and come in a variety of styles and colors to suit different individual tastes. We hope this review helped you pick the right product for your needs.
Like this article? Then you would definitely love our other article about Wireless Charging for iPhones.
