For some of us, winter puts the brakes on apps like Pokémon GO since smartphone screens usually only respond to bare fingers. Nobody wants to be that guy who caught frostbite chasing a Sneasel. When you use normal gloves, the display's sensor simple doesn't activate, so that doesn't help any. Fortunately, several options for touchscreen-friendly capacitive gloves are on the market to help you through this last blast of winter.
Not only will capacitive gloves help you catch more Pokémon out in the cold, it'll help you use capacitive buttons, like that on the iPhone 7, whose newly designed home button won't work with regular gloved touches, either.
As you'd expect, the best deals for capacitive gloves are online. However, if you need a set of gloves this instant, some nationwide retailers carry similar items, such as Kohl's, Macy's, and several other stores. If you have a couple of days to wait on shipping, we'll look at the some of the best-reviewed gloves found online.
1. ReGear Unisex Texting Gloves
Considered to be the "best texting glove" available, ReGear's "Smart Touch Gloves" (aka "Texting Gloves"), make it easy to use your smartphone in the cold. The gloves are made using a "soft stretch" technology, so it's basically like a reinforced stocking glove. Three of the fingers feature capacitive tips, allowing you to use multi-finger functions on your device. Priced at $9.99, they're a great deal, especially considering you get two sets with a purchase.
Customers are mostly in agreement that the functionality of the gloves is great for using a smartphone. Despite being a stretchy cloth, they are machine washable and return to their form-fitting selves so long as they aren't put through a dryer. The only complaint is that they're not very warm. A few reviewers remarked that the lack of moisture resistance makes snowball fights a no-go.
2. Agloves Touchscreen Gloves
The next highest rated gloves available through Amazon in the same price range are Agloves' Touchscreen Gloves, budget priced at $11.99. Though the name itself is kind of an oxymoron, they are indeed gloves and capacitive at that. These stretchy hand warming accessories are constructed using a silver-coated nylon, allowing you to use your device with any finger you choose.
Reviewers of this pair of gloves seem to agree that this product does a great job at keeping hands warm. The ability to accurately type and use other touchscreen functions works better than expected, too. The only complaint is that despite the product being described to fit "medium/large" hands, they're actually quite small. The gloves also lack anything to enhance grip, so scaling up light posts on the sidewalk will be virtually impossible.
3. iGloves
At $5.99, the iGlove is clearly not a product made by Apple, but you can probably fool people into thinking you're wearing a revolutionary "smart glove." The poorly-worded product description tells you that it's a simple stocking glove equipped with capacitive tips on the thumb, index, and middle finger. Six colors are available, including black, gray, pink, sky blue, green, and red. Orange and navy ones are available on their website for those of you in the UK. And it comes with two gloves, despite what the product name might imply.
According to the manufacturer, the iGlove is intended to be mostly ambidextrous—although, the logo would be upside down, should you switch hands. A bit of disagreement is found when comparing the reviews, but overall, the consensus is that the gloves work as described, both keeping hands warmer than exposed skin would be in cold temperature, and most importantly, you can you use your phone or tablet. Note that use with Android devices may produce looks of confusion.
4. Isotoner Women's SmarTouch Matrix
The lovely Women's SmarTouch Matrix gloves from Isotoner doesn't yield the highest average rating, but the glove has more four+ star ratings than three and less. Just think: As these were a factor in acquitting OJ of his murder charges, they may help with your legal woes as well. For the brand, they are reasonably priced around $25, come in 13 difference colors, have several available sizes, and are enhanced by non-slip, conductive grips, extending to the palm.
The reviews somewhat conflict each other, in terms of fashion, as some seem to feel these gloves are quite fashionable, while other reviewers seem to hold higher standards for an accessory meant to keep your hands warm while enabling touchscreen usage. The warmth of the glove is on par with other similar gloves in the sense they keep hands warm so long as the conditions are above brutally cold. On the touchscreen side, some purchasers complain that the square fingertip shapes and seams for the capacitive pieces make the gloves' accuracy less than ideal.
5. The North Face ETIP Gloves
Need a better way to blend into a college campus, keep your hands warm, and Facebook message friends? Look no further than The North Face's ETIP Gloves, available directly from the manufacturer at the somewhat steep price of $45 (although, some resellers, like REI, offer various other flavors of this glove at discounted prices). The North Face makes notoriously warm products, plus, these gloves are equipped with technology to keep hands in a relaxed position, conductive tips on three fingers, and silicon grips.
Only a few reviews exist on the The North Face's main site, all of which consider the item a perfect fit. Other designs, with the exception of one, are highly reviewed by REI's customers. The unanimity on the actual warmth of these products varies, though most say, like the other gloves in this review, the glove is sufficient for cold, but fails in extreme temperatures. Virtually everyone seems to agree the fit is "like a glove," assuming the proper size was purchased. You'll look cool and stay warm while swiping away on Tinder or fist bumping your friends.
Though a breadth of capacitive gloves are on the market, these particular conductive hand warmers top current reviews. Most of it boils down to price, so keep in mind that there are more fashionable, name-brand gloves available, if that's your thing.
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