We’ve been getting a lot of requests for heated work gloves lately so we’ve made it our mission to find the best possible pair on the market.
In the past we’ve recommended that people just buy a pair of thin heated liners to wear underneath their regular work gloves but that’s because we hadn’t come across a great pair of heated work gloves yet.
That has changed now that we’ve found the Volt 7.4 Heated Gloves.
Volt Heated Work Gloves
Overall Score: 88/100
Best Place To Buy: Amazon
Price: Click For Price
Category
Score
Comfort
17/20
Warmth
19/20
Water Resistance
18/20
Quality
19/20
Battery
15/20
Overall Score
88/100
Overview
As I said before, we’ve been getting a lot of requests for heated work gloves. I’m really glad that people have been asking me about this because there are some really great options and I’ve been looking forward to reviewing some of them.
The Volt 7.4V work gloves are my top pick for any industrial or heavy duty type of application. They’ve been able to take a lot of abuse whether it’s sharp objects or power tools, we’ve put them through the ringer.
Asside from being able to withstand harsh environments they’re also great at keeping the hands warm and dry. With the output of 150 degrees fahrenheit they’ll keep you warm even on the coldest days.
You may have read my other Volt reviews here at The Warmest Gloves. I have had quite a bit of experience with the Volt brand over the years and I’ve always been impressed.
Since I don’t work in an industrial environment I thought I’d approach my friend Tom and ask for his help with the assessment of these gloves.
Tom works in a lumber yard which is mostly outdoor work. He’s constantly handling heavy lumber as well as using plenty of hand tools and operating heavy duty equipment.
Fortunately he was kind enough to help me out with this. He was actually pretty excited at the idea because he’s never worn a pair of heated gloves while at work so this was new to him.
He has experience with recreational heated gloves though, as he owns a pair of the Outdoor Research Lucent gloves and he’s very happy with those.
We waited for a day where the forecast was predicting cold temperatures. Then I gave him a list of some things to take note of.
I wanted him to wear them for at least two days so that we could get an accurate assessment of them. This of course would only be possible if he liked the gloves enough to put up with them for a second day.
After his first day wearing them I was a little nervous that he might not want to wear them for a second day but fortunately he liked them and was more than happy to keep wearing them.
Comfort + Warmth
Tom put the gloves on right in front of me so I could witness his initial reaction to the comfort of these gloves.
Right away he said they felt good. He said they’re soft but strong feeling at the same time. He said they felt a lot like his OR Lucent gloves but slightly stiffer.
I’m not surprised by the fact that these gloves are a little stiff. Most warm gloves will feel a little stiff, especially when they’re brand new.
But being work gloves, these ones have extra protection and padding in the more common wearing spots so that they can last in the harsh work environment. This will no doubt make them a little stiff.
Like all gloves, the stiffness will diminish as they get worn in.
After his first day of wearing them he had some good feedback. He said they were overall great.
He loved having the extra heat and he said that they provided a very soothing heat that went all around the hand, not just the palm or fingers.
The exterior of the gloves are made mostly of leather and the interior has a fleece lining which gives them a nice comfortable feel.
He said that they were bulkier than his usual work gloves and this was to be expected. He said there were times when he had to take them off to handle smaller objects which I guess means that they could be better in terms of dexterity.
As for warmth, he raved about them. He started with them at the highest of 4 heat settings.
After about 30 minutes he had to turn the heat down and this was on a day that the temperature dropped down to -4 Fahrenheit/-20 Celcius.
He said that he settled into the very lowest temperature for most of the day, turning them off for his lunch break and coffee break.
As for the score, I’m giving them a 17/20 for comfort and a 19/20 for warmth.
Water Resistance
Since these gloves are fitted with an Aquatex lining, they did really well in the water resistance department.
The lining is 100% waterproof and breathable so he didn’t have any issues with wet hands.
Tom’s second day of work was quite a bit warmer which wasn’t great for the warmth testing but fortunately the previous day was cold enough for us to get a good idea of warmth.
What the second day did provide us with was a little bit of moisture. It was snowing off and on throughout the day and it was heavy wet snowflakes which made for a sloppy lumber yard.
This was the perfect environment to test the water resistance of these gloves.
By the end of the day Tom’s hands were still bone dry. We were please to see that no water made it through the membrane at all.
He spent a good portion of the day handling wet objects which really tested the gloves. Although his hands and the inside of the gloves were dry, the leather palms of the gloves had absorbed a bit of water.
This isn’t a huge surprise as we all know leather tends to do that. What this did was make the gloves slightly less comfortable and the dexterity suffered just a little bit.
Not a big deal, but something to take note of.
I’m still happy with the results of this category and I’m giving them a score of 18/20.
Quality
I already know that these gloves will be very good quality simply because they’re Volt and I’m familiar with this brand and they have a great reputation in the industry.
With that being said, these gloves will be held to a slightly higher standard just because they are work gloves so they’ll need to be even more durable than most.
After Tom’s second day of work wearing these they didn’t look any worse for wear. Aside from the fact that they were dirty, they were in great condition.
Now I know that this doesn’t give us an idea of what they’ll be like after an entire winter season of work so we’ll have to make due with what we’ve got.
I inspected the gloves closely to get an idea of just how well built they are. The have a nylon outer layer with extra leather in the common wear and tear areas.
You can feel the strength of them when you handle them and inspect them. I have no reason to think they wouldn’t hold up well under regular abuse.
I can see that when compared to other heated gloves they are much more padded and they offer a lot more protection for the hand.
Knowing what I know, I’m going to give them a 19/20 in this category.
Battery
This glove comes equipped with the exact same battery as the Volt Tatra that I reviewed.
They come with two 7.4V 2200mAh lithium-ion batteries and a duel charger so you can charge them both at the same time.
Just like the Volt Tatra’s these gloves have 4 different heat settings. This is a little different because most gloves only have 3 settings so Volt steps it up in this category.
The factory says these will get 2+ hours of heat on the highest setting and 8+ hours of heat on the lowest setting. As with most gloves, the real life results are slightly different than what the factory says but fortunately these ones weren’t too far off.
Here’s what Volt claims they get.
100% High – 2 Hours
75% Med/High – 3 hours
50% Med – 5 hours
25% Low – 8 Hours
Tom’s results were not too far off and he was still quite happy with the results. He was able to get even more time on the highest setting. He said they lasted 2.5 hours.
On the lowest setting however he said they only lasted 7.5 hours. These results will vary depending on a few circumstances.
One thing to remember is that you don’t usually need to have them at the highest setting. Often you can switch between the lower settings and this will extend the life a great deal.
Personally I’ll switch between having them off and the medium setting. This has always been warm enough for me with Volt gloves and it helps stretch out the life of the battery.
I’ve read a few threads and forums online where people are complaining about the battery life of these gloves. You have to take all of these with a grain of salt because you never know how people are treating them.
They might be failing to charge them fully before starting out. Who knows, all I can go on is mine and Tom’s results which were pretty decent.
I’m giving these a 15/20 in this category.
Fit
You’ll probably find that these gloves fit a little small. Both Tom and I discovered that we needed one size larger than we normally wear so it’s a good idea to order one size up.
You can always refer to our Sizing Guide to be sure you know your own measurements.
Final Thoughts
I have to say that I’m not only impressed with these gloves but I’m also really excited that Volt decided to make a pair of heated work gloves.
These work gloves are not only durable but comfortable as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people decide to buy these as their everyday winter gloves because they are a good all round pair of gloves.
For anyone who does work outdoors in the winter months you’ll definitely want to take these into consideration. They can really make a long miserable day of work more bearable.
As I’ve mentioned before, we often recommend people buy a pair of heated liners and just wear them underneath their regular work gloves in order to get that extra warmth.
The reason we’ve said this is because there hasn’t been a great alternative. Now that Volt has come out with these everything has changed.
There is now a good option and I won’t be surprised if this results in even more options on the market going forward.
Please feel free to leave any questions or comments in the box below and I’ll be sure to respond ASAP. Also if you’ve tried these gloves I’d love to hear about your personally experience with them.
Cheers,
Robert
