Zanier Heated Gloves truly are a glorious display of Austrian Engineering at it’s finest. The only other company that makes heated gloves with as much passion as Zanier would be Hestra.
Zanier makes three different models of heated gloves and one model of heated socks. Of course they also make a lot of other gloves that aren’t heated but for the purpose of this article I’m going to focus on the heated ones.
1. Zanier Aviator GTX
2. Zanier Heat GTX 2.0
3. Zanier Hot GTX 2.0
I already wrote a comprehensive review on the Aviator so I won’t go into too much detail about that pair of gloves because you can read all about them right here.
The other thing you should know is that the only difference between the Heat model and the Hot model is that one of them is a glove (Heat) and the other one is a mitt (Hot).
Aside from that they’re the same gloves made with the exact same material and technology.
Zanier Heat and Hot Overview
The name Zanier is the last name of the Austrian family who started the company over 45 years ago and still run it to this day.
They’re a proud family operated business with a passion for winter sports and that passion really does translate into their gear.
They really believe that the Austrian alps that happen to be in their backyard are the perfect place to test and make winter gear. Who are we to argue with that?
Zanier has been supplying heated gloves since 1999. “We completely overhauled our glove heating technology in 2013/14, consolidating our pole position in this segment. We have, after all, been working in the field for nearly 15 years. The first model was launched by ZANIER back in 1999”, stresses director Markus Zanier.
The gloves can heat for up to 10 hours. High quality lithium-ion batteries weighing just 60 grams are worked into the gloves, and hardly noticeable to the wearer.
Three different heat settings are selected with buttons on the back of the hand, and displayed with an LED.
The high-performance batteries operate effectively even at extreme outside temperatures, and can withstand serious bumps.
Warmth
I’ve been aware of Zanier for a long time now but I never actually owned a pair of their heated gloves until recently and I have to say that I was really impressed.
These gloves are not just warm with the heat on, but they’re also really warm with the heat switched off. Sure the gloves are great for extreme cold temperatures but the mitts are even warmer which is hard to believe.
I’m always trying to decide which gloves are the warmest gloves in the world and I think that these Hot GTX 2.0 mitts might just be the ones.
They’re engineered with GORE-TEX® inserts + Gore warm technology which are actually the warmest GORE-TEX® Gloves available, optimized to keep hands warmer for longer.
The whole system of inner lining, membrane and outer material is engineered to enable higher insulation performance.
If extreme warmth is what you’re looking for then look no further than these.
QUALITY TESTING
New GORE-TEX® product prototypes from our manufacturing partners are put through a series of tests in their labs.
If at any point a product doesn’t hold up to their demanding standards, it is sent back to the drawing board.
Whether it’s windy, rainy or snowing these gloves can endure it all. Heavy handling of things like snowboard bindings or ski poles won’t cause any problems because these are truly built to last.
RESPONSIBILITY
Gore Fabrics constantly strives to act with the highest integrity and responsibility and has an ongoing commitment to meeting or exceeding all applicable health, safety and environmental regulations and voluntary standards that Zanier has adopted.
To ensure the highest quality and safety of our products, we work with independent, credible third-party standards.
• bluesign® system
• OEKO-TEX® Standard 100
• Higg Index
Working with third party standards like these ones ensures that the Zanier brand is held to the highest standard in terms of social responsibility.
I love the fact that they do this because it shows that they really do care about the world around them and not just about making money.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell I’m very impressed with Zanier not just for the quality of their gloves but also for the way in which they run their business.
It’s always refreshing to see a company that is still family operated even after all these years. I’ve personally been involved in a family business before and I know how hard it is to persevere.
That says a lot about their selflessness and their passion for the product.
In addition to the high quality of their products you can always rest assured that they have a very good return policy and they’re really easy to work with.
They have an American based headquarters now so you’re not dealing with someone too far away if you need customer service.
Zanier is one of the highest quality glove companies on the market. If you’re interested in seeing some of the other top glove makers on the market today then you should read my article 10 Best Ski Gloves.
I really hope you enjoyed this article and if you have any questions please use the field below and I’ll be sure to respond ASAP.
Cheers,
Robert
Hi – my concern with the mittens is that their palms are made out of leather, vs the Aviator gloves which have very little leather trim. I need gloves/mittens that are unbearably warm but also 100% waterproof even in the heaviest rain.
Another question I have is regarding the actual wires. Is it true that in the Aviator, the heat element wires go into each finger? Wouldn’t that provide more ‘focused’ heat to the fingers than the heat element in the Hot Mittens, which I assume in more concentrated in the palm?
Last question if you have to choose between the warmest/driest Zanier and the warmest/driest Hestra, which one would you pick? I am definitely nervous that Hestra may allow more moisture in…
Thank you so very much!
Ellie,
Thanks for the great questions. I’m glad you asked me these because I’m sure it will also be helpful information for future readers of this post.
You’re right about the mittens having much more leather on them and you’re also right that they might not be quite as good in very wet conditions. The leather will eventually start to absorb water and feel a bit heavy and soggy. Your hands will stay dry but a heavy, soggy mitt isn’t going to be as comfortable and you won’t get that same sogginess with the Aviator. So in terms of wet conditions I would say the Aviator is a better choice.
Yes the Aviator heating elements do heat right to the end of each finger and thumb. So as you said, that means that there is more heat focused on each finger. But even with that, the mitts are still slightly warmer because the fingers are helping keep each other warm with the skin on skin contact. So in terms of warmth the mittens would get the slight edge but believe me that the Aviators are crazy warm and I don’t think you’ll ever get cold fingers with them.
Between the Hestra and the Zanier I think as of today I would lean towards the Zanier. It’s a close call and even just a few months ago I would have said the Hestra but I’ve been using the Zaniers a lot in some sub-zero temperatures lately and they truly are warm. I would say they’re as warm as you can get.
Hope that helps.
Robert
Hi Robert, Zanier has recently released the Heat.ZX 3.0 model, have you any review about the enhancements made from the 2.0 version?
Also, I didn’t get exactly the difference between Heat ZX and Aviator, could you please explain especially about the heat distribution and durability?
Thank you very much!
Andrea