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October 13, 2008 2:18 PM PDT

'Intelligent Heat' knows your hands better than you do

by Eric Franklin

Either the Predator's hands get pretty chilly at night or this is an infrared pic of the thermals in the glove in action.

(Credit: Aevex)

If you're reading this while rubbing your hands together and blowing hot breath into them (remember, the wider your mouth when you blow, the warmer the heat), well you should probably turn on the radiator or put on some gloves. If you already have gloves on and are still rubbing your hands together, keep reading.

Aevex announced on Monday that its Intelligent Heat technology can now be found in winter gloves from Mountain Hardwear and Outdoor Research. Not to be confused with the Cooling Glove (not sure why you would be, but I just wanted to get that link in there), both the PrimoVolta ($259) and the Red Savina ($300) gloves are available in stores this week.

The way it works: without forcing you to carry around a battery pack, heating functions have been integrated into a single panel that is sewn into the apparel like an extra layer of fabric.

According to Aevex, these panels are light, ultrathin, and flexible, so supposedly they virtually disappear inside the gloves. The technology works with your body to automatically adjust to its needs, delivering more heat to your cold parts and less to your warm parts.

When a part of your body begins to get cold, so does a unique polymer layer inside the Aevex panel. This polymer automatically increases the heart at that cold spot. As this spot warms to a comfortable temperature, Aevex then turns the heat down, redirecting power to other cold spots. Supposedly this kind of temperature regulates usage, and maintains an even, comfortably toasty temperature.

The technology makes sense, but how well does it really work?

(Credit: Aevex)

When the batteries are spent (Aevex claims the gloves last through 800 recharges) and you're done with the gloves, Aevex will recycle them along with the lithium polymer batteries at no charge. Just send them back to Aevex and, according to the company, Aevex will take care of the rest. Check out the Aevex Web site for more info.

Eric Franklin refused to write a bio, saying, "Why are you bothering me about this bio business again? If I wanted people to know more about me, I'd send them to the Inside CNET Labs Podcast" (shameless plug). E-mail Eric.
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by tek-ed October 13, 2008 3:12 PM PDT
eeeesh! 300 bones for a disposable glove? No thanks!
Ed
web/gadget guru
Reply to this comment
by corneliuswillis October 13, 2008 10:16 PM PDT
Actually the gloves are not disposable. They take more than 800 charges before the energy source starts to lose capacity. In fact, the heating equipment will in most cases outlast the physical gloves. The company will take back the gloves in order to properly dispose of the batteries.

Cornelius (for Aevex)
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by Get_out_there_and_do_it December 2, 2008 3:13 PM PST
$250 - $300?? with batteries on your hands? You can get rechargeable heated glove liners with no batteries or weight on your hands for half the price from ActiVHeat.
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