Heated Gloves vs. Heated Grips - Which One Is The Best?

I conduct a quick experiment in an attempt to settle the debate on which is better - heated gloves or heated grips.

I look at 7 factors to be taken into account, then test the products while I'm out riding. At the end, I crown the champion!

0:00 Intro
0:56 The Wheels
1:09 Round 1 - Heating Speed
2:40 Round 2 - Versatility
3:39 Round 3 - Compatibility
4:29 Round 4 - Convenience
5:09 Round 5 - Lifespan
5:48 Round 6 - Price
6:19 Round 7 - Coverage
7:12 The Scorecard

WarmThru Thermo Gloves can be bought here -

Oxford Hot Grips can be bought here -

[savinggracechurch]

I'll go with the grips as I can choose between summer or winter gloves and the level of protection.
I had an accident last October with a low slide at 50mph on my FJ1200.
Your hands go out automatically to save you, and even though I sustained a dislocated shoulder, my hands we unscathed!
A shoulder can be fixed, but a hand that has been completely worn away from dew to road-rash would probably result in an amputation.

So heated grips are a win for me!

[adventurewithalex]

Heated grips with handle bar muffs. Provides heat, protects from wind chill and regular gloves provide better dexterity than winter/heated gloves.

[SuperRunSpeed]

I would say, for winter highway riding and cold autumn and spring mornings, get both. For me at least, my heated gloves keep my hands warm enough only at the highest setting when we are talking about temperatures below 10 Celsius, which makes it worthless for long period riding as the battery runs out in an hour or so. When you combine the toasty feel of heated grips and the comfortable feel of the warmness from the heated gloves, they make a perfect combo together. You feel almost like it’s just summer outside. No pain.

I only tested this at the lowest of 5 Celsius. Haven’t yet got to ride on lower temps with this combo, but I also haven’t used the highest temp setting on the grips yet either. So I’m confident it will be the same for freezing temps too.

PS: Using original Yamaha heated grips for the MT-09.

[MrSplitfield]

It's also worth pointing out that if you have more than one bike, the gloves are easily transferrable whereas you would need to have heated grips on all of your steeds. I have the Keis gloves and they are excellent!

[tonybarton]

I big point is being missed here, the main problem with cold hands in the winter is wind chill, if you’re travelling on a bike at 70 mph and the temperature is +3, it’s really about -6 on your hands . After living in Norway for 10 years the answer is heated gloves/ grips a good pair of hand guards( not the designer ones which cover the levers but large ones ( you can always take them of in the summer) been riding 50 years and I know it works 😊👍👍

[Asualtedpeanut]

Great video! I was shocked at the microphone quality while you were riding. Tech has really come a long way

[TKSpc]

A bit of a late reply to this, but most Hot Grips have 5 heat settings, so your points from versatility would get sent back to the grips, making the grips a narrow winner

Gloves are definitely a better option for anyone with multiple bikes and living in icy conditions, however, for lower temperatures, i find heated grips work well for me as i have far too many products to charge as it is, i can only imagine the frustration of needing my heated gloves and finding i forgot to charge them and having frozen hands for a ride.

[JetCooperD]

Riding in the southern UK this year at minus 3 degrees with heated grips on my Rocket 3R. Above 1 degree the grips are good but, over 40 mph, the wind sheer and the iced levers burn my hands.
The grips don't help the front of your fingers. Heated gloves solved that for me. I don't need warm hands - just ones that work and don't freeze.

[wolw]

You need both. Even with Barkbusters and Oxford heated grips (UK spec, 9 settings) your fingertips will get cold (at least mine) below 5°C. I'm running Keis G701's as well as heated grips, perfect combo. Battery for gloves last for ages (even though hook up for motorcycle is available).

[garrycoates]

A great review with some possible improvements:
1. Use a temperature sensor to remove the subjectivity
2. Riding to be separated into 2 categories; town and country
3. Heated gloves are 2-3 times the cost of heated grips in Australia so long term costs should favour the grips.
4. Modern gloves quite often come with insulation and even reflective foil on top of the hand which would improve heat retention for the grips
5. If the time to warm up grips vs gloves is only 30 seconds different then it is not decisive
6. Convenience is subjective as the grips are always useable on one bike and the gloves can go with multiple bikes if you remember them

My personal use is heated glove liners bought in the UK in 1985. Only use them when temperatures are lower than 5 deg celsius on a long ride... Probably will go with gloves when the costs lower a little more..

[stefedwards]

Just had Oxford heated grips fitted to my Suzuki Street. They are excellent for the type of riding I do.
I tried the heated gloves but I don’t like bulky padded fingers.

[robertnutt]

Interesting and informative , many thanks for posting.

[theodorecalkins]

I think the grips get round 4, if you forget to charge the gloves when you are late getting home the next ride could be a cold one. I've forgotten to charge my sena headset and ended up having them die half way home. Charging vs always having power is more convenient in my opinion.

[garyhoward]

I have both heated grips and battery heated gloves. I dropped the latter as they are cumbersome to charge and won’t last long. So I now also have connected my heated gloves to the bike battery which is the best of both worlds.

[ralpht]

To me, you missed the actual most important factor, testing them side by side and saying which one kept your hands the most comfortable on an actual ride.

[jamesw]

Never used heated gloves, have used installed Oxford heated grips on my cruiser for several winters now, they are great, but if the temp is below freezing (-2 to -8C) they are next to useless, you will feel no heat from them. Something to keep in mind.

[zanglang]

I use them together. And have handguards, also.

[adamrudge]

I've had many heated grips over the years. I've found the one's supplied from the manufacturer, to be crap tbh. Also very over priced. I had the cheap r&g one's about £40. And they was better than the yamaha one's, which failed twice in 6 months.
Only use Oxford hot grips now, as never had an issue personally.
I fit them on every bike and use upto the "proper" winter. Then I use the heated gloves Gerbing to be precise, which I've had for 3 years now. Which are absolutely brilliant and I use straight from the bike. The battery's in my opinion are an over priced unnecessary add on. Takes seconds to plug In and never have to worry about them again.
Gloves are better hands down as they heat the backs of the hand and each finger. As said I still use the grips, but in the real cold temps. They just heat you're palm and your fingers get cold still. I've also got the Gerbing heated under jacket, which I brought at the same time.
I'm still yet to turn it on, as it's very warm without the heated side.

[ReggieChump]

BOTH. If you're dumb enough to ride after you've scraped the ice off your seat, you'll need BOTH.

12v cable heated gloves best of both worlds.