Heated gilets and gloves are must-haves for winter – so we put them to the test

Available in sizes XS to 3XL, this black heated gilet has a burgundy-red contrasting zip and a collar. While this is listed as a women’s version, you can also buy a men’s heated vest (£139.99, Amazon.co.uk).

Its composition comprises a nylon outer and polyester lining. We immediately noticed how lightweight the gilet is to wear, which made it an easy layer for popping underneath oversized cardis or on top of jumpers. The hip-length shape is one to suit all seasons, too.

Coming complete with a battery pack, this energy source is rechargeable by using the USB cable included. It’s worth knowing the pack can be recharged up to a whopping 800 times.

After charging the battery pack, we attached it to a wire sitting in a zip-up pocket inside the gilet. We found that, while we noticed the pack in the pocket, it wasn’t heavy or bulky. This then connects to carbon fibre heating components throughout, so, when switched on, warmth is felt inside the jacket and collar. The latter element is extra handy if you’re prone to feeling the cold on your neck.

To activate the heating system, there’s a button on the gilet’s top left, above its logo. There are three options, which you can cycle through by pushing the button. Red means high heat, amber medium heat, and white low heat. After charging the battery, you can get three, six or 10 hours of heat from the high, medium or low settings, respectively.

On a cold day, we reached for the gilet while working from home, and at first found it a useful layer, even without the heated element. Pushing the button, we were quickly flooded with warmth across our back, front and neck. Depending on how cold we felt, we tended to start with the highest heat. Once warmed up, we would switch to the medium setting. We also popped our hands in the pockets and felt heat there, too.

Having that versatility between the temperature types is helpful, as you can tailor the heat to your preference. Plus, as the gilet is insulated, we found it holds the heat for a little while after turning off the warming element.

The gilet is also water- and wind-resistant, so it helps keep out the elements during winter walks. We wore the garment underneath a coat and appreciated the heat our torso felt during a chilly morning spent walking the dog.

We were also impressed to see the outerwear item is machine washable, for added practicality. Plus, all the Ororo heated items we tried arrived presented in zip-up pouches, for handy storage.

Although undoubtedly an investment buy, this gilet is something we’ve been wearing non-stop, and we’ve really appreciated its speedy warming function to help stave off the cold.

This black polyester hand warmer has an adjustable strap, so you can clip it onto your waist, and the heated piece sits in the same place as a bum bag would. There are front and back zip-up pockets for your hands or for stashing coins or keys.

There’s also a third pocket, which sits closest to your body and holds the battery pack. This hand warmer is heated in the same way as the gilet mentioned above, with three carbon fibre elements to spread warmth throughout.

The rechargeable battery pack offers up to 14 hours of heat, and we used it to warm up our cold hands while pottering around the house. We also found it extremely useful for snuggling our hands into while standing at the school gate, watching a rugby game, and during winter walks.

The heated item is comfy to wear – being soft and padded, it feels like carrying a heated mini cushion, which you can then pop your hands into for warmth.

After pressing the power button (there are the same high, medium and low heat options as the gilet), we could detect the hand warmer heating up in just a few minutes.

Yes, this is a premium-priced buy but it offers easily achieved warming support that kept our hands from being cold and, therefore, served up practical value for money.

Coming in sizes S to XL, these black, padded gloves are water-resistant and have a cosy fleece lining. Plus, each hand’s fingertip can be used on a touch screen. Additional features include an adjustable strap and wrist toggle to tighten and cinch in the gloves, for a snug fit.

There’s also a tiny clip on both gloves, to attach them together (so you don’t lose one). As with the other products included in this article, the gloves arrived in a zip-up pouch, which is useful for storing them.

After charging the battery packs included, we inserted them into each glove’s zip-up inner pocket. At this point, we appreciated how simple the heating setup is, with there being low, medium and high heat settings once again. When fully charged, the settings can provide between three to five hours’ warmth.

We trialled the gloves on a tester with Raynaud’s disease, and they found the toasty lining and heated element offered comforting cold-hand relief during a dog walk. The carbon fibre heating system reaches the entire hand and fingers, providing speedy cosiness. Our tester usually needs to wear several pairs of gloves at once to help prevent numb fingertips, and as such we think these thick, heated gloves are a game-changing investment for heating extremities.