Winter Cycling - Rechargeable heated glove liners - any brand recommendations?

I commute year round, but when the temperature dips below 20 degrees F, my thumbs really complain. I use thick fleece gloves (Arc'Teryx Delta AR) with Burton snowboard mittens over them now. This is fine except for those super cold days.
I've been looking at heated glove liners (rechargeable). Looks like these are in the $100 - $200 range. But there are so many brands, and not a lot of reviews or comparisons. Can anyone recommend a reliable brand? Or brands to avoid? Thanks!

I can't comment on heated glove liners, but perhaps you just need better gloves? Mittens where you can keep your fingers together inside can help too.

This morning it was around 20 F (3 with wind chill), and I started off in my ski mittens (these ones (http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/MensClothing/GlovesMitts/Mitts/PRD~5024-882/black-diamond-mercury-mitts-mens.jsp)). Before I even got out of the river valley I had to stop and switch to my cross-country ski gloves because my hands were so hot!

Another thing that's popular around here are bar mitts/Pogies. I've never used them, but they look like they'd do the trick.

All else being equal, I would rather have good mitts that keep me warm than depend on battery power. That being said, I've certainly considered foot warmers for ski boots...

These are a solid product.

http://barmitts.com/

I can't comment on heated glove liners, but perhaps you just need better gloves? Mittens where you can keep your fingers together inside can help too.


Yes, my snowboard mittens are similar to yours, only mine are Burton.

Just to be clear, my fingers aren't getting cold, only my thumbs. They don't like being left by themselves, I guess. What I'm really looking for is heated thumb warmers!

I found that if i used gloves with a nose wipe on the thumb my thumbs got cold. I use hunting gloves from bass pro( redhead insulated hunter). Great and never had cold thumbs even around -15C. Whenits colder then that i wear them under windproof mitten shells. I have ones like the overlord ones from MEC. I also wear sleaves that come to the base of my hand and windprrof jackets to keep my wrists warm, which in turn keeps thumbs warm.

No idea about battery heated gloves.

I'm interested in your question too.

I think there is a big difference in how sensitive people are to cold. My hands are pretty sensitive. I use Bar Mitts in the winter and wear a liner glove inside a high-quality mitten, and sometimes my hands are STILL cold (only the hands; the rest of me is good). It drives me crazy. I'm tall and have really long arms and have thought that plays a role, but who knows. Maybe I had frostbite too many times as a kid. Maybe heated liners are the answer? I have purchased, and returned, probably a dozen different gloves/mitts.

Yes, my snowboard mittens are similar to yours, only mine are Burton.
Ah, I thought you meant you had overmitts (just a thin shell), since you're using a liner underneath.

I have a crazy thought - what if you wrapped your thumb (over your glove) in plastic wrap and then duct tape?

http://www.cabelas.com/mens-insulated-hunting-gloves-cabelas-heated-performance-camo-gloves.shtml

Yes, my snowboard mittens are similar to yours, only mine are Burton.

Just to be clear, my fingers aren't getting cold, only my thumbs. They don't like being left by themselves, I guess. What I'm really looking for is heated thumb warmers!

I had the same problem with all my gloves/mitts. I have noticed that my thumbs are slightly bigger than average (kind of cadet hands more than regular, 7.5 length and 8.5 wide) so that my thumbs are usually tights inside most regular fit gloves/mitts which tend to restrict blood flow leading to cold thumbs. That plus the handlebar pressure and everything was there for me getting cold thumbs. But i don't like to rely on any unreliable electronic or chemical devices i prefer to stick with old school passive systems.

So what i did in my mitts intended for very cold weather (below 0F) is to cut thumbs from some old leather gloves with loose thumbs with the liner removed and sew it on my loose leather mitts. No more cold thumbs.
But then i had the same problem with my leather gloves intended for warmer weather when reaching 0F (i prefer gloves over mitts so i tend to use them up to the limit) so i went to several shops and tried all the gloves there and finally found the perfect mix.
As i need to be precise because it doesn't work with any gloves mix:
motorcycle gloves with 40g thinsulate (size XXXL) + choko leather snowmobile gloves without the 100g thinsulate removable liners (size M)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEATHER-MOTORCYCLE-GLOVES-Thinsulate-Rain-Cover-LARGE-/260781893257?pt=Apparel_Merchandise&hash=item3cb7cfe689&vxp=mtr
+
http://www.bikerleathers.ca/choko-2013-adventurer-leather-snowmobile-gloves-black-96-2570-00/

strangely the 20$ motorcycle gloves are warmer than the 95$ choko snowmobile gloves especially on the fingertips but the choko gloves have looser and warmer thumbs (hot thumbs feature). The cheaper gloves fitting perfectly under the more expensive gloves without the liners on I added a little bit of black silicone at the fingertips between the 2 gloves and ended up with a perfect mix. Temps went down to 0F this winter but it hasn't been cold enough yet to reach the limit of the new system (disposable nitrile gloves + wool liners + motorcycle gloves + snowmobile gloves).

For my commute, the Blazewear gloves sound awesome. Permaybehaps, next year.

I'm interested in your question too.

I think there is a big difference in how sensitive people are to cold. My hands are pretty sensitive. I use Bar Mitts in the winter and wear a liner glove inside a high-quality mitten, and sometimes my hands are STILL cold (only the hands; the rest of me is good). It drives me crazy. I'm tall and have really long arms and have thought that plays a role, but who knows. Maybe I had frostbite too many times as a kid. Maybe heated liners are the answer? I have purchased, and returned, probably a dozen different gloves/mitts.
You say your hands are the only thing cold, but it may be your arm insulation causing this. Possibly try improving the insulation on your lower arm especially, and see if it makes a difference. Heck, just cut an old sock and wear it under a layer to see if it's potentially worth investing in something a bit better. I found that when I added just a little extra insulation to my legs, my feet improved dramatically, even though my legs never really felt cold to me.