Best Heated Gloves for Raynaud's Syndrome (2026 Guide)
By Theo Attill | Updated 2026
If you have Raynaud's syndrome, you already know the drill. The moment the temperature drops — or even when you hold a cold drink — your fingers turn white, then blue, then an aching red. It can happen at your desk, on your morning walk, or in the middle of the night. For many sufferers, it's not just uncomfortable. It's debilitating.
At Zarkie, we've spent over a decade working with Raynaud's sufferers across Australia, and in that time we've seen firsthand what makes the difference between a product that helps and one that just sits in a drawer. In this guide, we'll walk you through what the science says, what our customers tell us, and why heated glove liners have become one of the most life-changing purchases many of them have ever made.
What Is Raynaud's Syndrome?
Raynaud's phenomenon is a condition where blood vessels in the extremities — most commonly the fingers — go into spasm in response to cold or stress, dramatically reducing blood flow. This causes the characteristic colour changes (white → blue → red) and can be accompanied by numbness, tingling, and pain.
It's significantly more common in women than men, and while it can occur on its own (primary Raynaud's), it is also frequently associated with autoimmune conditions like scleroderma (systemic sclerosis). For many people, managing Raynaud's means a combination of medication, lifestyle adjustments, and — critically — keeping the hands warm.
The Science: What a Clinical Trial Found About Heated Gloves
In 2023, researchers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide published findings from a randomised crossover clinical trial examining the effect of heated gloves on Raynaud's phenomenon in patients with systemic sclerosis — presented at ACR Convergence 2023, one of the world's leading rheumatology conferences.
The results were striking. Patients using heated gloves showed a 1.51-unit reduction in their daily Raynaud's Condition Score (RCS) compared to routine practice — a result that was both statistically and clinically significant (p < 0.001). They also experienced:
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Fewer attacks — a reduction of 0.64 attacks per day on average
-
Shorter attacks — mean attack duration was reduced by over 37 minutes
The trial's conclusion was clear: "Heated gloves are an effective and safe intervention for reducing RP symptoms in SSc and may be a useful alternative or adjunct to current practice."
What makes this especially relevant for Zarkie customers is that the gloves used in that study were our Avert 2.0 Heated Glove Liners — supplied directly to the research team. That's medicine.
Why Far Infrared Heat Is Different
Here's something most people don't know when they first look at heated gloves: not all heat is the same.
Conventional heated products — including many cheap heated blankets and gloves you'll find at discount retailers — use copper wire heating elements. These warm the surface of whatever they're touching. The heat stays shallow.
The Venture Heat technology used in our Avert 2.0 liners uses a carbon fibre alloy heating element that emits far infrared (FIR) radiation. This is a fundamentally different mechanism. Rather than just heating the skin surface, far infrared energy is absorbed by the body and penetrates into subcutaneous tissue — research suggests to a depth of approximately 2–3 centimetres. This means the warmth reaches blood vessels and surrounding tissue, not just your skin.
A peer-reviewed study published in 2024 (Building and Environment, ScienceDirect) found that far infrared radiation produced warmer subjective thermal sensations than near-infrared radiation when applied to the hands.
Published research in PMC (the US National Library of Medicine) also notes that far infrared therapy has been shown to increase peripheral blood circulation — which is precisely what Raynaud's sufferers need most.
This is why customers who try our gloves for the first time sometimes need a moment to recalibrate their expectations. The heat doesn't feel intense. It doesn't feel "hot", what it feels like is warm — deeply, sustainably warm, in a way that copper element products simply cannot replicate.
This is a quality that almost all of our returning customers come to understand — not when they're told about it, but once they've experienced it for themselves.
The Avert 2.0: Built Around the Fingers, Not Just the Hand
Beyond the heating technology, the design of the Avert 2.0 makes a real difference for Raynaud's sufferers specifically.
Many competing gloves place heating elements only across the back of the hand. This is better than nothing, but for someone with Raynaud's — where the issue is blood flow to the fingers — it misses the point. The Avert 2.0's carbon fibre heating elements run around the fingers, heating from both sides simultaneously. Think of it like a sandwich press for your fingers: the heat surrounds each digit rather than just sitting above it.
For people whose symptoms are concentrated in the fingertips, this design difference is everything.
Battery Life & Practical Tips
The Avert 2.0 runs on rechargeable batteries with three heat settings:
|
Setting |
Battery Life |
|
High |
~2 hours |
|
Medium |
~3.5 hours |
|
Low |
~5+ hours |
For most people managing Raynaud's in everyday situations — morning commutes, desk work, outdoor activities — the medium or low setting is typically sufficient and provides excellent all-day comfort.
For those who need truly continuous heating (workers in cool rooms or walk-in freezers, or people with severe symptoms), the most practical solution is purchasing a spare set of batteries. This lets you keep one pair charging while wearing the other, and swap them over as needed — giving you uninterrupted warmth throughout the day.
What Our Customers Tell Us
The honest measure of any product is what people who've been using it for years have to say. Our customers are extraordinarily loyal — many have been buying a new pair every few years for over a decade, and a significant portion of our new customers arrive because a friend or family member sent them our way. That kind of word-of-mouth doesn't happen with a product that disappoints.
One customer, Angie, recently compared our Avert 2.0 liners directly against a popular competing product. She appreciated aspects of the competitor — a slightly slimmer fit at the wrist, a grippy palm, and a battery indicator — but ultimately the issue was heat delivery. The competitor had heating elements only on the back of the hands, and the heat level was, in her words, simply not enough. For her Raynaud's, the Avert 2.0's finger-wrap element design made the real difference.
This is a pattern we hear constantly. People try other products, often at lower price points, and eventually find their way to us. The warmth that the carbon fibre FIR element provides — and the coverage across the fingers — is what sets the Avert 2.0 apart.
Who Buys These Gloves?
Our Raynaud's customers are a broad group. Women make up the majority of Raynaud's sufferers, and we find women are also more proactive about seeking solutions — they're more likely to come to us having already done their research and ready to invest in something that works.
But we also have a large cohort of men — particularly those who work outdoors, cycle, play golf, or work in refrigerated environments. We've supplied gloves to police officers, air force personnel, lawyers, and doctors. Cold doesn't discriminate, and neither does Raynaud's.
We also see many customers who are on medications — for heart conditions, blood pressure, or other autoimmune conditions — that affect circulation. For these customers, heated gloves often become an essential daily tool rather than a seasonal one.
Why Buy From Zarkie?
Zarkie has been operating since 2012. We started in cooling clothing for mining sites before evolving into heated clothing — which means we understand thermal management seriously, not just as a retail category.
We have a physical shop in Melbourne where you're welcome to come in, meet the team, and try the gloves on before you buy. In a category where so much is sold online sight-unseen, we think that matters. A lot of our customers have told us that knowing there's a real Australian business they can walk into — with friendly faces who actually use and understand the products — gave them the confidence to make the purchase.
If something goes wrong, we're here. That's not a phrase on a webpage — it's a physical address.
Our Recommendation
Avert 2.0 Battery Heated Glove Liners — $219.00
For Raynaud's sufferers, the Avert 2.0 is our top recommendation without hesitation. It's the glove used in the Royal Adelaide Hospital clinical trial, it's the product that generates the most consistent positive feedback from our customers, and it's built around the technology that actually addresses what Raynaud's does to your fingers.
If you'd like to try before you buy, come and visit us in Melbourne. We'd love to help.
References: Kumar K, et al. "Use of Heated Gloves for Raynaud's Phenomenon in Systemic Sclerosis." ACR Convergence 2023. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023; 75 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/use-of-heated-gloves-for-raynauds-phenomenon-in-systemic-sclerosis/
Lipczynska-Lewandowska M, et al. "Thermal perception of infrared radiation applied at different wavelengths to distal body segments." Building and Environment. 2024.
Shui S, et al. "Far-infrared therapy for cardiovascular, autoimmune, and other chronic health problems: A systematic review." PMC / National Library of Medicine.
