GloveTacts allow mobile device use with your gloves

Last December, GloveTacts sent me a set of their stick-on conductive pads that enable mobile device use with your full finger gloves. The short of it: they’re durable, and they work as advertised.

glovetacts

I have about a zillion pair of long finger cycling gloves, all purchased before the market success of touchscreen technology on phones and tablets. I could buy another set of touchscreen-capable gloves starting at around $25, but I love the idea that these GloveTacts allow me to use my existing gloves.

As you can see in the video, you get a set of two conductive sticky pads to apply to the tip of your index finger and thumb of your full finger gloves. The adhesive is super sticky, and after application no special treatment is required. Just ensure the fabric is clean — if you start with a filthy glove, the adhesive may not stick as well.

GloveTacts says their pads stick to almost all glove facbrics, including cotton, wool, leather, man-made leather, synthetics, lycra and most man made fibers. The only difficulty, they say, are gloves with silicone surfaces. GloveTacts also claims their product works when wet; I don’t have a waterproof phone so I haven’t tested this claim.

The gloves shown in the video have been laundered several times since I installed them, exposed to rain and grit, and left soaking for a full day in my office bike locker after the morning commute. The sticky pads still work and they’re still firmly attached to the tips of my gloves. The designers have clearly done their homework, and I’m impressed with this product. Here’s how the gloves look as of this morning: note the black pads on the index and thumb:

GloveTacts stick on mobile phone things.

Learn more and buy at GloveTacts.

3 Comments

  1. I bought a bottle of Nanotips after reading a review on another cycling blog (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/review-nanotips-make-your-gloves-smartphone-friendly/). Price is $15 to $20 on EBay or Amazon for a bottle that they say will treat 30 gloves. This is some kind of conductive liquid that soaks into your gloves and dries overnight (or faster if you use a hair dryer). I’ve used it on a few friends’ and my gloves and it works fine so far. The review says it needs to be reapplied from time to time, but California winters are so short that I wouldn’t be surprised if one application lasts all winter.

    For real cheapskates, there are a lot of touch sensitive bicycling gloves on EBay for less than $10. Some of them are pretty good quality (windproof, water resistant, durable fabric, decent padding and insulation). Order a size larger than normal, since Asian sizes run small. Shipping from China is a lot faster these days than it used to be.

  2. Like you, I have many older gloves! I finally broke down this winter and bought Defeet wool gloves with silver metallic threads in the fingertips. They work great!

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