Touchscreen gloves

[Jesse Anderson]

I'm going to stretch MYOG once more to include modifying gear.

I have a pair of BD Pilot gloves that I absolutely love. They provide great dexterity and can be used as liners for my thicker over gloves. The problem I've run into is that I often use my phone as both my camera and my GPS. My gloves are not "touchscreen compatible" so here's where the MYOG comes in.

I've looked around and found two different solutions to this issue: paints and threads. I'm curious if anyone has tried any of these options and what their success was.

Paints seem to be sold by both AnyGlove and Nano Tips and each has a special formulation for leather gloves (my beloved Pilot gloves have goatskin palms/fingers)

Threads seem to be available from a number of sources, but it means more of a destructive solution as I'd be punching many tiny holes in the leather.

Any experience with these options?

[Stephen M]

The thread works very well.

[JCH]

Been reading quite a bit about this: http://www.anyglove.com.

Should be here in a few days and I'll report back.

[JCH]

I can report that Anyglove works, and quite well. I have only used the version for fleece gloves, but the treated gloves work as well or better than any touchscreen glove I have used. I even treated a pair with little rubber dots on the fingertips and those work great too. I think one bottle would probably treat 10 pair on thumb and index fingers of both hands.

Remains to be seen how many washings the treatment will survive.

[Jesse Anderson]

John,
Thanks for the follow-up. Sounds like it's pretty reasonably priced with that many applications from a bottle. Even if it wears somewhat quickly I can't imagine needing too many applications in a season. I have to say I like the idea of choosing the glove and then making it touchscreen compatible rather than that being a deciding factor. I also like the idea of not making holes and sewing through the leather fingers of my gloves.

[JCH]

I might have opted for the more permanent thread solution if not for my worries that stainless steel thread might…just might…be able to damage the screen with little scratches over time. Or that the metal thread might transmit cold into the glove just a little bit.

In the end, choosing the glove because it is exactly the glove you want, then adding touch compatibility is very attractive.

Also, from reading the reviews for the leather glove product, it appears the best way to apply is to both the outside AND inside of the fingertip. This obviously cuts the number of gloves/applications in half that are possible with one bottle, but as you say, one bottle per season is pretty cheap.

[John Almond]

For those of you who haven't yet gotten touchscreen gloves, a regular Ziplock baggie will work to transform normal gloves into touchscreen gloves. The baggie works to waterproof your phone anyway, at a much lighter weight than most cases, and the touchscreen can be used through the baggie regardless of glove type (as it's the baggie that is touching the screen rather than your glove).

Hope it helps!

[JCH]

You claim intrigued me so I just tried this (with multiple fleece fabrics and bag thicknesses) and none of it worked for me. Further, given my understanding of the scientific principals of touchscreen operation, I don't understand how it could work. If it does for you then I'd love to know why.

Edit: A touchscreen glove will work through a plastic bag just as your bare finger will. I normally use the smallest Ziplock freezer bag as a phone case so this has become a very light, cheap, and easily replaceable system.

[John Almond]

Hrm…interesting. I can use my bare fingers and both the thumb and forefinger of my Smartwool liner gloves through the baggie just fine. When I switch to my pinkie finger on the Smartwool glove, it becomes a little more finicky but still works in spite of the touchscreen-responding fibers only being in the thumb and forefinger of the glove (there's a very slight but obvious once you're looking color difference). Maybe wool works somewhat even without any treatment?

Hrm…more testing is in order…

Sorry for the initial confusion.

[Mark Ries]

I bought some Smartwool liner gloves with touch screen tips and they didn't work very good at all and then I bought some Manzella's with touchscreen finger tips and they work great

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