# Heated grips: Will I like them...?



## d3500ram (Feb 5, 2017)

I am a firm believer in the KISS principle... the less there is in terms of options then the less there is to go wrong or break. 

My new Ariens has the heated grips (if I could have the option of NOT having them for a discount I would have taken the credit.) I own a good pair of insulated, over-the-cuff work gloves that keep the digits comfy even in sub-zero temps... I have never known the luxury of heated hand grips. There is an ON/OFF switch for the heat and I will try it... 

Will I like it and now become a fan of these?


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

I think heated grips might be more of a novelty that falls short of expectations. I have heat grips on my Husqvarna and you can't really tell the difference. If your hands are going to get cold, the heated grips probably won't prevent that.


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## rfw1953 (Oct 11, 2017)

I don't have heated grips on my Honda, but I do enjoy the plethora of highly functional/helpful features on my SB that make the job easier and faster. We obviously have different opinions on the value of features over the concern of feature failures. That's ok. To each his own. Good for each of us that we have options to choose from. 


I do truly like heated grips on the snowmobile, which personally I feel are a must have, but for a SB, not as necessary. When blowing snow you're active behind the SB which keeps your body heat up. I rarely get cold fingers, but I do wear a good pair of work gloves that work just fine.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

I added a cheap pair of heaters to my Craftsman (Husqvarna) two years ago as an experiment. I like them. I wear ski gloves but the cold seems to get through them after about 15 minutes. Tried mitts as well but not much improvement. The heaters do it for me.


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## guilateen02 (Nov 23, 2014)

Heated grips worked wonders for me.Even with high end gloves or mittens I still suffered. Maybe it's the positioning of the hand grabbing the handlebars restricting blood flow to fingers. Under other conditions Im fine outside all day long. Heck I work outdoors for a living. But snowblowing my finger tips would always get cold then numb. I guess it depends on the person. I won't use a primary snowblower without one now. I now use a pair of Mechanics or HF gloves with heated grips and it's a pleasure on the hands.


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## 10953 (Sep 4, 2017)

don't know about heated SB grips yet but can say i love the heated steering wheel and seats in the car,


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

Two of my Ariens have heated grips. They work well, maybe too well. I find myself switching them on/off. Too much heat when on all the time. I find them somewhat distracting when I'm working, not sure why.


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## knu2xs (Jan 6, 2015)

Back in the fall of 2014 I picked up a new Ariens that had heated grips and thought I would never use them. Now I don't know if I would ever buy a snow blower without them, even though I only run them about half the time.


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## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Heated grips are like heated steering wheels for cars, most folks that have never used them would not understand or feel the need for it/them BUT once you use them you'd never go back.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

I have them but have never bothered to turn them on. At least on the Husky, the heated part is only the underside of the handles, since the drive levers fold down over the area where your hands go. Maybe I'll give them a go this winter just to see what happens. From the rated alternator output though, I'm not anticipating them doing a lot more than keeping the handles themselves from getting as cold. Will post back conclusions.

I tend to double-glove when running the machine. I find that half the wet for the gloves is from perspiration inside, so I can reduce the cold/wet glove problem by at least half if I put on a pair of nitrile before the outer work gloves. I may need to do a little searching to get consensus on favorite gloves for snowblowing.


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## tuffnell (Dec 1, 2011)

Have the heaters and like them.
Especially when the temperature is around -30C(-22F).


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## jonnied12 (Jan 14, 2017)

If worse comes to worse, buy a box of chemical hand warmers. I keep a box of them in my shed all the time. Hate cold hands!


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## hfjeff (Jan 24, 2016)

Heated grips are the bomb! My hands get cold easily no matter what gloves I have on-especially when temps drop into single digits or negative. I actually bought a NOS Toro 1128 without the heated grips because I got a great deal on it and added them:

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/toro-snowblowers/82569-1128-oxe-conversion-heated-grips-ohxe-owners-help.html

They get hot enough I end up turning them off.


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## vmax29 (Oct 19, 2017)

+1 what hfjeff said. Have them on the Troy Bilt and used them every time. A luxury not a necessity for sure but they do work well. I really wish my new Honda had them. After a few storms you might find them “worth it”.


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## JimsTroyBilt (Dec 7, 2017)

I love heated handles. I own an older model Troy-Bilt 42010. The OEM heated handles OEM have not worked for me in about 10 yrs. Got the bug to try to get them working again. Sadly the elements are not made anymore (un-available on all sites). So I decided to search for an alternative.....http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...ilt-model-42010-home-made-heated-handles.html
Here's my post 'Troy-Bilt model 42010: Home made heated handles', in the Troy-Bilt section of this forum. Check it out


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