A solar-assisted glove, comprising:
- a glove body having fingers, an interior space, a rear surface, front surface, and a cuff portion serving as the bottom of the glove body and having an opening to receive a wearer's hand within the interior space, the cuff portion adapted to encircle the wearer's wrist,
- a protective collar adapted to encircle a wearer's wrist, a first end of the collar attached to a section of the cuff portion where a back side of a wearer's wrist would be when wearing the glove, a second end of the collar terminating in a securable release flap that is adapted to extend around an underside of the wearer's wrist over the cuff portion of the glove with a distal tip of the flap releasably securable to the cuff portion to secure the wearer's hand in the glove,
- a solar panel provided on the glove body rear surface as a primary source of generating energy for heating the glove, the solar panel covering a substantial portion of the rear surface of the glove body above the cuff portion and adapted to collect incident solar rays and generate an electrical current therefrom,
- a heating element provided in the interior space of the glove body and connected to a printed circuit board (PCB), wherein the heating element is in electrical communication with the solar panel and PCB so that as the solar panel generates electrical current the heating element generates heat within the interior space,
- a rechargeable electrical storage in electrical communication with the solar panel PCB and kept on a trickle discharge while storing energy from the solar panel, the rechargeable electrical storage device adapted to be primarily charged by the solar panel from incident solar rays so as to power the heating element,
- an ON/OFF/SELECT button located on an outer surface of the release flap of the collar so as to be accessible to the wearer at the underside of the wearer's wrist with the glove on the hand and flap secured to the cuff portion, the ON/OFF/SELECT button in operative communication with the PCB and adapted to function as a temperature controller to vary temperature within the interior space of the glove, in addition to its function to provide or terminate current to the heat elements via the solar panel and electrical storage means, and
- a corded USB plug end adapted for remote AC charging of the rechargeable electrical storage device arranged adjacent to a separate corded DC charging adapter plug end adapted for remote DC charging of the rechargeable electrical storage device, the opposite cord ends of each being in electrical communication with the electrical storage means, with each of the USB and DC charging adapter plug ends adapted to be extended below the opening in the cuff portion for connection to a respective remote AC charging source and remote DC charging source.