What to do: Hand your recipient your own device (or a friend's) and ask them to hold it while wearing winter gloves. Watch how they manage it.

Success signal: If they can easily press the button, adjust airflow, or swap a pod without removing gloves, they'll appreciate a device with tactile controls. If they fumble, they're better off with something simpler—like a pod-style device with a draw-activated sensor or a single button.

Most adjustable-airflow devices have a dial that requires a bit of grip. Pod-style devices tend to be sleeker, but some have tiny buttons that are impossible to find with mittens. What matters is how the person actually interacts with the device in the cold.