'Shark Tank's BearTek Gloves Control Your Phone

Helmed by former marine Willie Blount and his business partner Tarik Rodgers, tech company BearTek is coming to Shark Tank this week. Blount and Rodgers will be appearing as a part of a special Shark Tank military episode — they'll be appearing alongside a former Air Force Major, a pair of military spouses, and two army ranger veterans. Interestingly enough, Blount (the inventor side of the duo) even drew upon his experience studying electronic theory while in the Marine Corps to create his product, according to Technical.ly Baltimore, which makes his appearance on the special episode even more apt.

So, what exactly is BearTek? Well, it's a new product that will be joining the ranks of the many wearable tech innovations to be showcased on Shark Tank over the years: They're special "smart" gloves that enable wearers to control their smartphones wirelessly. Originally conceived of when switching songs whilst motorcycling proved to be something of a challenge, according to Technical.ly Baltimore, BearTek gloves now have things down to a science — they're made of goatskin, to keep your hands extra warm, and they come armed with a tiny control module with bluetooth technology which enables you to do everything from pause your music to pick up your phone (certain models are also compatible with GoPro cameras).

The gloves were specially designed with skiing and motorcycling in mind, as reported by Time, but you can use them for pretty much any activity that combines cold hands with the need for a smartphone. They work their wizardry through the simple action of tapping your fingers together — the index finger can pick up a call and pause/play music, while the middle finger can skip songs; holding either finger down can also fast forward or rewind a song. Interested in scoring a pair for yourself? BearTek gloves are currently for sale in the BearTek online store, as well as Amazon. A pair of the classic gloves cost $170 on the company's website, but there are other versions available at different prices, including snow and motorcycle gloves.

BearTek's smart gloves have certainly received their fair share of buzz since they first came onto the scene back in 2012, and the product reviews on Amazon have been largely positive so far — but will it all be enough to convince the Sharks? Last week, another promising wearable tech start-up (CO.alition) ended up striking out across the board, but hopefully BearTek will have more luck.

Images: Michael Desmond/ABC (2)