REASONS TO BUY
Doesn't overheat
Many settings
Affordable
Multiple features
REASONS TO AVOID
Slower
Finagling to find best settings
First Years Gentle Warmth Digital Review
A competitive warmer for a lower price with lots of features and setting that doesn't overheat contents
Credit: Abriah Wofford
RELATED: The Best Bottle Warmers
The Skinny
The First Years Gentle Warmth Digital is a top-ranked bottle warmer with many settings and features. It did a great job in our tests of not overheating contents and thereby protecting the nutritional content of the bottles. It has a very affordable price for those on a budget, and it is easy to use and clean. This warmer is slow, really slow. And whether you wait for auto-shutoff or continue heating it beyond this point, it is a struggle to get it over 98F degrees. On the one hand, this means less risk of contents that are too hot, and on the other, it means planning ahead and potentially soothing a little one for ten minutes or more while you wait. We did find that with some trial and error, we found setting outside the manufacturer's recommendations to get the contents warmer, but it was still a long time in the process. However, despite this, we love the price, ease of use, and ease of cleaning of the Gentle Warmth. We think the consistency of the settings to warm the contents trumps the speed. These details make it one we'd recommend to a friend.
Editor's Note: The Gentle Warmth is part of a new update in testing bottle warmers. This update launched on March 29, 2024.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
First Years Gentle Warmth Digital | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | |||
| Price | $28 List $30.99 at Amazon | $60 List $59.30 at Amazon | $22 List | $22 List $19.75 at Amazon | $39 List $18.05 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The lower price, features, and multiple settings are appealing | A higher-price warmer that is easy to use and can heat consecutive bottles but it isn't very fast | Simple and effective warming but requires prep work and could possibly be done with things you already own | Cheaper warmer that is easy to use but doesn't heat consistently or enough | While it has a simple design, it is higher priced and doesn't offer an auto-shutoff to avoid overheating |
| Rating Categories | First Years Gentle... | Chicco Digital & St... | Kiinde Kozii Voyage... | The First Years 2-i... | Tommee Tippee Easi-... |
| Health and Safety (35%) | |||||
| Warming Efficiency and Consistency (25%) | |||||
| Quickness of Warming (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (15%) | |||||
| Ease of Cleaning (5%) | |||||
| Specs | First Years Gentle... | Chicco Digital & St... | Kiinde Kozii Voyage... | The First Years 2-i... | Tommee Tippee Easi-... |
| Heat Technology | Water Bath | Water Bath + Steam | Water Bath | Water Bath + Steam | Water Bath |
| Measured Time to Auto Shut-Off | 10:21 min:sec | 7:22 min:sec | 10m:30 min:sec | 3:42 min:sec | 4:30 min:sec |
| Measured Temperature at Auto Shut-Off | 83.4°F | 73.9°F | 100.2°F | 54.0°F | 79.6°F |
| Measured Max Temperature | 88.4 °F | 92.2 °F | 117.2 °F | 108.7 °F | 143.8 °F |
| Bottle Compatibility | Works With Most Baby Bottles | Compatible with a wider variety of materials (glass, plastic, and silicone) | Fits most pouches, bottles, and jars | Compatible with Most Baby Bottles *Safety warning against using glass bottles as sudden change in temperature may cause them to break |
Fits a wide range of branded baby bottles and food jars |
| Additional Info/Features | Keep warm for 1 hour | Delayed start function | Portable | Some parts machine washable | None |
| Compatible with Glass | Not Specified | Yes | Yes | Not Specified | Not Specified |
| Compatible with Silicone | Not Specified | Yes | Yes | Not Specified | Not Specified |
| Compatible with Pump Bags | Not Specified | Yes | Yes | Not Specified | Not Specified |
| Compatible with Plastic | Not Specified | Yes | Yes | Not Specified | Not Specified |
| Compatible with Wide Neck Bottles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| From Frozen Capability | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Baby Food Heating | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature or Timer Based | Timer | Timer | Manual | Temperature | Manual Shut-Off |
| Auto Shut-Off | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Audible Beep | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Consecutive Warming Wait Time | Not Listed | Can unplug unit dump old hot water and refill with room temp water for consecutive heating cycles | Can do a consecutive warming until thermos is out of water | Wait 10 min before heating the next bottle | Not listed |
| LED Indicator for Completed Heating | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Measured Weight | 1 lb 3.6 oz | 1 lb 8.4 oz | 14.8 oz | 1 lb 2.6 oz | 1 lb 1.4 oz |
| Measured Dimensions | 5.2 in x 4.9 in x 10.3 in | 5.2 in x 5.1 in x 12.4 in | 3.8 in x 3.8 in x 8.6 in | 4.6 in x 6.2 in x 7.2 in | 4.8 in x 4.8 in x 6.0 in |
| Contents Kept Below 113ºF/45ºC | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Keep Warm Function | Yes, up to 60m | No | No | No | No |
Show full specification details ▼Hide full specification details ▲
Our Analysis and Test Results
First Years is a part of Tomy. They offer all kinds of baby gear, from feeding tools and potty training to nightlights and bathtubs for infants.
Performance Comparison
Because the Gentle Warmth never gets the contents very hot, it helps protect the nutritional profile of milk keeping its temperature under 100 F degrees.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Health and Safety
Because the Gentle Warmth never gets milk very warm, there is a better chance you won't be risking nutritional degradation or scalding. This warmer has enough features to prevent overheating and protects little mouths and the user from possible burns when used according to the instructions.
This warmer takes close to 10 minutes to heat the milk to 98F degrees. A potential breakdown of nutritional value in milk has been shown in studies at about 104F degrees, which the Gentle Warmth didn't reach until about 11 minutes. So, as long as you don't forget it, the likelihood of injury or nutritional impact is lower.
We ran multiple warming tests on the Gentle Warmth, monitoring the temperature of the contents for consistency.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Warming Efficiency and Consistency
The Gentle Warmth earned one of the higher scores for consistency. These tests include monitoring warming milk using the manufacturer's suggested settings.
In our tests, the Gentle Warmth had an average temperature of about 83 F degrees at auto-shutoff, with a range of 78-89F degrees. At 12 minutes, the range closes somewhat to 83-93F degrees.
We monitored how quickly the Gentle Warmth could raise content temperature to preferable drinking levels.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Quickness of Warming
This is not the quickest warmer in the group, with a lower-than-average score in this metric. Because of this, it can take some finagling to find the right settings to heat the bottle adequately.
This unit shut off at 10 minutes, but it never reached the minimum temperature of 98 F degrees we had been looking for. Even at 12 minutes of warming time, it was still only 88 degrees F. While most little ones won't refuse a meal at this temperature, some babies might, and closer to body temperature is preferred by most babies. On the upside, you likely won't be overheating your milk in this warmer.
The settings on the Gentle Warmth largely rely on the starting temperature of the bottle and the amount of liquid in the bottle.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
The Gentle Warmth is easy to use with simple instructions, intuitive design, and auto-shutoff. While it didn't score as high as some competitors, it did manage an above-average result.
The instructions are simple but not well laid out. Settings are based on the starting temperature of the milk (cold/frozen) and the amount of milk being heated. Water filling is up to the line of the bottle contents, making it straightforward to fill the chamber. The buttons are easy to press with one hand, and we think many parents will be able to sort the settings without the manual.
The Gentle Warmth is one of the easier options to clean.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Cleaning
The Gentle Warmth is one of the easiest options in the review to clean. While you cannot submerge the unit, you can clean it with soap and water, rinse it, then dry it. It also has a cover to keep out dust and other grime when not in use.
This warmer has a sterilizer feature that allows it to descale. It includes filling with a 3 to 1 ratio of vinegar to water and running the cycle. You can continue to let it sit if descaling needs more time.
This is better than those that require sitting overnight, and there is less downtime before you can use the warmer again. The heating element has a cover on it, making it hard to clean, so be very careful not to let anything but water or vinegar contact it.
The Gentle Warmth parts are all large enough to wipe clean without special tools like a bottle brush.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Should You Buy the First Year's Gentle Warmth Digital?
The Gentle Warmth is a potential contender if your goal is fairly consistent heating with an easy-to-use design. This higher-ranking option is one we loved during testing for its ease of use, cleaning, and better results for health and safety. This warmer managed better than average consistency as well, making it a warmer that is tough to beat. If you want a high-ranking option that is also reasonably priced, the Gentle Warmth is hard to beat.
What Other Bottle Warmer Should You Consider?
If you want high-ranking and faster warming, then the Baby Brezza Safe and Smart is one to consider. This tech-driven option heats quicker and more consistently, but it will cost you more to purchase. The Chicco Digital Bottle Warmer & Sterilizer scored similarly to the First Years, but if you love Chicco products and want something somewhat easier to use, then it might be worth the added cost.
Manufacturer Video
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Juliet Spurrier, MD and Wendy Schmitz
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