Our guide to heated gear
It’s no good, we have to admit to ourselves that summer 2019 is gone and we are well and truly into the autumn. Heated kit it is then…
Big squeeze
Tight-fitting heated kit is vital, otherwise your precious heat will slip through the gap between body and
heating filament. To get the best fit I recommend going down a size in jackets and even two sizes in vests. Keis
kit is comparable in size to Dainese, so if you wear a size-48 Dainese jacket, try on a size-46 Keis jacket
and a size-44 vest. If the size you’ve ordered is too small, we offer year-round returns for items that
still have the original tags and packaging, and haven’t been worn on the bike. So it’s all pretty
straightforward.
Getting wired up
For best results connect heated kit to your bike’s battery. Undo the two battery terminal screws, then screw back in
through the eyelets in the cable provided, leaving everything else as it is. When the engine’s running, you’ll be able to
Simple Connections
Avoid cable complicatedness by buying heated kit from the same manufacturer. Then, instead of running a cable from your glove to the battery, you can connect the glove to cable ends hidden in the sleeve of your heated jacket. The same can be done with heated trousers, and boots. This means you can stop the bike, unplug a single cable and walk away. There are five connections in the £200 Keis J501 jacket: gloves, battery, trousers, and heat controller.
Chargers and batteries
If connecting to the bike’s battery all sounds a bit too difficult, get a separate powerbank. Storage capacity is measured in mAh (milliamp hours), and you can buy powerbanks with various capacities. For reference, a typicalsmartphone battery is 3000mAh. You’ll typically see 2600mAh for gloves or heated insoles, and 5200mAh for big kit – jackets and trousers. Expect two to three hours heating on medium setting for both batteries. Just don’t use the 2600mAh to power your jacket. Some kit, like the Halvarssons neck warmer, is designed to be powered by a common or garden powerbank. USB cable included.
Warm fingers
Heated gloves beat heated grips in any contest. That’s because grips don’t warm your fingers like heated gloves. A heating filament winds round each finger, creating all-over warmth and helping preserve feel and reaction times on cold, windy nights. I’d choose all-in-one gloves over heated inner gloves: double-layering inner and outers will always create bulk and reduce feel. Inners will also stretch out summer-gloves so they won’t fit properly without the inner inside them. Stick to your normal size when ordering all-in-one gloves.
So Four ways to keep warm this winter
Keis B501W men’s/women’s body warmer £150 https://www.bikestop.co.uk/keis-b501w-premium-heated-ladies-bodywarmer
Slightly wider at the hips and slimmer mid-body than Keis’ other products. But unisex black-red colour and a tall heated collar make this body warmer appealing to all riders. The men’s version V501 is £10 cheaper, but doesn’t feature a collar. You’ll need the optional £30 heat controller to adjust temperature, so factor that into the purchase.
Halvarssons Powerbank Collar £49 https://bikestop.co.uk/halvarssons-powerbank-collar
Compared with other heated things this is good value. To keep the price down, this collar uses any normal powerbank with a USB connector to power its heating elements via USB to micro-USB cable. Not included, but the idea is you’ve already got one lying around. A £10 5000mAh powerbank should last two hours on a single charge, a £6 2600mAh should do an hour.
Keis 5200mAh battery pack £82 https://www.bikestop.co.uk/keis-additional-battery-pack-5200mah-no-charger
This is a big lump of heating goodness, but it’s so cumbersome Keis have included a bum bag in the box to help carry the thing. Not that you’ll mind two hours into a ride when the battery is still
going strong. Expect a maximum three hours heating on medium settings. The smaller 2600mAh battery pack is for gloves/insoles. It costs £66.
Paragon Thermotech heated waterproof glove £190 https://www.bikestop.co.uk/rst-paragon-heated-ce-waterproof-leather-gloves
The Paragon Thermotech heated waterproof glove is CE certified and made from premium grade cowhide and Maxtex construction. The glove has double stitched seams and heavy duty bonded nylon thread to ensure durability. There is a visor wiper on both left and right hands and benefits from a digital touch screen index finger. With three levels of warmth and up to four hours of heat the Thermotech’s heated glove is a great winter option. The glove comes with a 7.4 Lithium Polymer battery and universal charger.