Heated clothing
 

A mate of mine would like to know what would be the best heated clothing
for a winter UK rider,

What have you bought and how do you rate it,,

Many thanks

CTB

I must admit the safeandwarm gear from safeandwarm.eu is excellent, the jacket is light comfortable warms the arms as well as the body and neck, it is controlled by a pulse device that only uses half the power usually drawn I have used mine in extreme cold conditions and its a worthy contender for your list. The dealer in sweden at safeandwarm.eu is beyond reproach when it comes to customer care the gear is not the cheapest but as usual you get what you pay for. best to check out the website.

Unless there is another company I don't know about, I think the company mentioned is Warm & Safe ... not safe and warm. Big American company First Gear now market/distribute Warm & Safe.

Heated Liner

The owner of W&S was a sponsor here on the HU for a long time. He may still be, not sure. But now, as I said, his products are sold by First Gear and possibly other companies. These products are made in Pakistan and are well made.

I tested (and still have) an early version of the W&S product a few years ago. Good stuff but the early one draws a lot of current. 95 watts. A new version is now available and draws only 65 watts. I have not tested the 65 watt model.

You should also look at the US made Gerbing products, now sold in the UK. I have a Gerbing also. It is a bit warmer than my 95 watt Warm & Safe and only draws 74 watts. The Warm & Safe is a nicer jacket but just a bit bulky. Nicer collar, looks better too.

The Gerbing is just a thin nylon windbreaker with wires sewn in.

Both really need the patented Heat Troller, made by the owner of Warm & Safe. Gerbing sell a Chinese copy of the Heat Troller. Early ones failed a lot,
no idea about newer ones.

Patrick :scooter:

I recently bought a heating kit that you sew into your own liner from a company
Heat4Jackets.com - Heated Jacket Kits for Motorbikes
I have read a couple of reviews on this kit and all good.
The problem for me is sewing the wire into the jacket, one review I read the guy took 3 hours to sew his liner for me it took about 2 hours then I realised I had done it wrong so still not done.
If you can sew or get some one else to do it should be ok.
One review I read was in the riders digest magazine they have a site The Riders Digest
maybe you can find the review if not its in issue 134 December08 the mag is free from some bike places or subscrition for not alot of money

Mollydog ta for putting me right it is warm and safe - just my heads upside down as Im a bit poorly at the moment got a fever - couldnt think straight or the right way round anyway the guy from sweden who is the eu agent is very good and the gear is great with the heat troller (couldnt remember that name either) the medications must be kicking in at the moment. cheers.

Thanku Lads
 

You have given Clayhead, (my mate) a starting point,,with some valuable advise,:thumbup1:

This sounds good if the price is right and the Kit performs well. I'd be interested in a back to back comparison test between the above Kit and the Gerbing and Warm & Safe.

Gerbing have been making heated gear for 20 years or so .... and from talking to the owner of Warm & Safe several times I know he went through many Beta tester generations until he got a good result from his jacket. There is something to this electric jacket thing.

In the US riders have been using electric clothing for over 25 yeas. I've had my Gerbing for 12 years and had an Eclipse vest before that (Bad) and a BMW Vest before that (Bad Also!). The Gerbing is the first one to actually work as advertised. The Warm & Safe is just as good or better but your bike needs a lot of AC output to handle it.

If the heated jacket Kit guys know what their up to, could be a good solution to sew in your self. My impression is UK riders don't know much about and don't have much experience with heat jackets or heated clothing in general. I was shocked in 2001 when I was visiting/traveling in the UK .... and it was FREEZING ... and no one had heated gear! (except me .... I never travel without my Gerbing)

I lent a friend my Gerbing to try, he was instantly Gob smacked, went straight out and bought one. This guy was doing daily a commute through most of Winter.

So ... Try before you buy. :funmeteryes:

Patrick :scooter:

I made a jacket to use the kit. It's very simple if you have access to a sewing machine, just a waist coat of suit lining material with channels made by sewing on external "pockets" but not sewing along the bottom. The wires S up and down the channels, so they "float" rather than have tension in them and could be removed for fault finding. It's been working for three years now, so a real bargain.

Andy

Tourmaster synergy electric jacket
 

had a homemade e-vest for several years...carbon fiber elements ... loved it

last year I bought a Tourmaster synergy electric jacket

excellent!!

it's like a lightly insulated nylon jacket (suitable to wear off bike), the outer layer is a very slick nylon, so it slides right under a Kilimanjaro.

delivers 76 watts (I posted actual current draws on advrider ...
ADVrider - View Single Post - Tourmaster synergy controller question )

best thing is that it comes with its own 3 level pulse controller ... no extra $75 for a controller!!!!

having heated sleeves is soooooooo nice after the vest.

paid about $155 USD last year

worth checking into

I wonder if Warm & Safe are also providing electric jackets for Tourmaster as well as First Gear? They look similar.

Anyone know?


Patrick :scooter:

hi andy just wondering what the wire in the heated4jacket is made of?i made a similer thing from the heating wire out of a heated carseat cover but the wire was so fine it broke every time i used it.wasn't flexable an so fine,like a piece of hair....worked a treat when it di work tho:thumbup1:

Either that or others have ripped of his designs again... like they did the Heat Troller.

Who said Gerbing?!:innocent:

John

I had the Gerbing jacket (not the liner) back in 2006...I returned it in a month--QC issues with buttons popping off.

I bought an Aerostich Darien with the Kanetsu Windbloc heated liner. Great piece of kit and the warmest I've owned. Very bulky. Sold that...

Ended up with the Warm-n-Safe liner-much thinner, the elements get plenty warm. It's the perfect fit. Price was reasonable, about 200. I put a fleece over it, perfect all winter in New Jersey, ridden in temps in the single digits. I'm sure the Darien as the outer layer contributes...but the W-n-S liner is the ticket to keeping your core temp up...IMO.

Best of luck with the purchase.

I use an EX02 Heatwave. As the blood all flows through the kidneys, I figured it was an efficient way to keep the major organs warm. It only draws 0.6 Amps. Around £50 GBP


HEATWAVE Heated Back Support

For using with portable battery pack select EXO² Power Pack and Charger below. If seeking to ease lower back muscle strains, whether at home, on the motorcycle or when you want to chase the chills on an outdoor walk, this is an unbeatable combination product. Heated Lower Back Support/Kidney Belt with elasticated nylon sections, hook & loop (Velcro) closure, battery pocket with DC plug connector, heated panel at the lower back and pull-forward support handles for a tighter fit.
Power Packs must be ordered separately if required - see below
Power Requirement - Back Support draws approx. 0.6Amps

Mike

Exo2
 

Yes I've got an exo2 vest and the quality and finish plus the performance are all very impressive. The company are a pleasure to deal with too. Linzi.