Opinions on heated Clothing?!?

[samkjr]

Hey everyone. I am looking to extend my riding season. It is never really colder than 20 F here in the morning on my way to work, but would most likely be in mid 30's and low 40's I'm talking about riding in. only about a 20 minute ride with speeds up to 60 mph.

I am thinking about getting a full electric getup. Just not the pants. I have found a jocket gloves and helmet all for right at $600.

Do you guys think these products are worth the money? Talking about effectiveness and durability.

[dogdoc]

sam its only worth it if YOU are willing to pay the money. i dont have any so cant give any comments. I do ride down to 32 here but not long rides. Good Luck.

[schoeney]

Heated helmet? Does that make you a hothead?

Sorry, can't help with info. I don't have any heated clothing.

[ringadingh]

I don't use heated clothing either. For a 20 minute trip is seems rather pricey in my mind. I ride as far into the season as I can, and I just wear a polar fleece top or sweatshirt over my normal shirt, with a good jacket I have no problems. A big thing is to seal out drafts, I wear a polar fleece head thingy that covers all they way down my neck, added with a full face helmet I don't even notice the cold. good gloves are important as hands are the first to get cold. I like the long ones with a gauntlet that covers the cuff.

[mako]

I have Gerbing G3 Gloves and last year bought their jacket. I ride year round and when the daily highs dip down into the 30, 40 and low 50's they are great. The biggest change is keeping my finger tips from going numb and on long cold days in the saddle the jacket keeps my core warm and that really helps.

[cactusjack]

I don't use or even have a need for heated clothing. If you can justify the expense, then go for it. The coldest it gets here in the Phoenix area is maybe mid-upper 30's at night for a couple of weeks. We might have one or two nights a year when we get frost.

On the coldest days, I wear leather chaps, a leather jacket with a liner and maybe a sweater or sweatshirt underneath and a "shellaclava" (a warm, close fitting hood that leaves all but my eyes, nose and mouth exposed) under my helmet and a good pair of insulated gloves and I'm toasty warm.

I will ride any day there isn't ice on the road, which doesn't usually happen here.

[dank]

I ride down to 32. I have ridden 700+ mile days with the temperature between 32 and 36. I just use layers of clothing and firstgear Kilimanjaro wind/waterproof jacket and pants with wool socks and winter weight gloves (tour master). Below 35-36 degrees I use chemical heat packs in the gloves for all-day rides. The one thing I note is that unless you have a heat source, then no matter what you do with layers you lose some heat and over time on an all day ride you must stop to warm your core temperature up. Electric clothes would eliminate that issue. But I find I'm ok if I stop for breakfast and lunch and drink a quick cup of coffee and take a minute in a warm room each time the Nomad needs gas.

[zoom45]

I wear in layers a t-shirt, wool sweater, big sweatshirt, fleece neck warmer leather chaps and my rubberized rain suit on real cold days. The rain suit blocks all the wind and the rest just keeps my body warm. I rode 300 miles this way when it was 32 and raining and never got cold except my hands, feet and face. Roads were slick though.
Zoom45

[landman]

don't ever make the ride to alaska and back without at least the
heated vest.if you can keep the body core warm that is half the
battle.also heated gloves can be helpfull but i doubt if you need
the full outfit at the temps you are talking about.

[coldfingers]

I have a heated vest with the collar, really like it and it has lasted a long time. Some of my riding companions have the vest without the collar and they aren't as warm. Can't help with the other items. I don't think you will wear them out though, the stuff seems pretty durable.

[texasfisherdude]

When they make some that have AC I'll have to check them out. :)

[rewindgy]

Well us Kanucks like the Heated Vests! I usually put the KLR away when it gets down to -10C. By then there is usually too much snow on the ground anyways. If the roads are clear however it's gotta be ridin time! I only have the vest but have considered the gloves. Now that Ima getting older I may get a inner jacket that is heated up to the neck and sleeves. My Kilimanjaro works really well but when the wind is blowing hard it does chill a bit. I came back thru Butte Sept 1rst and it was 31 F with rain / snow blowing sideways and with the vest on and the First Gear jacket and pants I almost got too hot on the Nomad.

[chainsaw]

samkjr, check out my for sale on that site. I have brand new, never used heated gloves on sale.
free shipping.

[ringadingh]

I forgot to mention probably the most important peice of clothing in my previous post, Snowmobile pants. They work wonders for keeping you warm, I have the ones with the over the shoulder straps and a bib that covers my back and chest. Ive been wearing them here for a couple weeks now when I ride home in the evenings. Last night it was 36 and there was a very heavy frost, yet I was as warm as sitting in the house. If you dress as if your going snowmobiling you should be able to stay out for quite a while, like I mentioned earlier, seal out any cold air leaks around your neck, cuffs, waist and ankles and its not bad at all in the colder weather.

[mercianbike]

You are not too far from me up here in Front Royal, so our riding conditions are about the same. I recommend that you determine what part of your body is the coldest with normal winter clothing, buy electric for that, and then work on the next problem. In my case, I simply could not keep my fingers warm with winter gloves, liners, etc., mostly because they are sitting out there catching all the wind. So I bought a pair of Weller electric gloves and they are great. I found it best to plug them in for about five minutes before I leave and they get nice and warm and pretty much stay that way. The next thing I bought was the Airlite Engine Guard Chaps (http://www.airlite.ca). These helped keep my feet comfortable and took no drain off the battery. I also wear a full face helmet in cold weather and that helps. The rest of me I can keep warm with long johns, etc. If you go ahead and buy everything you mention, I recommend that you hook up a LED Voltmeter to be sure you are not sucking too much juice out of the battery. It's a cheap investment at $32.95.
(http://www.easternperformance.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=422)

[VulcanE]

I wear a First Gear Thermo 1-Piece Suit. It's not electric but it keeps me warm. The coldest I've ridden any length in was 27 degrees, and all I had on underneath was a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Of course I had a full face helmet, boots and gloves on. About the only thing I might look for this winter is a pair of "letric gloves" and a set of crash-bar chaps.
Here's a link to the suit...

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/detail.cfm?model_ID=102&Category_ID=8&manufacturer_ID=61&product_ID=17396

[spirello]

I like to ride all year so I bought full heated gear coat gloves pants and socks check out this website. i paid about $500.00 for the whole set but then I ened up buying a themastat form the harley shop for about $100.00 totaly worth every dime I spent I have ridden when it was 18 deg out and was warm as a bug. and all there gear is garentied for life well the heating elements anyways. had it for about two years tha elements in the coat went out called them thinking yeah right they wont fix it. boy was i wrong had a brnd new replacement coat in about two days.

http://cozywinters.com/heated-clothing/

[michiganmike]

I have the Airvantage electric vest with sleeves. I like it because when it is in the 40's and 50's I do not have to get too bundled up to go on longer rides. And it allows me to ride to work down to about 30 degrees, because I am only 12 minutes away.