Heated Clothing - Report on EXO2 Waistcoat

[triumph5ta]

Hi I went down to Devon on Saturday and came back yesterday. Over 400 miles in all. On Friday I thought "this will be a bit cold" and was in the local branch of Infinity looking at textile jackets when I saw these:
http://www.exo2.co.uk/exo2motorcycle.html

to cut a long story short its brilliant, I wish I had used one years ago, it turned a long cold November run into a warm summers day pleasure trip. Cruising at 80- 90 I was warm, when slowed down you can really feel the heat but it never became uncomfortable. You know when its a spring day and you suddenly feel the sun on your back and think oooh thats nice, well its like that but all the time...
Easy to fit.
I wore two thin wool long sleeved tops, the heated waistcoat and my leather jacket over the top, that was it. Also had leather jeans and thermal long johns, boots, gloves etc.
There is a controller thing you can buy but I did not, when I got back to London and in traffic I just unplugged it when it got a bit warm.
Its was £170 which I thought a bit dear but even if I had spent £1000 on the best quality riding kit it would not have kept me as warm as this.
Highly recommended. Get one.

[Steve]

I haven't read all of the bumph on their web page but does do you connect it straight onto the battery? Sounds great btw. I can't wait to use my bike as I've fitted Oxford hot grips.

[hhhjesus]

as im always out in the cold on my bike id appreciate feedback on how it holds up after a lot of use, it is expensive, but is the quality of it good? robust? keep us updated on how it holds out.

[hhhjesus]

Originally Posted by Steve

I can't wait to use my bike as I've fitted Oxford hot grips.

when u have been out in the freezing weather let me know how those grips faired steve, round the m40,m25 at 1130pm on saturday i had pretty much lost all feeling in my fingers

[Steve]

Yeah, I read ur post mate. You should've stayed over at Stratford or was there no room at the inn?

[triumph5ta]

Thing about using this is that your hands and feet stay warmer because your body "core" stays warm so your body does not automatically reduce the circulation to your hands and feet. I say "warmer" my hands and feet were a bit cold after 2 hours but nothing like as bad as they would have been without the heated waistcoat.

It connects as follows:
Included with the waistcoat is a seperate short wiring loom with two tags at one end, a socket at the other end and a fuse in the middle.
You uncover your battery and attach the tags to your battery using the battery terminal screws. You then arrange the wiring loom under the seat as neatly as you can and leave the socket hanging out somewhere convenient, mine pops out just above the r/h side panel (GT1000). I used a cable tie to keep mine in place.
When you want to use the waistcoat you simply plug it in to the socket using the lead that comes out of the r/h pocket. Theres about 18" of it.
When riding the bike without the waistcoat I can tuck the socket out of sight behind the side panel.
In other words the wiring loom bit is permanently attached to the bike.
Obviously you have to remember to "unplug" yourself when you get off the bike. If you did not the plug and the socket would pull apart quite easily
preventing damage.

Fitting the loom took about 20 minutes max including uncovering the battery, fitting the loom and putting everything back in place..

The item seems well made, it uses panels of some space age fabric for the heating elements not wires as other makes do. This would appear to make it less likely to fail but I will keep you informed.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by triumph5ta

The item seems well made, it uses panels of some space age fabric for the heating elements not wires as other makes do. This would appear to make it less likely to fail but I will keep you informed.

Thats the bit I did notice on the site you gave the link to.

[Mini Mo]

Originally Posted by hhhjesus

when u have been out in the freezing weather let me know how those grips faired steve, round the m40,m25 at 1130pm on saturday i had pretty much lost all feeling in my fingers

Mate, put it this way, I wear summer gloves whether it's mid summer or snowing. The tips of your fingers can get a little cold, but all you have to do is curl them round a little more onto the grips are you're toasty again.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Mini Mo

Mate, put it this way, I wear summer gloves whether it's mid summer or snowing. The tips of your fingers can get a little cold, but all you have to do is curl them round a little more onto the grips are you're toasty again.

Great

[gmangtr]

I have some exo2 heated gloves which are of excellent quality and keep my hands nice and warm including the tips

Gareth

[stevel]

Don't ride so much in bad weather these days, but always used to. the idea of being out in the cold while glowing warm sounds very, very nice. My only concern would be the extra load on the electrical system, that has to come from the alternator one way or another, and could overload it I wonder?. Second opinion from someone who knows Duc electrics might be wise.....do you know the wattage of the items?
Edit! checked the link....looks about 50watts for the jacket, not a lot

[drduke]

I have used one on my BMW for some 25,000 miles, of motorway tedium. Totally transforms the experience. On the 1098 I use it with the small battery, rather than the "mains." This gives you some 3-4 hours of warmth in the lower back area, which again makes those winter rides in your leathers possible . Build quality is superb.

[JerryXt]

Guys. I posted this over on another site and thought it might be relevant here too. Apologies if you've seen the post on another channel

I've been participating in a thread on heated gloves over at ukmoc. One of the members found some new gloves that use the elements from Zanier, the ski glove people. Yesterday, I got the first pair sold and posted this today.



The gloves were very well packed in a Zanier branded box, which contained the gloves, batteries packed in bubble wrap, a charger with international plugs and an instruction booklet.

The gloves are very well made. The leather is soft and supple as you'd expect from a premium product. The lining is man made and again, very soft. The sizing seems generous, there's lots of room inside.

Suprisingly, there's no hard armour, just a very thick ribbed pad over the knuckles, extending to cover the back of the hand. So I punched a wall - no problems. They remind me of some winter gloves I bought a few years ago - the only gloves I've crashed in so far. They looked after my hands properly at 60mph+ and these are much higher quality.

Nice features include the rubberised sections on the palm and a neat rubber blade on the left-hand thumb for clearing the visor.

There appeared to be no charge in the batteries, so I left them charging. When the LED on the charger flashes, they are ready for use. If, like me, you've damaged expensive batteries by overcharging, you'll be glad to know that the microprocessor in the charger cuts off to protect the batteries and it regularly checks the batteries to keep them topped up.

The battery is not heavy and slips into the pocket on the cuff. The switch is large enough to operate on the move and there are 4 settings - 0 to 3. A flat cable plugs securely into the battery and you're ready to go. I put the gloves onto setting 3, which the manual says can burn if you leave it on that setting too long. There's a big Health and Safety warning in the manual for people with impaired heat sensitivity. I didn't burn, but my fingers were nicely warm.

So, on the bike. This morning, the bike was covered in frost - chilly, about 2 degrees in town, less in the sticks. I left the gloves on setting 2 to warm up while I started the bike up an when I put them on, they were properly warm. My current commute is 20 minutes through town, then 40 minutes on motorway and fast A roads. On the town part of the journey, the gloves were actively warm. Normally I'm not cold at this point, but generally, as speed and time on the bike increase, so does the discomfort. Once I was on the motorway, my fingers felt less like they were being heated and more like they would in the summer in race gloves. After maybe 20 minutes of fast motorway, the tips of my fingers began to feel slightly cold (this is where I would normally be experiencing numbness), so I opened my grip to move the fingers closer to the heating elements. Immediate relief and normal service was resumed.

There's a bit of the ride that takes me through a 'cold pocket' where cold just seems to stay. Even there, the gloves kept my hands at a normal temperature. My toes were freezing tho.

So, the whole package - gloves, batteries, charger - is excellent quality with great detailing that you probably won't notice because the job is being done so well.

Highly recommended.

Gloves in the box:


Batteries, charger and international plug.


Batteries connected (you shouldn't charge the batteries when they're in the glove!).


Battery installed.


Palm showing the rubberised grip.


Side showing the battery installed.


Padding on the back of the hand and fingers.


Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

[hhhjesus]

Originally Posted by JerryXt

One of the members found some new gloves that use the elements from Zanier, the ski glove people. Yesterday, I got the first pair sold and posted this today.

How much were they?

[JerryXt]

sorry hhj - I just popped out. £170. More than wired ones, but without the hassle of the wires. IMHO, better for it too.