Testing Three Heated Gloves for Motorcycle Touring

[@ttrguy9952]

Great video Sir! I have the "Highway 21" heated gloves and have been using them for the last 4 years. They are waterproof, warm and beautifully made. The batteries have their own nice pocket inside the cuffs and the cuffs are huge. I use them all winter at our Ski area when I am standing around for hours organizing lessons. I get a full 4 hour battery life on medium and keep 2 extra pairs with me. They are indestructible as I use them for putting up fencing, shoveling and chopping ice in the meeting area. Mine look brand new after 4 years of more use that they were never designed for. On my Tiger GT Explorer they are very warm on the low setting with my grips on the low setting. Ride SAFE and BE safe Sir!

[@jimweagant8920]

Interesting video thanks

[@saddle8bag]

I've never tried a self contained battery glove, but I have used lot of the kind that plug into jackets that plug into the bike's battery. And the kids they have designing them these days don't have the first cloo about making a glove for motorcycle riding. The worst thing most have done is make the gauntlet too small to fit over thicker jackets (think leather). And then for no apparent reason, they started putting 90° connectors on them. So while I used to be able to slide the wiring underneath the jacket of glove, now it hangs out in a big loop ready to get caught on handlebars, mirrors etc. It's interesting to me that you found the ski gloves most comfortable. They look way too think to me. I find on ploofy gloves dexterity gets lost. When it gets colder, I throw Hippohands on to break the wind and don't need so much insulation with the heating elements. The most recent pair I bought was from a company called California Heat IIRC. They did good with the gauntlet opening, but the heating elements have too little material between them and various part of my hand. Literally burned large blisters on me. I've since lined those with a little tape inside and wear a pair of Copperfit fingerless gloves underneath and that's stopped the blistering, but the extra fabric again cuts dexterity. At some point, one might as well wear heated mittens. Gerbings used to make the best stuff, now it's crap. I had to cut the gauntlets open just to fit them over my jackets. Their heating elements are much better than the competition though. My favorite pair ever was HD branded, but Gerbing made as I recall. Perfect, but the heating elements broke (open circuit) in only a yr or so. I might be willing to buy a new pair of those every year except their genius designers have flipped the sex of all the connectors so HD stuff only works with other HD stuff. Urrrgh! I bought a Gerbing coat last year that I really liked, but they make the damn things so unnecessarily complex that I sent it back. I use a simple switch to turn it off if it warms up enough outside. This silly jacket wouldn't operate w/o being plugged into some NASA control system. They didn't mention that, and as I didn't have (nor was I going to purchase) the NASA control, back it went. I understand engineers need something to do, but they could work on making their stuff last longer and quit making everything w/ infinite adjustability and internet accessibility. I want to stay warm, it shouldn't require rocket science. I kinda like this local battery power stuff for cleaning the driveway, but when I ride, I don't think they'd go the distance and I don't want to be stopping to swap batteries in the cold.

[@onanysundrymule3144]

Haha, very good, I agree, too many things need a goddammed NASA control link these days.

[@ezekielgskeen8607]

I don't know if you have come across the Snow Deer gloves for motorcycles, I got them on Amazon for £119 from £159 on offer, just a month ago, made really good and heat awesome.👍👍

[@clemc5457]

Thanks for another great video, Craig. Questions: 1. Do you think any of the gloves excel with regard to the gauntlet size. I, too, have a leather jacket and my First Gear gloves are difficult to put on although I love them in every other respect. My Scorpion jacket has the same issue when I use the liner. 2. Would you say the warmth is the same across the three gloves for any given setting, like medium? 3. Lastly, how easy is it to put on the 2nd glove? It’s pretty easy to put on my left hand First Gear glove with my bare right hand but much harder to put on the right hand glove with the left one in the glove. Note: the order doesn’t matter. Do any of these three excel here?

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

The iHood has the biggest gauntlet, but they are also the larger glove and while comfortable you may not find using your phone or GPS. The Savior Heat probably is the send best for gauntlet size and fits more like a mc glove. Warmth is about the same the Ororo Heat the best. But all work well at medium heat. You don't really feel the heat (they don't feel hot) but your hands will stay comfortable. I didn't have any issues putting on the second glove. The iHood is bigger glove so your dexterity might be limited.

[@clemc5457]

@@LivingOffTheSlab Cool. Thanks for your quick reply. It’s finally getting cooler (low 40s) here in Arizona and I am thinking about new gloves for when I go north to the higher elevation.

[@RedRideRVT1R]

what about the HotWired set?

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

Happy to review them if they want to send me some. I have Gerbing I will review in the future.

[@MOVIEKICKS]

Thanks for the review; however why didn't you guys test the gloves w/ the heaters on when you were riding? Seems like the heater on while riding is a primary feature that ought to be reviewed in a glove review.

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

Of course we tested them while riding.

[@MOVIEKICKS]

@@LivingOffTheSlab I watched your whole review and you did not mention it. Please let me know your ratings w/ the heaters on while riding.

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

Everything is based on using the gloves while riding.

[@MOVIEKICKS]

@@LivingOffTheSlabYour review said you tested the gloves with the heaters off when riding. You did not say which ones are the warmest w/ the heaters on. Please let me know your ratings when the heaters are on while riding.

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

@@MOVIEKICKS They all did a good job keeping our hands warm, there was no real difference and they worked just as well as the plug in gloves.

[@clvrswine]

I find the bulk of these gloves to cause me to have less feel for the controls. My braking time and ability to use the clutch are diminished. I have to concentrate more on surface streets with traffic and lights / stop signs. I feel a little less confident / safe.

[@jamesonpace726]

Do ya really need heated gloves & heated grips? That statement about yer grips was a surprise....

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

That's what the Joe and Gordon thought but after wearing the gloves and then not, they realized how cold the tops of their hands were getting with just the the grips. Of course it was 37f.

[@painsrides]

I prefer "plug-in" heated gear for riding, 3hours of power just isn't enough.

[@LivingOffTheSlab]

Yeah you would need an extra set or two of batteries. But it is much easier than dealing with the wiring and plugging in every time you stop. Pros and cons...

[@jimperry4420]

I have a pair similar to the second pair. They change year to year. Anyhow, I’ve used them maybe ten times in two years and they quit charging. The charge light just flashes. Chinese junk pretty much. Save your money.