Cold weather riders - heated gear?

[FinRider]

This is a question for the cold weather riders:

Do you use any ”self heated” gear?

I started my EUC career last spring and my pain threshold is 5 degrees celsius (about 40ish F). I miss my daily riding tremendously and I am considering adding a studded tire to my old KS16C... just so I can ride again.

on Aliexpress they have an abundance of heated insoles, socks, vests, gloves, etc.  I wonder if I could decrease my ”pain threshold” if I used something like this?

[WebDev]

I don't and I ride in sub-zero temps at times.  To keep myself warm I wear long-johns with merino wool (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006SRTD52) and a snowmobile jacket with insulation (Fly Racing SNX Pro).  Each work exceptionally well at keeping me warm.

[johnyz89]

Merino underwear ( can be bicycle one) + fleece, Motorcycle jacket and pants (with removable thermal linter for very cold temperatures) good baclava, super thin windproof cap under helmet. I was riding in such a gear without mc pants down to -6 deg. Motorcycle helmet with visor would be better. Remember that everything has to be windproof. Ahh and warm leather gloves with wrist protection.

[D3m0nzz]

Almost all of us in the Boston crew are wearing a heated Ororo jacket of some kind. 

[mike_bike_kite]

I use a Keis heated waistcoat that's probably very similar. One thing to note is that you need a fairly tight fit otherwise the heat from the elements gets wasted. Also, it's not a great idea to wear a jumper underneath these types of jackets (as featured in the advertisements as the jumper tends to insulate you from the heat element. I use  mine on my motorbikes and they worked well in the rain etc. 

[FreezingAussie]

As someone dealing with a Finnish winter for the first time, I can say that merino thermals as @johnyz89 suggested work great for around 0 degrees at least. My full setup is wool thermals (top and bottom), a wool sweater, some cheap insulated pants I got second hand, and a rain jacket over top to block the wind. And then I have some snowboarding gloves with built in wrist guards, though the guards feel worryingly thin. I'm always toasty on my 10k ride to the shops at least, we'll see how I go as the winter continues!

[Patrick Robert]

Just went out today for the first time since Monday. It's been -17C all week unfortunately, so no go for the batteries. Great ride, sunny day, many people out in Montréal. Relatively chilly at -9C but no wind. The roads were clear, there was barely any snow or ice at all.

I gear up like I'm going skiing: boots and isolated pants over my jeans, and a balaclava under my motorcycle helmet which protects my neck. Bought battery-heated soles to put in my boots, and a pair of mitts that fit over my wrist-guards, they're perfect! Found them cheap: 15 $US at Canadian Tire (a staple of Canadian culture, LOL - it's like our local Walmart since even before Walmart existed).

Not once did I get cold, not even a little bit.

[GothamMike]

3 hours ago, Patrick Robert said:

Just went out today for the first time since Monday. It's been -17C all week unfortunately, so no go for the batteries. Great ride, sunny day, many people out in Montréal. Relatively chilly at -9C but no wind. The roads were clear, there was barely any snow or ice at all.

I gear up like I'm going skiing: boots and isolated pants over my jeans, and a balaclava under my motorcycle helmet which protects my neck. Bought battery-heated soles to put in my boots, and a pair of mitts that fit over my wrist-guards, they're perfect! Found them cheap: 15 $US at Canadian Tire (a staple of Canadian culture, LOL - it's like our local Walmart since even before Walmart existed).

Not once did I get cold, not even a little bit.

I may have to try mittens. I cannot get my hands into ski gloves with triple 8 wrist guards.

[Tawpie]

2 hours ago, GothamMike said:

I may have to try mittens.

I got some convertible mittens marketed for ice fishing—figured if they're supposed to be good for sitting around a hole in a lake they must have something going for them. The convertible part means the finger section will fold back so your bare fingers can operate your touchscreen device (or hankie/vape in my case). The thumb folds back too, but that isn't really necessary. They fit inside the free eWheels wrist guards, not so much into the flexmeters (sized and purchased by an ignorant newbie during the fall not realizing that fingers crave road rash protection too). They're not totally warm, but for me anyway they're much better than gloves at -4C.

[Rawnei]

Warm motorcycle jacket (winter model), warm motorcycle pants, ski gloves made for cold weather, motorcycle helmet with visor and if needed ad some warm undergarment made for skiiing/hiking, with this getup I struggle with it becoming too hot sometimes.

[jammen]

Was an almost year round motorcycle rider back in New England. I've used many types of heated gear and swear by it even after moving to Cali! (I've gone soft, haha)

Currently using a Blanc Flare https://www.blancgear.com/products/the-flare-heated-shirt

Did their kickstarter a while back and it turned out to be one of the good ones. USB battery bank powered that can run from any USB source. Haven't tried to run it directly from a EUC yet, but a USB extension and a 100w battery bank in a pack will last a loooonnggg time.

[Bumblebees]

The Blanc Flare is a good idea for cold temperatures.  Is there a Blanc leggings with similar features available?

Edited December 21, 2020 by Bumblebees

[Surfling]

17 hours ago, jammen said:

Currently using a Blanc Flare https://www.blancgear.com/products/the-flare-heated-shirt

Thanks for posting this!! 

[EUCRexy]

I just started riding in the cold (only have had my wheel for about 3 weeks or so) and gear up like I'm on my motorcycle. Thermal riding jacket with Tourmaster 7.4V Heated vest liner, same brand for heated gloves and heated pant liners. Being a biker, and currently working in a motorcycle dealership as a gear guru, has lent itself to giving me a lot of options gear-wise. The battery powered heated stuff is quite nice, though a bit pricey (to be expected for the industry I suppose), and is nice to not be specific to just riding the bike, like some of the wired stuff is. 

That being said, I'm kind of in love with being able to ride my EUC in all temps comfortably. I just need to get a new wheel with some actual range, as my Ninebot One C+ is only good for about 10 miles it seems, less as the cold saps the power pretty quick. All-in-all though, heated gear all the way.

[Johnny Rocket 98908]

I have heated gloves and heated socks, though I use the gloves more, every time i ride below 40 F. I also have a winter HWK jacket and pants that are both armored.

[Tawpie]

3 hours ago, EUCRexy said:

currently working in a motorcycle dealership as a gear guru

we have a professional gear guru!!! hip hip hooray! Oy, you are gonna hafta answer a lot of questions now. Apologies in advance. 

[AtlasP]

Been meaning to check out some of the electric/heated gear, I'll have to check some of these out.

For non-electric/non-heated, I've found Uniqlo's Heattech series to be excellent. I have some heattech long johns (skip the regulars which are too thin but the 'extra warm' and particularly 'ultra warm' are wonderful) and socks, and have found them to work better than any other brands I've tried.

Edited December 22, 2020 by AtlasP

[Surfling]

14 hours ago, AtlasP said:

For non-electric/non-heated, I've found Uniqlo's Heattech series to be excellent

Another vote for Uniqlo Heattech wear ^^^. 

I got this (3m thinsulate) convertible mittens for under $20 and stitched loops under the finger covers to hold chemical warmers. Warm in the 30's. The chemical warmers worked up to 8 hours.  If used in less time, they can be re-used if stored in any air-tight containers. 

Currently waiting delivery of the BLANC heated shirt.

[EUCRexy]

18 hours ago, Tawpie said:

we have a professional gear guru!!! hip hip hooray! Oy, you are gonna hafta answer a lot of questions now. Apologies in advance. 

Lol, I am totally fine with that, as I've been doing it for a little over 20 years now. Communities like this are super fun for me, and if I can impart some of my knowledge and expertise, all the better. Motorcycle gear has been my thing for a long time now. We just became a dealer for some MTB/E-Bike gear as well, and it seems a lot of people here are using that as well. Got the scoop on a lot of 100% brand gear which I'll be buying myself specifically for use on my EUC. Anything that anyone wants to know, I'd be more than happy to help.

[jammen]

23 hours ago, Bumblebees said:

The Blanc Flare is a good idea for cold temperatures.  Is there a Blanc leggings with similar features available?

Not to the best of my knowledge, but then my legs tend to not get too cold. Especially if I keep my core heated and warm. The most I'll do on cold days is long John's or some klim padded leggings under outer pants.

21 hours ago, Surfling said:

Thanks for posting this!! 

No worries! I had been hunting for heated gear that was powered by non proprietary batteries for a loongg time. A decade ago I used to take my moto heated jacket and a spare motorcycle battery/charge and plop em at my desk at work for a heated chair. We've come a long way, 😄 

 

[AtlasP]

5 hours ago, Surfling said:

I got this (3m thinsulate) convertible mittens for under $20 and stitched loops under the finger covers to hold chemical warmers. Warm in the 30's. The chemical warmers worked up to 8 hours.  If used in less time, they can be re-used if stored in any air-tight containers. 

This approach makes a lot of sense to me. You can get a massive box of those things for super cheap, more than enough to get through an entire winter, and they last super long. Compare that to the electric gear which is super expensive and often only lasts a few hours.

I wonder if there are any companies making gear with thin internal pockets for this kind of usage? 

 

[EUCRexy]

3 hours ago, AtlasP said:

I wonder if there are any companies making gear with thin internal pockets for this kind of usage? 

Oddly enough...

https://www.amazon.com/Firm-Grip-Blizzard-Gloves-Warmer/dp/B00FQ585Y2

 

I've seen a few different brand, but this was the first to come up on a search.

[Surfling]

25 minutes ago, AtlasP said:

I wonder if there are any companies making gear with thin internal pockets for this kind of usage? 

Yup, I thought of stitching up strategically placed pockets inside a jacket for these - 

   https://www.amazon.com/WORLD-BIO-Warmers-Disposable-Adhesive-Backing/dp/B01N8QBSTX/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&aaxitk=UL1-ocRw5eAwUh-qHpjfsg&hsa_cr_id=3934790450101&pd_rd_r=5004b4bb-15a7-42c2-8103-bdc032bdb504&pd_rd_w=TGVdt&pd_rd_wg=QGeUl&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_td_asin_2_title&th=1

My only reservation is that, there's no way of controlling how warm they get and they can get pretty hot. We'll see how the heated shirt performs. It's got good reviews and currently on sale for $64 with free shipping. Reasonable deal.

[AtlasP]

1 hour ago, EUCRexy said:

I've seen a few different brand, but this was the first to come up on a search.

The issue with gloves is also needing appropriate wrist protection & abrasion resistance on top of any additional features like this, so I don't have my hopes high for that one. But perhaps an undershirt/vest would be doable. And they already make those chemical heating packs especially for putting in your shoes/boots instead of needing special socks or anything like that.

 

1 hour ago, Surfling said:

Yup, I thought of stitching up strategically placed pockets inside a jacket for these - 

   https://www.amazon.com/WORLD-BIO-Warmers-Disposable-Adhesive-Backing/dp/B01N8QBSTX/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&aaxitk=UL1-ocRw5eAwUh-qHpjfsg&hsa_cr_id=3934790450101&pd_rd_r=5004b4bb-15a7-42c2-8103-bdc032bdb504&pd_rd_w=TGVdt&pd_rd_wg=QGeUl&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_td_asin_2_title&th=1

My only reservation is that, there's no way of controlling how warm they get and they can get pretty hot. We'll see how the heated shirt performs. It's got good reviews and currently on sale for $64 with free shipping. Reasonable deal.

If too warm it's just a matter of finding an appropriate thickness pouch/sock/whatever to put it in to control the temperature to your preference.

[Rick]

Almost all of us in the Boston crew are wearing a heated Ororo jacket of some kind.