Most of us have experienced what it is like to be down to the bone cold when riding, and how dangerous that can be.
And most of us have tried out all sorts of things to stay warm and extend our riding season.
I have tested a lot of gear, some products I have loved, and others not so much.
In the "I love it" category is the heated vest and foot warmers from Heat Demon by Symtec.
Let's talk about the vest first.
The vest is made of water resistant Taslan fabric, so its lightweight, durable and very malleable.
It is an adjustable vest with 3 side zippers that offer multiple configurations and stretch fabric inserts that allow for the most comfortable and snug fit.
Hence why there are only two sizes available for purchase - Small to XL and XL - 4X
The beauty of this system is that if you gain a little weight or loose a little wait you do not necessarily need to go out and buy another vest.
The heating elements are flat, made from high tech carbon fibre, and they are removable which makes the vest easily washable.
I don't know about you but that has been one of my complaints of some of the other heated products I've owned - you can wash them, just not easily.
Because the flat heating elements are in pockets inside the front chest and the back of the vest, there are no wires to rub or chafe and there is very little bulk to the vest, an added bonus is the heating pads don't draw a lot of power.
The elastic at the waist helps keep the vest in place and prevents it from riding up, it also helps to trap the heat in the upper part of your core.
The back heating pad does extend below the elastic waist band by about 2 inches.
The vest also has 2 decent sized zippered pockets on the outside and two Velcro sealed, extra large pockets on the inside.
Now, I have the battery operated configuration of this vest so the left inside pocket is already in use by the battery and therefore not available for storage.
Yes, you read right - battery operated.
The Lithium Ion battery that charges the vest will offer you about 7 hours of heat depending on the heat setting you run your gear at. When I was in Ireland last month, we had one day that was so wet and windy and we got so cold, that we
stopped at a pub for hot chocolate and to warm up.
I took my Heat Demon vest and foot warmers out of the side bag and put them on in the parking lot.
The rain had stopped and everyone was divesting themselves of bandannas and gloves etc and hunting for dry replacements.
Running vest and foot warmers on 4 - the second highest temperature range, I was warming up nicely and by the time we got seated in the pub, I was no longer shivering. I was getting some funny looks and comments as to why I wasn't freezing like the rest and so I told them about the Heat Demon vest and foot warmers I had just put on.
Well, I was ribbed pretty heartily but as I expressed to them, I am a Northern Canadian rider and I come prepared. The ribbing turned to more burning comments like "Can I try that thing on? (They were referring to the vest.)
As we geared up to head out, I put the vest on high and had consistent heat for the better part of 4 hours using pretty much just the vest alone. I am not sure how much battery time you loose running the foot warmers at the same time as the vest as I unplugged the foot warmers after about a half hour. My feet were not wet and so once the chill was off of me, I just unplugged them.
(I'll get to the foot warmers in a bit).
The heat this vest puts out is so nice and consistent with no hot spots like you find in some of the wired vests.
The Battery Operated Vest SHINES for its versatility; hands down, this is one of the best ideas in heated gear that I have seen.
You can run a cable to the motorcycle to power the vest just like any other system, but if you want to stay warm when you get off your bike, you just unplug from the bike and plug into the battery in the left hand inner pocket.
If you are riding a bike that is rented or borrowed and does not have a cable installed - no problem...you can stay warm.
The battery takes about 5 hours to fully recharge.
The heat controllers have clips on them that allow you to clip to your pants pocket or to an outside jacket pocket.
You also have the advantage of being able to run two vests off of one controller with the use of a Y-cable you can purchase.
The cable that hooks to your motorcycle's battery to power the vest has a dust plug to keep grime and moisture out of the connector when it's not in use.
The features, benefits and quality of this product are simply fabulous.
Now Heat Demon by Symtec has put a ton of thought into your pocket book with their designs and offerings too. They offer the vests and the assorted cables & controllers to run them, in bundles and separately.
The foot warmers are ingenious, one size fits all, you cut them out to match you foot size based on the lines provided for cutting, you slide them into your boot and run the cable under your jeans or riding pants, they connect to the controller and voila - warm feet. There are no wires or bumps, no bunching - you hardly know the foot warmers are there except for the warmth emanating from them and the cable that runs up the side of your leg, but you get used to that pretty quick.
There are three options to the product that I would like to see in the future:
1) Have the back heating pad extended by about 2 more inches to warm more of the kidney area
2) Have a jacket option with a heated collar and heated sleeves.
3) For the wall charger to have the prongs slide sideways/collapse for shipping so that it doesn't take so much space to pack or run the risk of breaking a prong or something else in your bag.
I'd pay extra for all of the above mentioned features.
I really, really like this vest and the foot warmers.
For the money, Heat Demon by Symtec heated apparel offers some of the best and most versatile heated apparel products in the business.
Think of the various applications for the vest and foot warmers; snowmobiling, quadding, motorcycling, and any outdoor activity where a little extra warmth is needed and if you choose the Battery Powered one - you will get so much more use and value from it outside of the recreations mentioned above. Heck, I keep mine handy by the door and take them in the car with me, just in case I hit the ditch, or have a tire that I have to change. My husband has used the vest while tinkering in his garage when he didn't want to fire up the big furnace for a 20 minute job he had to do.
If you are looking for a great gift for the outdoor enthusiast in your life may I suggest checking out the heated apparel from Heat Demon by Symtec.
Heat Demon Seats, Grips & Apparel by Symtec offers various snowmobile and ATV specific products too and their products are distributed by Kimpex in Canada and are available through the Kimpex dealer network.
I think that I really should take their heated grips and one of their seat kits for a test spin.
Have a great Friday everyone,
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
And most of us have tried out all sorts of things to stay warm and extend our riding season.
I have tested a lot of gear, some products I have loved, and others not so much.
In the "I love it" category is the heated vest and foot warmers from Heat Demon by Symtec.Let's talk about the vest first.
The vest is made of water resistant Taslan fabric, so its lightweight, durable and very malleable.
It is an adjustable vest with 3 side zippers that offer multiple configurations and stretch fabric inserts that allow for the most comfortable and snug fit.
Hence why there are only two sizes available for purchase - Small to XL and XL - 4XThe beauty of this system is that if you gain a little weight or loose a little wait you do not necessarily need to go out and buy another vest.
The heating elements are flat, made from high tech carbon fibre, and they are removable which makes the vest easily washable.
I don't know about you but that has been one of my complaints of some of the other heated products I've owned - you can wash them, just not easily.
Because the flat heating elements are in pockets inside the front chest and the back of the vest, there are no wires to rub or chafe and there is very little bulk to the vest, an added bonus is the heating pads don't draw a lot of power.
The elastic at the waist helps keep the vest in place and prevents it from riding up, it also helps to trap the heat in the upper part of your core.
The back heating pad does extend below the elastic waist band by about 2 inches.
The vest also has 2 decent sized zippered pockets on the outside and two Velcro sealed, extra large pockets on the inside.
Now, I have the battery operated configuration of this vest so the left inside pocket is already in use by the battery and therefore not available for storage.
Yes, you read right - battery operated.
The Lithium Ion battery that charges the vest will offer you about 7 hours of heat depending on the heat setting you run your gear at. When I was in Ireland last month, we had one day that was so wet and windy and we got so cold, that we
stopped at a pub for hot chocolate and to warm up.
I took my Heat Demon vest and foot warmers out of the side bag and put them on in the parking lot.
The rain had stopped and everyone was divesting themselves of bandannas and gloves etc and hunting for dry replacements.
Running vest and foot warmers on 4 - the second highest temperature range, I was warming up nicely and by the time we got seated in the pub, I was no longer shivering. I was getting some funny looks and comments as to why I wasn't freezing like the rest and so I told them about the Heat Demon vest and foot warmers I had just put on.
Well, I was ribbed pretty heartily but as I expressed to them, I am a Northern Canadian rider and I come prepared. The ribbing turned to more burning comments like "Can I try that thing on? (They were referring to the vest.)
(I'll get to the foot warmers in a bit).
The heat this vest puts out is so nice and consistent with no hot spots like you find in some of the wired vests.
The Battery Operated Vest SHINES for its versatility; hands down, this is one of the best ideas in heated gear that I have seen.
You can run a cable to the motorcycle to power the vest just like any other system, but if you want to stay warm when you get off your bike, you just unplug from the bike and plug into the battery in the left hand inner pocket.
If you are riding a bike that is rented or borrowed and does not have a cable installed - no problem...you can stay warm. The battery takes about 5 hours to fully recharge.
The heat controllers have clips on them that allow you to clip to your pants pocket or to an outside jacket pocket.
You also have the advantage of being able to run two vests off of one controller with the use of a Y-cable you can purchase.
The cable that hooks to your motorcycle's battery to power the vest has a dust plug to keep grime and moisture out of the connector when it's not in use.
The features, benefits and quality of this product are simply fabulous.
Now Heat Demon by Symtec has put a ton of thought into your pocket book with their designs and offerings too. They offer the vests and the assorted cables & controllers to run them, in bundles and separately.
There are three options to the product that I would like to see in the future:
1) Have the back heating pad extended by about 2 more inches to warm more of the kidney area
2) Have a jacket option with a heated collar and heated sleeves.
3) For the wall charger to have the prongs slide sideways/collapse for shipping so that it doesn't take so much space to pack or run the risk of breaking a prong or something else in your bag.
I'd pay extra for all of the above mentioned features.
I really, really like this vest and the foot warmers.
For the money, Heat Demon by Symtec heated apparel offers some of the best and most versatile heated apparel products in the business.
Think of the various applications for the vest and foot warmers; snowmobiling, quadding, motorcycling, and any outdoor activity where a little extra warmth is needed and if you choose the Battery Powered one - you will get so much more use and value from it outside of the recreations mentioned above. Heck, I keep mine handy by the door and take them in the car with me, just in case I hit the ditch, or have a tire that I have to change. My husband has used the vest while tinkering in his garage when he didn't want to fire up the big furnace for a 20 minute job he had to do.
If you are looking for a great gift for the outdoor enthusiast in your life may I suggest checking out the heated apparel from Heat Demon by Symtec.
Heat Demon Seats, Grips & Apparel by Symtec offers various snowmobile and ATV specific products too and their products are distributed by Kimpex in Canada and are available through the Kimpex dealer network.
I think that I really should take their heated grips and one of their seat kits for a test spin.
Have a great Friday everyone,
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
This is a great article! Thanks for sharing this information. I have bookmarked the pages for future and i think your recommendations sound right on target.
ReplyDeleteI also tested it and I think the same! This is an awesome product!
ReplyDelete