Heated grips or heated gloves...?

[Fred W]

I think that even if the First Gears turn out to be not that toasty at speed when it's really cold, I will be OK with the grip warmers and gloves combined.

You will not be able to stand the amount of heat that those gloves generate when turned up full blast.

I have heated grips and bar covers, that way I can wear thinner gloves, I don't like the thick winter gloves.

I don't like thick winter gloves either. That is why I wear the First Gear (Warm'nSafe) heated gloves when it is cold. They are not thick at all. They have a very thin layer of thinsulate lining, and the heater wires only cover the backs of your hands. When buying these gloves it is best to buy them on the snug side so they keep the heating wires close to you. This is true of all heated gear. You don't want it to be loose.

I can ride comfortably in temps well below freezing with just the gloves and liner on. But if you do have both the gloves and the grips you can use them together as the insulation on the palm side is very thin. That is, except for those with a first gen. Then you need to closely watch your voltmeter to be sure you are not over-taxing the alternator and end up with a dead battery. You will want a panel voltmeter if you are going to run heated gear on a first gen.

One negative about having (only) heated gloves is that you do need to have wires run to the gloves, which generally means wearing your heated liner, even if you really don't need it. You can also get a Y cable that you can just run down the inside of your riding jacket sleeves. I have one of those but have never used it. Seems when it is cold enough for the heated gloves I also need the liner, at least turned off.

Heated grips are nice for a chilly morning that will soon turn warm. No need to bundle up to get a little heat on your hands. But if I had to have only one it would be the gloves.

 

[gregory]

My Heated gerbring jacket is old enough that the gloves are controlled with the same jacket heat controller. I know this because I sliced into the jacket pocket to figure out what happened to the missing glove plug. I have enough pig tails and an open slot on the jacket connecter to correct this and make the gloves independant of the jacket. Just need the time to fix this little set back.