- WarmnSafe Gen-3 Heated Jacket Liner
$199 MSRP, up to 30% with GearChic discount.
Pricing and details here.
Sizes: Women's XS -XL and Men's S-3XL
Additional Accessories: Single or Dual Mounted and Portable trollers.
All the necessary instructions and screws are included in the troller package. You just need the right drill and bits to mount the troller to your fairing/control panel. You'll also find helpful installation videos on WarmnSafe's website.
Overview
You may recognize WarmnSafe heated liners if you’ve ever seen First Gear and their line of heated liners, which are actually WNS liners. Hopefully the name gives you an idea of what they had in mind. Keeping you warm and safe! The less distracted you are by how cold you are, the more you can focus and concentrate on riding. The minute you start shivering is a sign that you're cold. If you find yourself coming home after a ride, and are so cold inside and out that it takes a good 20-30 minutes for your body temperature to come back up, it might be time to consider heated gear. Or maybe you don't find your winter textile to be warm enough, with all the added layers you're wearing, in addition to your removable thermal liner.
Even if the temperature is only 50 or 60 degrees, if you're doing any sort of distance on the freeway, you also have wind chill to deal with. It can be manageable if you're just riding a few minutes across town. But as soon as you jump on the freeway to get to work, school or wherever, it's going to get cold fast. If you're a year round rider like me, you probably love to ride as much as you can. Wearing a heated liner gives me the freedom to ride to on days that I never would have considered before. I currently don't have a winter textile jacket and have been relying on my Ignition, which is primarily a spring/summer/fall jacket. Having a WNS has allowed me to stretch this jacket to temperatures as low as 45 with wind chill. I'll be honest, when I rode in that temperature on the freeway (on my way to Hwy 35/Skyline/4corners!) it was cold. But I didn't feel so cold that I needed to pull over. And it was never so bad that I couldn't get warm after getting off the bike. I could just feel the wind counteract the heated liner. I wouldn't recommend buying a heated liner to 'convert' your summer jacket to a winter jacket if you're riding in any temperatures below 50-55 degrees.
You know when wind starts to go down the front of your jacket and chills your core to the bone? Thank god I never felt that. I was just warm enough to stay above that and make it all the way to my destination.
If I had a proper winter textile jacket (without mesh or ventilation) I would've had better wind protection, which is what I was sorely lacking. So I ended up turning up my mounted temptroller ALL the way up! When I'm riding around the City, even in 40s, I never need to turn it up that high. There's just not enough wind chill. Typically I have it turned up halfway at the most. It actually heats up tremendously fast. I have a mounted troller and it gives me full adjustable controls. It only takes about 5 minutes to get to the level of warmth I need. I’d say that from the moment you turn on the troller to when it starts to generate heat is about 2-3 minutes. Its heavenly!
Fit
I typically wear a US 4, so an extra small was perfect for me. It should fit snugly so you can feel the heating elements. Typically you don’t want to wear a super thick layer underneath your WNS (ie wool sweater). I wear a long sleeve shirt and its all I need for the most part. On that cold ride to Alice’s, I wore my Schampa Skinny shirt which also helped me survive the chill. I’m able to layer this with my Ignition's wind / water liner as well, although I wish i didn't have to. But its the only way I can stay dry when its raining or foggy.
I found the jacket tapers nicely around my waist and then go out a bit over my hips. The sides also have stretchy panels so there's a little room to um, grow after a hefty lunch. Its not too long and not too short either. I’m able to wear them comfortably with my overpants, which do come up a little higher in the back. Since the side of the jacket is a little higher it makes it easy to tuck the back into my pants a little bit so I can zip my jacket and pants together when its chilly out. (less wind going up)
There’s also a heating element all the way around the collar, which totally makes a difference. I don't even feel the need to wear a neck warmer, except on 40 degree long rides. It zips up a little high, right at the point where looking down feels a little uncomfortable. But, how often do we ride while looking down anyways? (Never!)
It lays pretty flat under my leather collar. It feels a little too tight for me so I usually leave my top button undone unless I’m really cold. I think if I were riding something upright like a Suzuki DRZ, I wouldn't notice it as much.
And when I tried on the Dainese Xantum, i found it to fit perfectly under that collar too. I think this jacket would fit under any textile or leather comfortably, the only problem I've had is sometimes the wires on my right elbow come up a little high and rub against my elbow armor. A quick shuffle and shimmy with my sleeve and it goes back to where it was.
As far as the wires, there are three zippered pockets with cables. The first is on the left pocket. It's only about 4 -5 inches long. And when you're not riding with it connected to the small cable coming up between your seat and gas tank, you can tuck it back in the pocket.
On the inside of the left pocket is another smaller zippered pouch, for a portable heat troller if you dont want to be connected to the bike. This would make it convenient to wear during other outdoor activities.
Finally each sleeve has a small 3-4 inch zippered pocket if you ever decide to get heated gloves and that way you can plug the gloves into the jacket then plug the jacket into the bike. Im not sure if a portable troller is powerful enough to heat both at the same time.
I only have the jacket so I’m connected to the bike via a single mounted troller. Since my battery is under my seat, I ran the line from the battery, under the frame, along the left side of my frame under the gas tank to the underside of my left front fairing. I then mounted it to the left of my instrument panel, where a small hole already exists, presumably for aftermarket accessories. Installation took about 20-25 minutes, once we figured out where to mount the troller. I didn’t want to drill a hole in my bodywork at the time, but I may move it for easier access.
Yes, you will have to connect yourself at least once to a cable but its soooo worth it when you're riding in 30-40 degree weather and you arrive toasty and warm to your final destination. I could see how short trips here and there wouldn't warrant heated gear but for any long trips, or longer commutes (~30+ miles each way), a heated jacket in that kind of weather is a must.
After you have heated gear, you kick yourself for not investing in it sooner!
And heated gear isn't just for drivers. if you're a passenger and you find yourself always cold, you'll never be with a warmnsafe.
I will post photos as soon as I get back from Washington DC.
