REVIEW OF THE WARMNSAFE GEN 3 WOMEN'S HEATED JACKET LINER

• Price: $199 MSRP
• www.warmnsafe.com
• Sizes: Women's XS -XL and Men's S-3XL
• Additional Accessories: Single or Dual Mounted, Remote, or 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 dashboard, or you can order a remote troller which allows you to control the heat from your pocket or anywhere else on the bike. You'll also find helpful installation videos on WarmnSafe's website. See below for portable battery options.
• Review sample provided by WarmnSafe
• Review Date: March 2011

Overview

You may recognize this brand if you’ve ever seen First Gear and their line of heated liners, which are actually made by WarmnSafe. 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 it is, 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.

If the temperature is only 50 or 60 degrees, or 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 pick up speed, it's going to get cold fast. Wearing a heated liner gives me the freedom to ride to on days that I never would have considered before. With my Ventura jacket, it's the perfect layer underneath the wind/water liner on that jacket.

It's also water resistant, so if you're wearing a non waterproof shell and get stuck in a light rain, you'll be fine. The liner works best with a good textile motorcycle jacket that's designed to help block the wind.  If you try wearing this with a summer, ventilated jacket you won't be able to feel the heat very well. It's not windproof, so it's crucial that you have an outer shell/layer that provides this key element.

The heating elements run along the neck, up and down the outside of the arms, chest and back. The adjustable troller allows for full adjustable heat, from 7 o'clock (off) - 5 o'clock (hot). From the moment I turn it onto 3-4, it only takes a few minutes for it to fully heat up. Running around town between 35-45mph most of the time, I've never had to turn it up beyond 5.  On the freeway, going 65mph at 40 degrees F with windchill however, requires an 11. :)

Fit/Heat

What I like about my warmnsafe is how fitted it is. As you can see from the photos, the liner fits nice and close to the body which helps keep that heat from dissipating too quickly. I'm wearing a size small, which is about a US Womens 4. If you're a petite woman, you'll need the xsmall. Warmnsafe also advocates a very close fit for optimum heat transfer.

The stretch panels on the sides also make for a comfortable and adjustable fit.   There's nothing worse than cold air running around your neck. I find neck gaitors either to be too thin too insulate, or too thick and bulky to wear comfortably with my helmet (especially when turning my head for those crazy hairpin turns). The collar helps with that, as it's super comfy and fits perfectly without being in my way when I turn my head.

The only time I can recall turning the heat up all the way up to maximum was on a chilly 35 F degree ride to Alice's.  I was also wearing my Ignition, not an ideal winter textile, but at the time it was all I had to wear. Layered with my Schampa shirt, it was the warmest I could get.  As soon as you get up into the hills, the temps drop 10-20 degrees. It doesn't help that the trees block out most of the sun as well.   Because the Ignition shell has mesh/textile on the chest and stretch panels on the underside of the arms, I was losing a LOT of heat. A proper winter textile shell would've made that ride much more pleasant.

Now that I'm wearing my Ventura, it definitely makes the colder temps far more bearable.

The only problem I had with my warmnsafe is that sometimes the wires running along the arms would get stuck over my elbows and then rub against my elbow armor in my jackets. I just have to shimmy the sleeves a bit if it feels like they're not lying flat against my body.

The one place you won't feel heat is the armpits. It's most noticeable when the temps drop down to the 40s with windchill. Although there are wires running down the sides and tops of the sleeves, they dont' reach down

Setup

I know that setting up your heated system might be a little daunting and/or confusing, but it's really straightforward.

First, you need to figure out what the alternator output is on your motorcycle, meaning how many watts each electrical piece of your bike draws and then make sure there's enough room to power the jacket (you can either choose the 65watt or 90watt option, depending on what your bike can handle). Call your local dealer or mechanic who should already know the answer or can help you figure it out depending on what devices you're running on your bike already (e.g. gps, heated grips, heated gloves, etc).  If you have a shop manual, it should tell you the alternator output as well. I had trouble finding this information for my bike (2003 Suzuki SV650S) and had to ask around until I got my answer. Since I don't have anything but stock parts on my bike, there was plenty of extra wattage lying around for me to add my jacket. I could probably add heated gloves or pants if I wanted to.  Or simply try googling a bit, since it's inevitable that someone else

Second, decide what option you want to go with in terms of how to control and power the heat for the jacket:

Option 1: Connect the wiring harness to your motorcycle battery, assuming it has enough wattage to do so. Check your owners manual.  Then mount the controller somewhere near your instrument display.  This is what I did.

OR

Option 2: Get a remote or portable controller.  If you don't have a clear mounting point on your instrument panel, a remote or portable controller will work too.  This page will show you all the portable/remote options.

If you're still not sure, just email Rose and she can help you figure out what option works best for you.

• Single = powering 1 piece of clothing (e.g. jacket)
• Dual = powering 2 pieces of clothing (e.g. gloves + jacket)
  • Portable = take the controller  + battery power with you (if you want to go skiing with it or do something outdoors)
  • Remote = control the heat in your pocket while it's connected to the bike
  • Mounted = control the heat (mounted) on the bike

Links

InstructionsHeat Troller Q&ARemote/Portable/Mounted Controller Options 

Update: 4/2014. The newer version of this jacket has updated heating technology, as well as a different aesthetic. I'm still a huge fan of WarmnSafe and will probably purchase another one next winter.