Product review: exo2 heated motorcycle gear

October 23, 10:23 AMMotorcycle ExaminerKen Bingenheimer

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exo2 The Heat Inside electric gloves and bodywarmer

Winter is a bit early in Colorado this year and that makes the testing I've been doing of heated motorcycle gear all the more timely. The gear I've been testing is made by exo2 The Heat Inside (yeah, that's the company name) and consists of their StormShield gloves and a vest, or the StormRider bodywarmer as they call it. exo2 does make other products, but these are the ones I've been trying out.

A side note here: I'm sold on electrics for warmth in the winter time. On the other hand, Tom Bachur, the Baltimore Motorcycle Travel Examiner, says of himself, "I'm a traditionalist: I rely on layers for warmth." Tom and I have joined forces to present two perspectives on winter riding, and his article is called "Motorcycle 101: Winter Riding." Additionally, Harley-Davidson Examiner T Jaussaud recently published an article dedicated to Harley heated gear, "Time to Get Outfitted for Fall Weather."

In introducing their heated gear, exo2 describes the core-heating element, FabRoc(TM), as "a revolutionary material invented for use in the aerospace industry" and says that it is "extremely efficient in generating heat from a low voltage source."

That's all fine and dandy but from my perspective, I don't really care what's under the hood as long as the car runs, figuratively speaking. With the bodywarmer I do have some basis for comparison because I have a Widder electric vest that I've used for years. I've never had electric gloves before so I was very interested to give them a try.

And does the car run? You bet. I did some early season testing up in the mountains, the only place to find cold in August, and then the weather cooperated here on the flatlands. The very first thing I noticed--instantaneously--was the welcome warmth flowing over the backs of my hands. It took a minute or two for the heat from the bodywarmer to permeate through my shirt but then it was just as noticeable and welcome.

StormShield gloves

Never having had heated gloves before, I am all too well acquainted with freezing fingers. If they didn't do anything but keep my hands warm I'd be satisfied. However, these gloves do do more.

Essentially, they are good, rugged motorcycle gloves with the electrics added. They have rigid armoring on the back of the palm as well as strategically placed padding elsewhere. They are gauntlet style so they come up over your sleeves to keep the cold wind from entering. Plus, each thumb has a little squeegee blade sewn on so you can wipe your visor clear. Of course the fingers are pre-curled to comfortably wrap around the grip.

With all this it should not be a surprise that these gloves are probably not going to fit into the pocket of your jacket. That's a trade-off I'll happily make for warm hands in the winter. In order to power the gloves you have to run wires up your back and then down your sleeves. The wires need to loop back up your arm and out of the gauntlet and then loop back down to plug in to the gloves. So you'll have wires dangling on the outside but, again, for warm fingers I'll willing to accept that.

   My jury-rigged, temporary controller attachment, that box with red dots

StormRider bodywarmer

I'm unclear as to what differentiates the StormRider bodywarmer from exo2's StormWalker heated vest, but I had the bodywarmer for testing. The vest, by the way, costs a bit less.

Comparing it to my Widder vest, the main difference would seem to be that the bodywarmer is fuller and more heavily insulated, so it provides more warmth on its own even before you turn it on. Both vests do the job of keeping you warm. By the way, Widder is no longer an option if you're buying, as they closed up shop a couple years ago.

The largest issue for me in testing the bodywarmer was getting it hooked up to my bike. exo2 sent along a controller for me to use with the gear and mounting it on my bike was something of a challenge. The paperwork says the controller is "designed to fit onto the existing clutch cable mount" but they weren't working with my Concours. If this unit had been mine to keep I might have bent some metal and adapted a few things to make it fit. As it was, I ended up just jury-rigging something using a zip-tie to hold it in place for the duration of my testing.

The controller is well-designed, with lighted buttons for off and on and for heat level. Even with the bulky gloves on it was no problem to touch the buttons and make the desired adjustments. One key consideration, however, is that you absolutely must mount the thing in a position where you can see it easily. The way I mounted it it was difficult to see and when I rode at night and tried to turn it on or adjust the heat I was groping blindly. That's not particularly safe, so be sure to mount it where it is visible.

Of course all of this needs a power source and that source is your motorcycle's battery. That means a split cord runs up to the controller on one side and to the bodywarmer on the other.

Conclusion

The exo2 products are serious cold-weather gear. If you ride in winter you owe it to yourself to look into something like this to make your ride safer and more comfortable. And if you don't ride in winter, maybe heated gear will make you reconsider.

As for exo2 gear versus gear made by outfits such as Gerbing and Tour Master, the exo2 gear is at the high end of the price range. Not having that gear on hand to make a direct comparison, however, I can't say that one is better or not, or a better product for the price. You need to shop around and select the products with the features that matter to you at the price you're willing to pay.

And for me, riding comfortably in winter time is worth a lot.

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