Heated Gloves v Heated Grips

Author Bob Mack

 The annual struggle to stay warm on our motorcycles is back. Generally we can cope with keeping our upper body, arms and legs warm with either loads of extra layers or heated jackets and trousers.

Our hands present a slightly different problem, as we have to minimalize our hand covering to enable us to feel the controls but at the same time stop them becoming so cold that we can’t work them either.

Handle bar muffs, of the type often seem on couriers motorcycles, are actually brilliant but are only practical on some motorcycles where they don’t interfere with the controls.

Heated grips and heated gloves can be used with most modern motorcycles as long as the generating system is in good working order.

I looked at five main areas for this short review. Effectiveness, Ease of Use, Comfort, Ease of Installation and Quality.

Effectiveness: Both were very effective, when tested back to back, on a recent winters day where the temperature stayed around 5 deg C. The gloves had the edge over the grips as they heat the back of your hands and keep your fingertips warmer. The grips only tend to heat your fingers where they touch. Using both together on their lowest settings was the perfect combination.

Ease of Use: Any accessory that needs plugging in to a power supply, whilst attached to the rider, has its drawbacks. The Keis heated outer gloves, that I tried, had a 3 level heat control in each glove and connected to power leads that come out of the cuffs of the Keis heated jacket, that I wear. This is a neat solution and eliminates the need for another power lead dangling from the vehicle. It’s not until use them, for a day, that you realise just how many times you put your gloves on and take them off. In fact having to keep plugging them in and unplugging them, became a bit of a pain.

The heated grips just need turning on and off by pressing a button which also selects the operating temperature.

Comfort: Glove fit is an individual thing but these Keis outer gloves were as comfortable as any that I normally wear and had all the usual protection and waterproofing that you need in this country. The heated grips were from the Oxford Heated Grips Range and just felt no different to standard bar grips. The same applies to BMW OEM fitted heated grips.

Ease of Installation: The fitting of the Oxford grips is a task that a person who can tackle DIY and carry out motorcycle maintenance, could do.

If the Keis gloves are being used in conjunction with one of their jackets there is no additional installation necessary as that will have been done for the jacket. Used on their own, a small fused loom needs attaching to the battery.

Quality: Both products are manufactured well and look as if they will last well.

Conclusion: The gloves are more effective than the heated grips, as a heat source for the hands. On long journeys the inconvenience of connecting and disconnecting the gloves wouldn’t be so much of an issue. They work well as a good winter glove even if they are not connected all the time you’re riding.

The Heated Grips are much easier to use you just turn them on.

Stay Warm.