Tested: EXO2 Heated Jacket

It still amazes me how few people know about heated clothing. The cold is a major factor in why people put their bikes away for the winter but if you wear the right kit, you can comfortably ride all year 'round.

The EXO2 Stormrider jacket can be plugged into your bike's battery or powered by a rechargeable battery pack. This means that you can wear your jacket on windy walks, at football matches or give it to the wife when she moans about 'how cold it is in here'. Because of the portable nature of the battery pack the EXO2 range of jackets are also bought by golfers, people into horse riding and hill walking ..you get the idea.

The EXO2 jacket doesn’t use heated wires as 'elements' to keep you warm; instead it uses sheets of rubbery-like polymer material that when introduced to an electrical current conducts heat. Because of its construction it self-regulates the temperature so it won't overheat. The fabric has a wicking layer and is windproof, it's machine washable and because it doesn’t use wire it’s compact.

The Stormrider costs £179 and if you want the heat control unit, that’s £39.99. I’ve found the control unit useful for turning the jacket on and off when needed but its natural max temperature is 50 degrees which has been the perfect temperature to keep me warm on the way to work in the thickest of frosts, so in all honestly I've not used it and don't think it's worth the extra cost.

An added bonus of the jacket is that because it heats my core, I’ve not found the need for heated gloves. I wear it under my winter jacket with just a t-shirt underneath and no thermal lining.

You can check out the products from EXO2 here.

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