Detailed discussion on heated gear, battery vs plug in, liners, double heated thumbs, and controllers
Club members and guests got the chance to talk with Mike Coan, Founder of Warm & Safe heated motorcycle gear, at our October 15 online meeting.
The recorded session included Mike sharing how his and his wife Sue's personal experiences riding in the cold led him to develop improved electronic heated gear for motorcyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Field Testing dictated improvements
Club members had the chance to discuss everything from the bulk of insulation in other brands of gloves that can impair feeling the throttle and clutch, to the materials Warm & Safe uses for their heated pants and jackets, to Mike's favorite motorcycles over the years.
Mike shared the extensive R&D done with his own personal field testing of gear throughout his world riding travels covering Mexico to Europe, Morocco, South America, the US and beyond.
He related how Sue, who designs all Warm and Safe clothing styles, would sketch out new designs during a trip based on the weather experiences they encountered. Mike as well shipped controllers back to his R&D team while on the road to make firmware adjustments, and have the changes shipped back to make near-real time adjustments and test the improved performance.
Members and Mike conversed about fatigue that develops in the hand, the location of where controllers plug into gear, 12 volt and 7.4 volt gear and the electronic characteristics behind each that drives the heat generation.
Designs change based on driver or passenger
Mike outlined how their designs take into consideration the differences between a pillion's needs vs. the driver's needs. One area he discussed was the heated palm of a passenger's glove versus choosing to not heat the palm for a driver's glove. Warm & Safe intentionally designed double heating in the thumbs for a driver and avoided palm heating. This allowed greater sensitivity for the driver to the response of the grips, and took into account that often drivers use heated grips that already warm the palm but often don't adequately warm the thumbs. Warm & Safe gloves provide double heated thumbs for drivers.
20% NIBMW Club Discount on the spot!
During the meeting, Mike personally set up NIBMW members for a 20% discount. And, we got to meet Sue, who's clothing design experience from working for one of the leading sports shoe and clothing manufacturers in the world gave her the background to make Warm & Safe clothing designs so comfortable.
Mike also sent the 12 Volt and 7.4 Volt catalogs, which have since been forwarded to members. If you are not a member and wish to learn more, please contact [email protected].
Thanks Mike! It was so kind of you to spend time with us.
We hope to have the recorded interview up on our Club YouTube channel soon, so those who missed the meeting can benefit from the conversation.