This isn’t, as you can see by the picture, about e-bikes or AV’s. I’m returning to the subject of keeping warm.

Regular readers will know it’s a recurring theme for me. I’ve got body, head and feet fairly well sorted now. Although my toes still feel a chill when it gets really cold. It’s not as painful as my hands, the boots I wear are fairly good.

This winter has been warm enough to not have had snow, with only a few icey days. But it’s made up for it with high winds. This means a vicious windchill. I layer up and it’s mostly okay; except for my hands. I suffer from chilblains, with blisters on most knuckes quickly appearing when the temperature drops.

Gloves always promise so much, and fail to deliver. So far they hadn’t kept me dry and warm no matter their cost. Added to this; some were very bulky. Which makes using the gears and brakes difficult.

I recently found a good pair that were waterproof on sale at my local bike shop, Ross Cycles. Buying a size too big so that I could double up worked okay, but still wasn’t totally affective when it got really cold and the wind increased.

I saw a review of gloves from Vulcan (link)and decided to give them a go. I emailed support a question about wearing them in the rain - the quick response - they are just water resistant.

They are very thin, and fit under the new waterproof gloves.

They also work well with smart phone touch screens, something promised by many, often not successfully implemented.

One thing that caught me out; I plugged the batteries into the charger and the green light came on. I thought that meant they were fully charged. It didn’t; so when I came to test in them in the house they didn’t warm up. Luckily I wasn’t about to go out so I reconnected them. It took a few hours to finish. The green light comes on even if no power is reaching the charger. When you turn on the socket it goes red until the charge is complete.

I first wore them last Sunday.

For the initial part of the ride it was just the Vulcans. And they coped very well. I could tell it was cold, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I kept expecting the pain to set in, but it didn’t. I had thought I’d feel heat, but that wasn’t the case. Weird is the best way I can describe it. The exposed part of my face was chilled, but my hands were comfortable. The air was damp and it started to drizzle; still my digits were okay. When it started to rain I turned up the heating to max, then decided to put on the waterproof gloves. Dexterity remained good and the slight chill was gone. I turned down the gloves to their lowest settings. The wrist covering containing the battery is very bulky; I couldn’t get them under my outer gloves or jacket sleeves. Hopefully that won’t be a problem in the rain.

I wore them for a few walks. For some reason I don’t notice their weight when on the bike; it feels like the batteries are draging them off my hands if they hang down. I think they are also a little too big for me. The fit guide suggested I size up if long fingered. I’ve had problems with other gloves that meant they were uncomfortable due to lack of room. The heating elements require a tight fit, so this could be why I don’t feel the heat as much as I should. I wanted to test their effectiveness so only turned on one to compare. It is subtle, but my unheated hand immediately felt the chill of the early morning air. After about fifteen minutes I swapped over. My warm hand retained it’s comfort for a while, and my cold hand felt a little better, but it didn’t fully heat up. Vulcan have a number of different options. Maybe too many. I think I should have gone for the extra insulated version. But they are more expensive. I hope this isn’t another example of me trying to save money when I shouldn’t.

The company do a range of clothing, including jackets, trousers, insoles and socks. Will one of these will be next? The trouble is they are expensive, so probably not. It would certainly be interesting to ride wearing the full heated ensemble.

The next test was a ride into work. I leave the house very earlier so it was more servere conditions.

The morning had a “feels like” temp of -1 to -2 so it was the coldest commute I’d done. The Vulcans were set to their lowest setting and under my big gloves. My hands were just a little chilled, but very comfortable. I wanted to ensure I had enough charge for the ride home.

After my coffee stop I didn’t bother with the over gloves and rode the fifteen minutes to the office with just the Vulcans on, set to their mid setting. Again my hands were okay. I had removed one layer of clothing as well. This confirmed the temp was still very low.

They are a game changer for me. At the lowest setting and under the big gloves they should keep the pain away and last long enough for a typical winter ride.

When I think about how much I’ve spent on gloves that don’t work, I’m annoyed I didn’t buy these years ago.

The main consideration is longevity. How long will the heating elements last? None of the reviews I’ve seen answer this question. I hope it’s many years.