For those of us that spend a large part of the year in cold riding conditions you know what it is like to have have frozen digits when out on the bike. Winter riding can be a blast, maybe not like ripping Whistler Bike Park laps, but when all your favorite trails are covered in snow…it’s nice to get out to spin your legs and get your drift on. Frozen hands and feet suck and are definitely in the back of my mind when we come up with excuses no to work on your Dad bod and head out for a winter ride. We have been testing a few products long term and we wanted to share our thoughts with the masses.
Bluetooth Heated Insoles by Digisole
By- Jack
When the box arrived from France I was super excited. I have used disposable heat packs inside my winter 5.10 riding shoes but they always made my feet fall asleep and were super uncomfortable. Contrasting, the Digitsole Warm series insoles fit perfectly into my shoes and charging them was easy with a micro usb and supplied split cord. The insoles rely on an Phone app and Bluetooth technology. You can download an app for your Iphone or Android, connect the insoles and charge out the door knowing you will have toasty feet. The app is simple and works to control the amount of energy the charged insoles deliver under your forefoot. There are no wires connected to batteries that you have to worry about and the batteries are integrated into the insole. You can control the temperature with your phone and it has a handy timer so you can maintain the temperature of your fee, avoiding overheating your toes like with disposable heat packs. The app also has a timer build to maintain battery life.
The insoles battery life was great and I could head out for a couple of hours in sub zero temps with warm happy feet. You have to be careful to ensure that your phone battery has plenty of battery life left so that you can control your insoles during your ride. If your phone battery runs out, your insoles will turn off as well. You’ll also need to be careful not to freeze the battery. I usually leave my riding shoes in the garage but with the Digisole Insoles you’ll need to keep them inside to ensure you treat the battery the way Digisole wants you to.
The insoles are not overly thick like you’d think a insole with a battery and built in GPS would be. Speaking of the GPS, Digisole markets the insoles for a variety of winter sports so tracking your steps is a luxury for many winter enthusiast. For cyclists where Garmins and Strava are common place the GPS is probably overkill and we’d love to see a more economically priced heated insole without the GPS option.
Overall it was awesome to have warm feet and they were super useful. On a few rides my phone battery was basically dead as I headed out for a night ride and couldn’t turn the insoles on. I certainly missed them as I had to revert to disposable heat packs. Are they worth the 200 Euro? If you suffer from cold feet and ride a lot in the winter, early spring or late fall rides then yes. They are a luxury but they do work really well. Digisole did provide a set of insoles for this review but we received no monetary compensation.
You can find out more information on the insoles here https://www.digitsole.com/connected-heated-insoles-warm-series/
-Jack
Outdoor Research Lucent Heated Glove Review
By Kevin
I purchased my Outdoor Research (OR) Lucent Heated gloves early in the winter of 2018 to enjoy winter fatbiking. I struggle with Raynaud’s in a few fingers and couldn’t find a glove combo that was warm enough. Additionally, I’m not a fan of pogies (bar mitts) as they aren’t ideal at warming up your hands after you’ve been exposed changing a tire or dealing with a mechanical.
The Lucent gloves fit a bit larger compared to my other gloves (XL vs. my XXL) and have a deeper thumb groove, which nicely accommodates gripping a handlebar. I find the gloves a bit thinner on the palm, which translates to better bar feel. OR states the heating wraps around all the fingers and I never noticed any cold spots while riding in up to -20C temperatures. I would alternate between the highest heat setting after having the gloves off, the medium heat setting when descending in cold temps, and the lowest heat setting when climbing. When temps warmed up I was able to use the gloves without heat.
Battery life was always longer than my ride time, regardless of my heat setting selection. I do find the batteries are slow to charge, so I would recommend always charging well in advance of your ride. The split battery design meant I didn’t notice the batteries while wearing the gloves. The LED button was easy to use and hassle free.
If you are looking for a cycling glove feel these probably aren’t the gloves for you. However, if you struggle with hand heat in the winter and don’t really have a cold cut off for riding these are a proper glove that’ll keep your hands warm and let you enjoy your ride. That you can take them skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc. without skipping a beat is an added bonus.
You can find out more information about the Outdoor Research Lucent Glove here: https://amzn.to/2XiHYew
