KEIS G301 heated gloves review
I think I’ve just found my new favourite item of motorcycle clothing, and I haven’t even plugged them in yet! Let me introduce the KEIS G301 heated gloves, because for me, they include a lot of firsts: I’ve never been one for heated garments although I’ve used heated grips for decades, and two, as for gloves, I’ve never gone the ‘3-finger’ route, preferring to just fit big handlebar muffs in November, leaving them there until April.
You may therefore be wondering why I’m so taken with this new KEIS heated clothing product.
The issue, when I’m faced with the terrible problem of having too many bikes to ride, is there isn’t time to always move the muffs across to a test bike and (if I’m honest with myself) I also own too many bikes to equip them all with heated grips!
I started using these KEIS G301 gloves last month as the weather began to turn and since then we’ve had storm Arwen and the accompanying snow and cold snap. Put simply, they’ve been heavenly, because rather than heating the palm of the hand and grip-side if the fingers, they provide a glorious warmth concentrated on the back of the hand.
The 3-finger design is inherently warmer anyway because there is less outer surface area, but inside there are still separate compartments for each digit. There’s a thick layer of 3M Thinsulate and a quality Hipora waterproof membrane too, all of which helps to make them a competent winter glove even before considering the electrical technology they contain.
The micro carbon fibre heating panel runs across the back of the hands and over the top of the fingers which is just where you want it, avoiding the possibility of sweaty palms. There are 3 heat settings which are controlled from the easy-to-press button on the back of the hand. I don’t know if KEIS condone adjusting the temperature on the move, but I’ve found it’s easily done so you can independently adjust the setting for each hand.
The general construction and finish of these gloves is also superb, so it’s not just an electrical gimmick sewn into a substandard product. The outer is a mixture of polyester and leather with faultless stitching and there’s also a hard but flexible plastic scaphoid protector which is really comfortable in use.
The wrist opening is generous and there’s elastication and a Velcro strap to secure the gloves in position. There’s also a subtle reflective strip across the knuckles and a very robust visor wipe on the left glove.
Each glove is equipped with a male power connection because they can be connected straight to the bike, to a KEIS jacket, or to the individual battery packs, which is the only system I have so far used. The batteries fit into a small pocket in the underside of the cuff and seem able to belt out heat on the highest setting for at least a couple of hours.
The flexibility of the batteries is perfect for me, but if I was heading off for a longer winter road trip I’d definitely get around to fitting the simple wiring harness that comes with every pair of gloves. The whole bundle, including optional batteries and charger does mean these gloves cost £232, but the basic glove and wiring harness is £200. True, that isn’t cheap, but they’re much more effective than heated grips and you can wear them off the bike too.
See for more details and sizing chart see the KEIS website.
Paddy Tyson
