When the temperature drops below -25 degrees C, even a good pair of gloves can fail to keep digits warm.
The obvious answer? Ditch the gloves, according to the Canadian military, which has developed a vest capable of keeping bare naked lady fingers, or even man fingers, toasty warm on ice cold days.
Defence Research and Development Canada, a division of the military, created the Torso Heating for Dexterity in the Cold Vest, which heats a wearer’s torso so the body senses that it’s being overheated and dumps calories into the extremities.
A temperature gauge makes sure the wearer doesn’t actually overheat, and a second temperature gauge on the hand is used to automatically adjust the vest’s heat settings.
Soldiers testing the vest were able to disassemble and reassemble their rifles in cold chambers without noticeable effects on their dexterity.
A battery can be used to power the vest, but a motorcycle rider could power it from the bike.
The vest could make the use of thinner, more flexible gloves possible for motorcyclists who ride on cold days. No word on the expected retail price yet, but expect it to be in the $75,000 range (it’s a military item, after all).
The solution already exists for this problem and we’ve all heard about it and it’s about $200! I use a Gerbing’s heated jacket liner (there are other makes) and lo and behold my fingers are not as much in need of insulation as without. However, it works because there is a gas-powered generator always nearby. Maybe the military version is battery-powered or perhaps the $75,000 is for the mobile generator drone that follows the soldiers and keeps the wires from tangling.
Price seems about right for a piece of BMW kit though…