Pete I doubt the design spec including waterproofing, doesn't often rain in a cockpit and by the sound of it, your friend wasn't toasted, he was waffled

Maybe computer cooling fans would be a way to cool things down for you Pete? Or there's always the wet 'T' shirt method, I've used that on occasion and it does work in combination with an airflow jacket.

 

After failing to get my car's wheels aligned yesterday I decided to test the jacket this morning. Wasn't wet at all but the mercury sat at +2c when I took off and was pretty windy so ti was properly cold. The jacket endured the cold very well but after some 20km of highway speeds I started to feel some cold in my chest and arms, the areas that only have one wire coming and going so that was expected. I could make some zigzag to those areas too but the wire would naturally be off from the back so it's down to compromising where I want the heat to be, which is on my back. The warmth came right back after reaching municipal areas and the speed dropped to 60km/h. Other little problem is that the bottom end of the inner jacket is not fixed into the outer from the back and ends pretty high so when I lean forward a small strip of my lower back is exposed from under the thermal lining and against the mesh of the outer jacket which is probly the reason to my prior back pains. This however is a design flaw in the jacket and has no doings with the heater. So, on a fairly short trip of 30some km:s this version is able to provide sufficient heat even in near zero temperatures. I would not call the ride pleasant or enjoyable but it was comfortable enough to being able to still ride. I will be doing a better version of the heater during the winter probly by sewing the wire on by hand, and possibly another one from a softshell jacket for work to get me throuth those -20 to -30c days when the truck's heater can no longer keep the cabin warm enough.

So, I would give this version what I named "proto 1" about 8/10.

 

Good work Matt, trial and error is the way most design works and improves.

Stay toasty

 

Having ridden in near zero temps I can attest to the need for some form of heating - perhaps using a rain jacket over the suit would work - I have tried this and as the rainjacket is windproof I found it made a big difference to my "wellbeing"

And yes, the wet teeshirt works well - maybe I should stop more often and find a cold water supply.....LoL

Good luck with your project.

 

Either that, or maybe a water bottle(reservoir), with an 12v pump, maybe from a car windscreen washer?

 

First "true life" test of the heated jacket this morning. Dry, temp at 7c so not awfully cold but enough to be uncomfortable when you're tired and it's dark outside.

The jacket could not have worked better. I had only normal clothes under the riding gear, work pants, t-shirt and a long sleeve t on top, no fleece jackets or anything like that. Wasn't the least bit cold. Not excessively hot either, more like your favourite blanket type warmth. Nice and snug. The straps have to be tightened pretty far out so that the jacket hugs you as much as possible, but then again it should anyway to keep the protective pads wherw they should be.

That being said, I'd reckon the jacket might start to have slight issues keeping near or sub zero temps outside, although I'd suspect that's not gonna be too much of an issue as I'm only riding in plus temps and even now only because I'm waiting for a new brake line to arrive for my car from France. Should arrive this week after which I wiĺl return to four wheels.

 

Nice job Matti , I'm thinking a little extra mod of some extra heating coil in the pockets
could serve both as hand warmers and or a mobile toaster for some breakfast on the go

 

Smirk all you want Sprock but I'll tell you, even though being a "son of the north" I don't endure cold that well. Specially when tired, cold is one of the most wretched states of being in existense and a contraption like this can definitely make it more bearable to ride on those mornings when you'd rather not.

Speaking of, this morning +2c, dark, wind and drizzle, in every possible way the definition of miserable. At first when I took off to work I did feel the cold seeping in where there are no coils, they did fight valiantly but were eventually forced to pull back, until I reached the city limits and 60 km/h area, the warmth came back and it stayed warm even when entering the ringroad to get to the other side of the city, so I'd suppose if I'd leave about 5mins early and take a detour via the town center to give the jacket time to warm up before entering highway speeds it could stay warm and fight even zero weather.

 

I've got a solution that eliminates all the coils, wires, heated water, pumps etc, and it works so well, I don't know how anyone before me, hasn't thought of it.
I use it all the time when the temperatures get to the "uncomfortable" level, and it works every time
Its called a car.