More than just hot air

I own heated gear and wear it—sometimes even in July. It’s not because I’m currently living in Canada: it’s because I understand the meaning of wind chill. Without dragging out mathematical tables and doing arcane calculations for rates of convective and evaporative cooling I know that when wind sluices over my body at 60 mph I get chilled faster than when standing still in the sunshine. I also know that the higher you go up a mountain, the colder the air gets. When core body temperature begins to drop—which could be 15 minutes or two hours depending on the circumstances—a process called hypothermia occurs. Get really cold and less blood flows to the brain and even a very slight reduction in this oxygenated fluid causes the gray matter to start shutting down, beginning with judgment. Staying warm is about more than just grandpa’s comfort level.

The Kanetsu Airvantage jacket liner from Aerostich is a new application of a very old idea. Air is a good insulator and the principle behind thermal-pane windows, foam insulation, down sleeping bags, and air mattresses. Just like on a life vest, there’s a little blow tube on the Kanetsu Airvantage that allows air to be puffed into the inflatable bladders to create a pocket of insulating air. Filling the bladders with air also has the advantage of fitting the garment tighter to your body so less heat escapes. The concept works extremely well, but the really sweet thing is that by plugging the electrical connection into a motorcycle battery the wiring in the lining heats up and, voila, the insulating pocket of air is now warm!

The Kanetsu Airvantage is wired as an electric jacket liner, including heated wires in the sleeves and collar, and can simply function as one. Think of this as a dual-core protection that can operate in any one of three modes: air, electric heat, or electrically heated air. In fact, it works so well that I either plug it in or just inflate the bladders, but rarely both. It has to get very cold for me to simultaneously utilize both the inflated bladders and the electric heating.

The Kanetsu Airvantage features three big zippered interior pockets (the vest/liner can be rolled up into the center pocket for packing or use as a pillow), one of which has the electrical connector and will hold all the cords. The outside is made of GoreTex Windstopper fabric and interior of nylon. The liner draws 75 watts at 5 amps, but if this is too much of an electrical drain for your bike the vest version requires only 45 watts at 3.3 amps. I use an adjustable thermostat instead of an in-line switch and this regulates the amount of electrical power—and resulting temperature—so I don’t consider the maximum power drain to be an issue. It is available with BMW powerlet plug, QuiConnect 2, or good old dependable SAE and a lighted switch.

For those that ride in any weather or tour long distances on a regular basis or just plain don’t like being cold, the Kanetsu Airvantage is an improvement over conventional designs.