I’ve ridden through enough British winters to know that cold doesn’t just make you uncomfortable – it wears you down. Cold fingers, tense shoulders, that constant chill that never really leaves you. For years I managed with heated grips and battery-powered gloves, telling myself that was just part of riding in winter.
This year feels different. I’m in the final stages of training as a Blood Biker, counting down to my first operational shift. That means riding when most people are staying indoors – late nights, early starts, and whatever weather happens to roll in. With that comes real responsibility. Staying warm isn’t just about comfort anymore; it’s about staying alert, focused, and ready to do the job properly. I knew I needed something better to see me through the winter miles ahead.
So I invested in the KEIS J601 ULTRAFLEX Heated Jacket and the KEIS G701 Heated Gloves – my first heated kit that plugs directly into the bike.
My first proper outing wearing them was a cold winter ride out to Matlock. It felt like the right kind of test – proper winter air, damp roads, and that familiar bite in the wind.
Plugging Into the Bike for the First Time
This was my first experience using heated gear powered straight from the bike’s battery using the supplied connector. I’d always relied on gloves with built-in batteries before. They worked, but there was always a compromise – limited run time and fairly modest heat output.
With this setup, the gloves connect into the jacket, and the jacket connects to the bike. No separate charging routine. No wondering how much battery life is left. Just consistent power.
The difference is hard to overstate. Battery gloves warm your hands. This setup properly heats them. The intensity is noticeably stronger and, more importantly, it doesn’t fade. On that ride to Matlock, my hands stayed warm the entire time. Not “just about okay” – genuinely warm.
The Jacket
The J601 ULTRAFLEX impressed me straight away. Once it’s on and powered up, the warmth spreads evenly across your chest and back – exactly where the cold usually cuts through first. It takes the edge off the wind in a way extra layers never quite manage.
What surprised me most was how much more relaxed I felt. When you’re not fighting the cold, you’re not tensing up. Your shoulders drop, your grip loosens, and you focus more on the ride than on how uncomfortable you are.
For Blood Bike duties, that matters. Fatigue creeps in much faster when you’re cold. Staying warm isn’t just about comfort – it’s about keeping your concentration where it needs to be.
The Gloves
Connected to the jacket and powered by the bike, the G701 gloves are on a different level compared to just using them with battery power. There’s no holding back on the heat setting to preserve charge. You just set them where you want them and ride.
With my old battery gloves, I was always aware of time. If I turned them up high, I knew I was eating into the battery. If I turned them down, I’d start to feel the cold again. That trade-off simply isn’t there when you’re wired in.
For longer winter rides – and especially volunteering runs where you don’t know how long you’ll be out – that reliability is reassuring.
How Do The Different Heated Garments from Keis Connect together?
The instruction manual included with the jacket provides a clear and helpful explanation of how the various Keis heated garments connect and operate together. The diagram below illustrates how each item links into the system, showing how the garments work in unison to deliver consistent, adjustable warmth throughout.
The Reality of Being Wired In
It’s not perfect, and it took a bit of getting used to. You can feel the internal wiring slightly in the jacket.
It’s not painful, but you know it’s there. And then there’s the lead to the bike. The first few times I stopped, I was very aware that I was physically connected – like an umbilical cord running from jacket to battery.
You quickly learn to unplug before stepping away. It becomes part of the routine, like switching off the ignition or putting on the disc lock.
After a while, it started to feel almost normal – though I did nearly fall off once when I hopped off to take a photo. Luckily, no one was around to see me pirouetting with myself tangled in wires.
A small trade-off for being properly warm in the middle of winter.
Final Thoughts
That first cold run to Matlock sold me on wired heated gear. The step up from battery-powered gloves to a bike-powered system is bigger than I expected. The heat is stronger, more consistent, and far better suited to serious winter riding.
The KEIS jacket keeps my core warm. The gloves, when connected to it, keep my hands properly heated for as long as I’m riding. For someone preparing for winter Blood Bike shifts, that confidence is invaluable.
Would I go back to battery-only gloves? No.
When you’ve ridden through a cold Derbyshire afternoon and realised you’re not thinking about your hands at all, you know you’ve made the right choice.
Links to products
Note: This blog is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with the manufacturer of the gloves or jacket mentioned. All of the items were purchased by the author using their own money, and no products were provided for free. The views and experiences shared here are entirely personal and based on real-world use.
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